Faster LED deployment will ensure the success of Europe's lighting industry and help reduce energy use from lighting by 20% by 2020. But Europe also faces a number of challenges and more input is needed from citizens and businesses to refine the policy. To this end a consultation will run until 29 February 2012 to collect feedback on the Commission's ideas.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said: "Expanding LED lighting is a 'no-brainer'. It means more money in your pocket, and a healthier planet. Please give us your ideas on how to speed up its deployment and maximise the number of jobs and savings Europe can gain from expanding the use of LED lighting."
LED lighting faces a number of challenges in the market: high purchase prices because it is a more sophisticated technology compared to the alternatives, lack of familiarity among potential users and a lack of common standards.
Key questions for the public consultation include:
Boosting energy saving LED-based lighting is a key objective of the Digital Agenda for Europe. With the phasing out of the sale of traditional light bulbs in the EU by September 2012, in the next few years about 8 billion incandescent lamps in European homes, offices and streets will need to be replaced by more energy efficient lighting solutions. These include LED and organic LED (or OLED) lighting technologies also known as Solid State Lighting (SSL). SSL offers both high quality light and visual performance and increasingly good design options, and can drive innovation in the lighting and construction sectors and offers tremendous opportunities for our businesses – many of them SMEs – leading to jobs and growth in Europe.
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