With lighting burning around 20% of the total electricity consumed globally, LED (light emitting diode), due to smaller size, energy efficiency, longer lifespan and quicker activation than traditional lighting sources, is regarded as the answer to future lighting needs of the 21st century, especially with the growing awareness of the importance of environmental protection.

　　The lighting industry generally agrees that LED lighting holds immense potential to replace traditional counterparts in the next decade. With global warming threats looming in the background, LED lighting has a bright future for it can be installed literally flat on surfaces, does not shatter like incandescent bulbs, nor pose mercury contaminants as with fluorescents. So featuring low thermal resistance, high luminosity and reliability, LED lighting has been the focus of R&D in recent years, and looks to become a daily lighting source in the future.

　　Despite well-publicized efforts by many nations, lighting makers and advocates have not been able to sizably increase the market shares of LED lighting, evidenced by relatively few LED lamps available at retailers. Makers optimistically predict that 1W or higher super-bright LEDs are expected to grow at 14% annual compound growth rate in the following years, but so far less than 10% of typical lighting are LED powered. After years of development, LEDs are mainly used for nighttime advertising, auto lamps and traffic lights, with its focus being turned to larger-sized displays indoors and out, but not as mainstream lighting for indoors or outdoors. The costs and prices of LEDs are some 20-times higher than for conventional lighting, as well as the luminous efficiency of white LEDs being only 40-50lm /W are the reasons cited as the hindrances to their becoming more popular. And that LEDs are rarely used in traditional commercial lighting is an issue that needs to be addressed.