Hid lights

The demand for light emitting diode (LED) lighting in India is expected to grow by about 40 per cent per annum over the next five years, lighting solutions manufacturer NTL Lemnis said on Wednesday.

"I personally feel the LED market (in India) would grow by about 40 per cent year-on-year basis at least for the next five year," global chief executive officer of NTL Lemnis Arun Gupta told IANS in an interview.

The size of the current lighting market in India stands at around Rs.96 billion and the LED lighting industry's share is around Rs.10 billion, he added.

According to the Association of Electrical Lighting Manufacturers in India (ELCOMA), the lighting industry in the country has been growing at nearly 17-18 per cent annually over the past two-three years.

Although the overall lighting market growth is going to be slower, the LED lighting market offers very high growth opportunity, Gupta said.

The LED Industry is expected to touch around $500 million by 2015 in India. Within the segment, the demand for LED street lights and LED solar lights is expected to grow rapidly in coming years, Gupta said.

Set up in 2012, NTL Lemnis is a joint venture company between NTL Electronics India and Lemnis Lighting, the Netherlands.

NTL Electronics India Ltd. is considered as one of the largest manufacturers of lighting electronics in the world outside China. It has an annual turnover of Rs.675 crore.

Although households still prefer compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), the demand for LED lighting is increasingly rising in the commercial segment.

The mining industry is expected to contribute to the growth of LED lighting in the coming years, according to the NTL Lemnis global CEO.

The Indian LED lighting industry is likely to grow in the range of Rs.8,000-12,000 crore in the next five years, and NTL Lemnis is eyeing to capture a five per cent market share, he said.

According to a report by global consulting firm McKinsey, 70 per cent of lighting in the world would be LED based by 2020.

Currently, the number of LED buyers in the general lighting segment is low owing to high costs of such systems but the situation is changing rapidly, Gupta said.

Proposed upgrades include web-accessible programmable thermostats for HVAC systems in all the fire stations and Public Works garage, replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs in all buildings and retrofitting current fluorescent fixtures with 28-watt T8 light bulbs and electronic ballasts.

"We are attempting to improve the general efficiency of public buildings," Burtner said.

Shanda Cecil, director of the Strodes Creek Conservancy, said she heard about the grant and thought it would be a good opportunity for the city.

"These energy-saving contracts, they pay for themselves. They save so much, you have a surplus in your budget to pay for the project," Cecil said.

Although the city has 20 years to pay off the loan, Cecil estimated that the energy cost savings would make it possible to have it paid off in three years.

"We should have it paid off and start seeing dividends," Cecil said.

The proposed upgrades are supposed to generate savings of $367,967. Funding will be awarded in January, and the project will take approximately four months.