The transformation of indoor lighting by advances in LED technology has been swift and dramatic in recent years.

Now the fixtures are ready to transform the outdoors.

According to Guidehouse Insights, Boulder, Colo., demand for LEDs for the outdoors is on the upswing.

The market research firm released its report, “Market Data: Outdoor Lighting Systems”, in September. The analysis examines the market for outdoor lighting and lighting controls in a number of applications.

The market study identifies a number of factors contributing to the growth of LEDs in outdoor lighting. Businesses and governments have increasingly embraced energy-efficient outdoor lighting systems to help them reduce energy consumption and costs, and to help them meet established goals for reducing carbon emissions. Improvements in LED technology and reductions in their cost have made it a good choice to meet those goals.

LEDs also work well with smart technology, and many cities have incorporated them into their “smart city” strategies, especially as it concerns “smart streetlighting” efforts. LEDs can be applied to a city’s outdoor smart lighting strategy in a number of places, including parks and public areas, sports parks, commercial site lighting, parking lots, parking garages, university and college campuses, roadways and highways and other outdoor sites.

Concurrent with the growth of LEDs in outdoor lighting has been the expansion of outdoor lighting controls. According to Guidehouse, smart lighting controls help cities save energy, enhance public safety and reduce maintenance costs. Smart lighting controls can be applied to such diverse situations as traffic monitoring, parking assistance, gunshot detection, weather prediction and air quality control.

Guidehouse projects outdoor lighting device shipments to increase globally at an annual rate of 1.5% for the next 10 years. Within that growth, shipments of LEDs are expected to completely replace other lighting technologies, including high pressure sodium, fluorescent, induction and other types of lamps, by the year 2029.