Pilots and passengers of commercial planes will be under the glow of more LED lights in the coming years. As LEDs have become cheaper and technological advances have made them the most sustainable lighting solution, more industries are replacing their old commercial lighting fixtures with LEDs.
A report by Research and Markets forecasted a $1.25 billion growth to the commercial aircraft lighting market by 2017, and that growth is to include more LED lights. Planes are packed with lights: lights for the passengers, lights for the pilots and lights for the staff. All of those lights consume a lot of energy, and rising aircraft fuel prices are already weighing on the commercial aviation industry and passengers.
LEDs excel in efficacy by giving off more light with fewer watts, and they are directional. Their lumen to watt ratio helps them last longer, which reduces costs on replacements. Of all the lights on a plane, reading lights are used the most. The directionality of LEDs is beneficial for a light that needs to concentrate a beam on one passenger's book without disturbing neighboring passengers.
Indoor LED lighting applications are rapidly appearing across many industries, and this widespread usage will set the standard for all commercial lighting. As shown through their future placement in commercial planes, no industry wants to miss out on the trend.
