Digital Lumens, the secretive Boston start-up, lifted the veil on its business strategy Tuesday, showing off its Intelligent Lighting System and its desire to network lighting to make it more efficient.
The company its LED based lighting system uses sensors and a wireless network
The company, like Bridgelux, which in January raised $80 million in venture funding and signed on former Seagate CEO Bill Watkins, makes low-power LED solid-state lighting chips. LED chips continue to increase in intensity and should reach price and performance parity with traditional lighting in a couple years.
Digital Lumens makes the thunderous claim its lighting systems will reduce power demands 90 percent. More typically, LED lighting draws about 25 percent of the power of an incandescent bulb, not 10 percent.
If true, the company’s products represent a significant step up over competitors.
Digital Lumens is not the first company to conceive of networked lights. Start-up Redwood Systems announced its sensor based networking technology earlier this month, and Adura Technologies, Juice Technology and Lumenergi also play in the space.
However, it hopes to differentiate itself with a mesh of wireless sensors that permit central control and management.
Commercial lighting alone is a $15 billion market, so the opportunity for the all the companies is huge. Experts expect the commercial market to be the first to adopt more expensive LED bulbs because of labor and energy savings. The bulbs last longer, so replacement is less frequentl. The larger residential market is more price-sensitive, and adoption will be delayed until bulb prices fall further.
Digital Lumens raised $11.3 million in 2009 from investors Flybridge Capital Partners, Stata Venture Partners and Black Coral Capital.
