LED filament bulbs: The next generation of LED lighting

With aesthetic appeal and significant performance advantages, LED filament bulbs represent a flawless intersection of form and function — vintage looks and advanced engineering. Considering the market projections for LED lighting in the coming years, these filament bulbs are sure to become highly popular in the near future

An LED filament light bulb produces light with an LED that is shaped to look like the filament of an incandescent bulb. The light bulb is supplied with electric current by feed-through terminals or wires embedded in the glass.

An LED filament type light bulb was first produced by Ushio Lighting in 2008. It intended to mimic the appearance of a standard Edison light bulb.

The most common use of filament style lamps is in retro lamps, i.e., clear glass lamps that allow the ‘filaments’ to be seen.

The filament bulb market

The size of the LED filament bulb market is expected to reach approximately 300 million bulbs by 2017 and double to 600 million bulbs by 2018 (Epistar Market Analysis Report).

The LED filament bulb has become popular in the lighting market mainly because major buyers in the areas of decorative lighting, art lamps, chandeliers and classical luminaires are gradually replacing conventional light sources, including filament bulbs and halogen light sources, with LED lights. Since LED bulbs failed to meet the aesthetic demands of traditional luminaire manufacturers, it paved the way for the emergence of LED filaments in the market.