United States Emergency Lighting - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2024 - 2029)

The United States Emergency Lighting Market size is estimated at USD 1.94 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 2.70 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 6.84% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

Amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the market was witnessing halting of production and disruption in the supply chain, leading to weakened growth of industrial output and the decline of light-manufacturing output across significant manufacturing hubs.

Key Highlights

• An emergency lighting system is one of the most critical safety systems in a building. It makes it possible to stop things safely and evacuate the building by following the exit lights in case of an emergency. Emergency lighting is a standalone backup system that does not depend on the functionality of the general electrical distribution system in the building. It must always be operational and ready for use.
• The United States is one of the largest markets for emergency lighting, primarily driven by government regulations. In the country, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Life Safety Code (101) standards for emergency lighting as providing instructions for how employers can meet their general duty requirements for ensuring a safe workplace. These standards need all exit routes, including corridors, aisles, and the like, to have emergency lighting.
• As per the American Institute of Architects, construction spending is expected to grow over the next five years. Based on short-term projections, the US non-residential construction market is anticipated to grow to 2.4% by the end of 2020, as compared to the previous year (this forecast may have been affected by the COVID-19 scenario).
• According to the US Census Bureau, in the US residential construction sector, revenue increased from USD 0.3 billion in January 2010 to USD 0.6 billion in January 2018, and non-residential construction revenue increased from USD 0.6 billion in January 2010 to USD 0.8 billion in January 2018. Such growth in the construction sector is expected to create opportunities for the market across residential, commercial, and industrial applications.

US Emergency Lighting Market Trends

Development of Connected Systems and Internet of Things (IoT) and Declining Prices of LED to Drive the Market

• The development of connected systems and the Internet of Things (IoT), a central management console integrated into the system architecture, offers the customers control, the ability to monitor facilities, and apply remediation services, thus actively affecting the emergency lighting market.
• Despite the user-friendly self-testing feature, the task remains prone to human error to visually detect the emergency lighting system in a large commercial building. IoT technology is applied to simplify the maintenance and inspection of modern emergency lighting systems in such applications.
• It is done via wire-connection or wireless technology, with the prerequisite of adding network connectivity to the emergency lighting system. And the resultant is a connected emergency lighting system for remote monitoring and self-test. The concept development was done 20 years back, but the market was not ready due to cost and technology complexity. The growing and gradual acceptance of smart building and fully integrated building management systems has brought the connected emergency lighting concept back in the last three years.
• As LEDs in an industrial environment deliver savings up to 70%, the concerned emergency lights become highly controllable. Additionally, the integration of LEDs with the security industry is growing. LED luminaires are more efficient and simplify emergency lighting testing with indicators to display red or green solid or flashing LEDs for system readiness. These are required by standards such as CSA C22.2 NO. 141 in North America.
• Development of specialty LED drivers and control modules offer additional programmability to connected emergency lighting and building systems such as remote maintenance and monitoring, dimming, power metering, data collection, commissioning, to name a few. With more building owners contracting for LED retrofits to save energy, retrofitting with smart LED luminaires with on-board wireless communications is a cost-effective approach.

Commercial Sector to Dominate Market Share

• The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the construction of commercial buildings in 2020. However, the industry is expected to bounce back in line with the rapid vaccination drive in the coming years.
• According to the National Fire Protection Association's (NPFA) Life Safety Code 101, all commercial buildings in the country must have emergency and exit path lighting. Every three years, the code is updated to ensure new and existing facilities offer protection from fire and other related hazards for occupants.
• In addition, when it comes to brightness levels, the commercial emergency lights must not fall below 6.5 lux at any point of time during the hour and a half mark. Furthermore, the uniformity ratio must not go above 40:1. The lighting system must have a power supply either from a generator or battery backup. Such regulations mold the requirements of emergency lights for office buildings, restaurants, retail stores, and other commercial buildings.
• According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the average number of kilowatt-hours per square foot for a commercial building is approximately 22.5 kWh/square foot. Out of the total consumption, the lighting solely accounts for roughly 7kWh/square foot, which is the second-highest post refrigeration and equipment (8kWh/square foot). The high level of energy consumption by commercial lighting is developing a need for energy-efficient commercial emergency lights.

US Emergency Lighting Industry Overview

The US emergency lighting market is moderately competitive, with new firms entering the market and few firms enjoying a dominant market share. The companies keep on innovating and entering strategic partnerships to retain their market share.

• February 2021 - Accuity Brands Inc. announced that it was selling New York Digital Agency to Illuminations Inc., which aligns with its ongoing transformation strategy to increase customer value and sustainably grow its business significantly. Through Illuminations Inc., the company has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen its brand presence in one of the largest lighting markets in the world.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support