“LED lamps allow for better dimming control than standard street lights, and their electronics allow for easy integration of control nodes,” says senior research analyst Eric Woods. “Rising sales of LED lamps will therefore drive up the adoption of smart street lighting systems, which promise to bring new levels of control and efficiency to the illumination of our cities, communities, highways, and public spaces.”

In the past few years a lot of changes have taken place in the street lighting market. Most notably, the introduction of LED street lights and smart lighting controls has changed the landscape and outlook of the market as a whole. Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, forecasts that unit shipments of LED lamps for street lights will rise from fewer than 3 million in 2012 to more than 17 million in 2020. The company notes that a number of companies have sprung up to produce lighting control software and hardware for LED street lights. Pike Research says that many of these companies have already failed. Additionally, some of the larger control and lighting companies are developing their own products for the smart street lighting market. And the larger companies such as Cree are taking over other companies such as Ruud Lighting and BetaLED.