UK Photonics SWOT –lighting

Strengths

• Proximity to designers
• Strength of OLED and flexible electronic research including development of manufacturing processes
  
• Whole system understanding providing a total lighting solution rather than collection of component
  
• Micro-electronics and software design skills
  
• Substantial investment in GaN on silicon LED production capability
  
• Volume semiconductor Epi-wafer production

Weaknesses

• No established indigenous high power LED chip manufacturer (Plessy intend to start volume HB LED production shortly)
  
• General lighting market requires large scale production
• OLED vulnerability to environmental conditions
• Shortage of quality marks/standards to differentiate reliable high quality product from low cost low quality imports
• Complexity and diversity of interdependent IP covering LED devices

Opportunities

• Strong environmental awareness
• Strength of creative industries especially interior design & architecture
  
• Substantial internal market
  
• Smart / adaptive lighting
• Human centric lighting ie biodynamic (as it’s a system)
• Internet of things – connected systems add value beyond cost
• Break from traditional / replacement lighting solutions by increased use of size/thermal /colour potential of solid state lighting.
• Use of low voltage DC electrical networks for solid state lighting

O&T

• Regulation / subsidies for adoption
• National nature of building regulations
• Diversity of requirements between industrial / civil applications and domestic/ designer application

Threats

• REACH
• Conservative approach of public procurement
• Disconnect in biodynamic lighting where benefits are with user and procurement is by building owner
• Developers motivated to reduce upfront costs at expense of lifecycle costs.
• New build adoption dependent on construction industry cycles / housing market
• Negative users perception created from low quality, low cost LED products
• Lack of understanding by users/ developers of potential of solid state lighting to enable greater design freedom
• Lack of separate treatment between solid state lighting and conventional lighting in building regulations.