LED lights the way for venture capitalists

Entrepreneurs - as well as manufacturing and fabrication companies - looking for the next bright idea to increase their working capital may want to invest in energy-efficient lighting, experts say.

The Wall Street Journal reported that venture capital firms are increasingly turning their attention toward the lighting industry, in the expectation that the market - particularly light-emitting diod (LED) and lighting control sectors - will boom in the coming years.

Venture capital firms Braemar Energy Ventures and San VantagePoint Venture Partners are each investing $50 million in energy-efficient lighting companies, said the Journal.

The expectation is largely fueled by environmental protection and carbon emission reduction efforts - unlike fluorescent lights, LED lights do not contain mercury and last longer, the newspaper reported.

In addition, the lighting control sector is expected to get a boost not despite the recession but because of it, as consumers and businesses are investing in ways to reduce their energy costs.

"Over the next five years the advantages of LED technology over CFL [compact fluorescent lights] will become recognized, especially with respect to the quality of light, dimmability, controllability, lamp life and environmental cost of ownership," said a recent report by market research firm Strategies Unlimited.

LED lights are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 107 percent through 2013, the report said.