If you’re interested in solid-state lighting, you need to take a look at Sandia National Laboratories’ Solid-State Lighting Home Page for Semiconductor light emitting diodes (LED) and information.

It’s got quite a bit of deep technical information, but what grabbed my attention was this little infographic from the front page:

The Challenge

Source efficacy (2003)
Incandescent (75 W) ~13 lm/W
Fluorescent (T8) ~83 lm/W
HID (Metal Halide) ~100 lm/W
SSL (White LED) ~30 lm/W

Normalized retail lamp price (2003)
Incandescent (75W) ~0.60 $/klm
Fluorescent (T8) ~0.73 $/klm
HID (Metal Halide) ~1.27 $/klm
SSL (White LED) ~190.00 $/klm

That chart illustrates dramatically the challenges that LED lighting needs to overcome to be viable in the marketplace. The message is that the US Department of Energy is funding R&D in order to make the ascent up that learning curve quicker.

Here’s a quote from Jim Brodrick, head of the DOE’s solid-state lighting program:

“It’s a technology that’s going to take a number of years before it’s a competitive performer,” he says. “We’re not aiming for flashlights – it’s the lights used in homes and businesses.”

I’m convinced that 2005 will be a pivotal year for developments in solid-state lighting. Stay tuned to watch this exciting technology develop.