tests are under way of LED lights in the parking

Some companies and a growing number of cities have started adding LEDs incrementally. For such users, the savings LEDs provide on energy bills, bulb-replacement and labor costs can often cover the higher up-front cost in about a year, industry experts say.Raleigh,recently installed led high bay light in parking decks and other outdoor spaces. Dan Howe, assistant city manager, estimates that in one underground parking deck the change will save the city more than $700,000 in energy and maintenance costs over the 15-year lifetime of the LED products.After tests at two of its stores in Texas and Colorado, has decided to use LEDs in the freezers and refrigerators at all 4,200 of its stores in the U.S. A company spokesperson adds that tests are under way of LED lights in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store in Arkansas.

For now, price remains the biggest obstacle, especially for residential use. But there are signs that this is changing as well. Consider "down lights," the kind of directional, recessed lighting that is common in many homes and offices. LEDs are well-suited for this kind of lighting because they typically provide directional light. But despite their suitability for this purpose, Sloan Ritchie, a sustainable-home builder in Seattle, says he isn't yet installing LED down lights because they're too expensive: about $80 each, compared with $15 for an incandescent and $35 for a fluorescent. Even though LEDs offer savings in the long run -- and use less energy -- consumers still are reluctant to pay more up front. However, with LED prices falling about 25% a year, Mr. Ritchie says he may begin using them next year.

According to the Energy Department's Mr. Brodrick, some manufacturers already are test-marketing products in stores of Home Depot Inc., the big home-improvement retailer. Meanwhile, for the LED market itself to light up. For one, as often happens with new technology, the quality of led flood light products currently on the market is uneven. Of 140 LED products in stores and tested by the U.S. Energy Department, more than half were considered poor quality. People get kind of interested.