DOE Releases 2020 U.S. Lighting Market Characterization Report: Key Insights and Trends

The 2020 U.S. Lighting Market Characterization (LMC) is the fourth report released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Program, with the previous one based on 2015 data. These reports provide estimates of the installed stock and energy use of general illumination lighting products in the U.S., aiming to support effective DOE lighting research and development planning.

This report answers three main questions:

  1. How many lighting products of each technology were installed in the U.S. in 2020, and where?
  2. How much energy was consumed by light sources in 2020?
  3. How did U.S. lighting market characteristics change from 2015 to 2020?

The study categorizes lighting technologies into seven groups: incandescent, halogen, compact fluorescent (CFL), linear fluorescent, high-intensity discharge (HID), light-emitting diode (LED), and others. It evaluates 33 types of lighting products, detailing average wattage, operating hours, and total installed inventory.

In 2020, the residential sector dominated with 80% of all lighting installations (6.5 billion units), while the commercial sector had 1.6 billion units. Residential lighting accounted for 31% of energy consumption due to lower operating hours, whereas the commercial sector, with higher total light output and operating hours, consumed 69% of the 244 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity used for lighting. LED installations have significantly increased, now representing 48% of the installed base in both sectors. The report indicates that LED adoption is driven by decreasing costs, performance benefits, and efficiency incentive programs.

Read the report: 2020 U.S. Lighting Market Characterization | Department of Energy

Related Articles


Latest Articles

  • NSL Promotes Jason Fisher to National Sales Manager

    NSL Promotes Jason Fisher to National Sales Manager

    National Specialty Lighting (NSL) has promoted Jason Fisher to National Sales Manager for the U.S. He has been an NSL rep for over a year, most recently serving as Regional Manager for the Mid and Southeast U.S. for the past 5 months. In that role, he demonstrated strong leadership, a deep understanding of customer needs,… Read More…

  • IES Appoints Carolyn Woods as Director of Membership

    IES Appoints Carolyn Woods as Director of Membership

    The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) has appointed Carolyn Woods as Director/ Membership. Woods began her role on December 1 and will lead strategic initiatives to enhance member engagement, retention, and growth as IES advances its 2026-2028 Strategic Plan focused on lasting, scalable growth. Woods brings more than one decade of association management expertise to IES,… Read More…