High performance LED outdoor lighting technologies are expected to offer 50 per cent or more power savings compared to the traditional billboard systems. They last longer and are easier to maintain and operate.
By Baishakhi Dutta
Being the second-most populous country in the world and ranked as the fifth highest electricity consumer globally, India is witnessing a widening electricity demand-supply gap. Consequently, the use of energy-efficient LED lighting will only grow in the coming years. Increased government support and the introduction of innovative LED lighting products by manufacturers have led to a fall in LED prices. So consumers now have more options to choose from, in accordance with their needs and preferences.
With the changing form factors in outdoor advertising, LED technology has become a major preference in this vertical as well. Large LED screens attract more attention and offer new ways of interacting with consumers. Therefore, the demand for outdoor LED displays is also poised to grow in the future.
What’s trending
At present, the LED outdoor display business is being driven by a number of technological factors. Low voltage scanning and low power consumption are the major benefits of the technology, apart from long life, low cost and high brightness. These lights can be seen from a large distance and are waterproof, which are the other factors in their favour.
A new technology that is ruling the LED outdoor landscape is mass control technology. The speciality of this technology is that it can synchronise the content, colour and brightness of a large number of displays, at the same time. More interestingly, it can adjust the technical specifications in real-time through a network-connected LED display. It also enables independent operation.
The mass control business model is taking over the outdoor display space due to its advantages compared to single point control systems. Outdoor advertisers are now availing substantial savings in this way.
Benefits aplenty
LED digital display boards for outdoor advertising are easy to change quickly, at a very low cost. The initial cost of purchasing and installing the digital display board will be higher than conventional painted or printed outdoor advertising. However, there are a number of advantages that guarantee you a healthy payback. First, LEDs offer energy savings of 50 to 90 per cent compared to High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights, the most common alternative in the market. The energy savings will ensure a return on investment within one to three years.
Outdoor advertising is usually mounted at a height so that it can be visible to a large number of people in the surrounding area. The other advantage of placing it at a height is that it 
cannot be tampered with. But these two factors also mean that it is more inaccessible when maintenance issues crop up or when the displays need to be changed. In the latter case, the advertiser can change an LED digital display as required through smart connectivity. Using suitable networking and programming software, the message on the digital display board can be changed remotely—even through mobile devices. By using a digital display board, the advertising message can be changed as often as required, resulting in higher revenues.
India is a price-sensitive market and hence the initial cost of outdoor lighting becomes a major consideration for customers. Business requirements, preferences and budgets vary from customer to customer, which is why estimating a specific cost for outdoor lighting is challenging. However, by talking to an industry expert, a tentative range of market prices is given below. This will provide a cost range for LED outdoor displays and help in planning a big investment accordingly.
The prices of LED outdoor lighting as on January 2018 were as follows:
₹ 19,620 per cabinet of size 61cm x 61cm, approximately
₹ 39,240 per cabinet of size 122cm x 61cm, approximately
₹ 35,000 per cabinet of size 50cm x 50cm, approximately
(Note: The above mentioned prices has been quoted by Intek LED Display Screens, a manufacturer of outdoor LED lights.)
Market performance
It is no secret that businesses invest a good chunk of their annual budgets on outdoor advertisements. LED displays have outclassed ordinary advertising displays due to all the advantages they offer. Apart from billboards, LED are also used in posters and light-box advertisements. Even street signs, which initially used neon lights, have adopted LEDs. So, it is safe to say that the market demand for LEDs is at its peak.
Outdoor lighting applications garnered a revenue share of over 60 per cent in the Indian LED lighting market in 2015 and the trend is expected to continue through 2021. The highest adoption of LED lighting products has been recorded in the southern and northern states of India due to higher literacy rates, better disposable incomes and rising awareness about the benefits of LEDs.
However, with high demand comes greater competition. Even as LED manufacturers are racing to get a bigger share of the pie, their profit margins are falling. However, the profit figures vary with regard to the outdoor LED displays we are discussing. For instance, profits from putting up outdoor LED video walls vary from city to city. For manufacturers in Tier I cities, incomes are quite stable and are four to ten times higher than in the case of traditional displays, in general. However, the same cannot be said in the case of Tier II and Tier III cities, looking at the comparatively lower investments in LED displays by businesses in these cities.
Future market analysis
According to a TechSci Research report, ‘India LED Lighting Market By Type, By Application, By End Use Sector, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 – 2021’, the LED lighting market in India is projected to register a CAGR of over 30 per cent, during 2016-2021, on account of rising personal disposable incomes, growing government initiatives encouraging the use of LED lights and increasing focus on smart city projects.
The rising urban population across the country, which stood at 31 per cent of the total population in 2011, and rose to over 45 per cent in 2017, is expected to further drive demand for LED lighting in India during the next five years.
According to 6Wresearch, India’s LED lighting market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 26.6 per cent during 2017-23. The outdoor LED lighting market is projected to reach US$ 21.95 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 13.7 per cent between 2017 and 2023.
The growth of the market will be propelled by the increasing demand for energy-efficient lighting systems, modernisation and development of infrastructure such as smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT)-based lighting. A further fall in the prices of LEDs will improve penetration in more outdoor lighting applications, such as architectural, highways, roads and public places.
