Bright future awaits smart lighting

Lighting fixtures capable of smartphone and intelligent home device functions will be big in the market in the coming years.

In a market outlook report, research firm IHS laid out some of the trends to anticipate in 2015, including the merging of LED, smart sensor and wireless communication technologies. As the concept of the "connected home" expands, the industry will see more light bulbs being operated by the user's personal electronics via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth commands, and mobile phone apps, taking on surveillance tasks and providing various entertainment forms for the home.

Just recently, China-based Sengled successfully released a smart light bulb spruced up with Bluetooth speakers and a camera. The manufacturer sees the product as a market game changer and one that would revolutionize consumer habits, even likening it to the iPhone. In an interview with CNBC, Sengled general manager Alex Ruan said home automation with light bulbs "adds a lot of value so you don't have to constantly add devices to your home." Ruan pointed to convenience and energy savings as the key advantages of the product.

While smart light bulbs are priced about $50 to $100 and above, Cree offers a smart light bulb that costs $15. The unit matches Wink and ZigBee hubs, and Apple's HomeKit. Whether this will affect quotes from other industry giants remains to be seen.

With other companies also adding consumer electronics tech to their lighting solutions, it is certain that there is more to be expected from the smart lighting industry in the next several years and signs show the market is heading toward a growth path. In one of its reports, US-based global market research and consulting company MarketsandMarkets said the smart lighting market will have a 15.8 percent CAGR from 2014 to 2020, and market value will hit $56.05 billion by 2020.