Successful Innovation, Competitors Follow, Now What?

Building a successful business starts with solving a real problem.  Accelerating the adoption of LED technology into commercial building infrastructure was initially hindered by the exorbitant cost associated with the process, which included purchasing expensive LED fixtures and then paying an electrical contractor to remove the existing light fixture and replacing it with the new LED technology.

There must be a Better Way
While the energy savings benefits of the LED technology were not questioned, the overall economics of the proposition of removing a perfectly good light fixture and replacing it with LED lighting just did not pencil out. There must be a better way.  Why not just keep the fixture and swap the light bulb with an LED bulb?  Sounds simple, and somewhat obvious but whoa, a problem existed which was not allowing a plug-and-play LED lamp solution to be deployed.

Commercial light fixtures use an electrical component called a ballast to make fluorescent and HID bulbs (think tubes, CFLs, Metal Halides, and High Pressure Sodium) operate. This has been the case for decades, so ballasts are a part of the lighting infrastructure in nearly every commercial building in the United States.  The problem is that LEDs and Ballasts are fundamentally incompatible.

Beginnings of BallastLED^TM
To solve this industry wide barrier to entry, we created a new market segment of LED bulbs that operate directly off of existing fluorescent and HID ballasts, making the transition to LED as simple as changing a light bulb.

Innovative electronics integrated into Lunera’s BallastLED lamps allow them to plug directly into ballast driven fixtures, avoiding the expense and disruption of having to replace or modify an existing light fixture in order to capture the benefits of LED lighting.

Lunera technologists solved this problem with the invention of the Helen Lamp, the first simple plug-and-play solution, which replaces the common CFLs commonly found in recessed down lights.

A Million Helen Lamps Sold
The Helen Lamp reduces energy consumption by 50%-70%, eliminates five maintenance cycles, and improves overall light quality in the space by deploying LED technology at a fraction of the cost of a full fixture replacement. The market responded favorably by demanding over 1 Million units in little more than one year – faster than the first iPod penetrated the existing market for portable music. See our infographic.

Lunera’s invention of the plug-and-play LED bulb and subsequent establishment of a robust market for the technology formed the foundation of a fast growing, very successful business. Whenever there is success, people take notice and want to join. That is now the case with the plug-and-play market segment we created.

A new Market is Born

“China Inc.” remained true to form and began creating its usual facsimilies of the early test models of our BallastLED^TM products. Then the large lighting companies with established brands and significant channel muscle also started to enter the space with their own plug-and-play offerings.

An appropriate interpretation of this activity can be summed up by a quote from an English Newspaper, The Spectator, No. 605 published way back in October of 1714.

“Imitation is a kind of Artless Flattery”

The result is interesting. The new market entrants are validating our innovation and will help bring credibility to the plug-and-play category in the commercial lighting market.  The opportunity to upgrade existing lighting infrastructure to LED is so massive, the familiar brands will play an important role in creating awareness of the value of this elegant solution and help stimulate demand for all involved. Additionally, the new market entrants will spur more innovation in the category as companies seek to continue to bring value through differentiation.

At Lunera, we have a pipeline of new products in the works that are both visionary and exciting.  It’s our intention to continue to raise the bar in the lighting industry by continually delivering innovative LED solutions that are simple to deploy, reliable to operate and valuable to own.

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