How White LEDs Improved And Changed

White LEDs got better and cheaper in 30 years. Research and new ideas helped. This can help improve other energy technologies too.

White light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are components in many lighting systems, were first made available in 1996. Since then, their energy efficiency and lifespan have led to progress in the electronics and lighting industries. The researchers at the University of Cambridge and ETH Zurich have looked back at how white LEDs have developed over the past 30 years. They also examined cost trends and engineering innovations that helped drive this progress.

The analyses showed that most improvements in the energy efficiency of LEDs were driven by research and development (R&D) efforts. However, R&D played a smaller role in reducing the cost of the devices, which was mainly due to economies of scale and improvements in manufacturing processes. The study also identified a role of “technology spillovers”—where knowledge from other technologies and scientific fields found uses in white LEDs—in improving the quality of LED light. This improvement was key to increasing consumer adoption of the technology.

– Advertisement –

These findings suggest that innovation in LEDs and other consumer-focused energy technologies may require different R&D management and policy approaches compared to supply-side energy technologies like solar and wind energy. The study offers new insights into the factors that have driven the advancement and use of LEDs over recent decades, which could help guide future efforts to improve these devices. Based on the analysis, it is recommended that LED manufacturers focus more on user needs while seeking external knowledge and research to spur innovation.

The researchers are now working on combining their findings across three technologies—white LEDs, solar photovoltaics, and lithium-ion batteries—to develop recommendations for policymakers and R&D managers on how to speed up low-carbon innovation. At the same time, they are developing new probabilistic methods for forecasting technology costs, using past data on cost and performance trends. These methods aim to better predict future costs of key technologies while accounting for the uncertainties in the innovation process.