IKEA Becomes First Major US Retailer To Sell LED-Only Lighting Range

Global retailer behemoth IKEA announced earlier this month that it would become the first major US retailer to sell an LED-only lighting range in-store.

As of September 1, with the release of new catalogs and products, IKEA will become the only major retailer in the United States to only sell LED bulbs and lighting, “to enable customers to live a more sustainable life at home.” Originally announced back in 2012, the move has resulted in US customers purchasing 7.6 million LED bulbs.

A survey conducted by Wakefield Research for IKEA in 2012 and again in 2015 found that consumers are ever-more likely to purchase LED bulbs and lighting:

• In 2015, 64% of Americans purchased at least one LED light bulb for their household, compared to 49% in 2012. And in 2015, 51% of Americans have purchased several LED bulbs for their home, up from 39% in 2012.
• There is still an opportunity to improve Americans’ understanding of the benefits of LEDs. 68% of Americans still do not know that LED bulbs can last an average of 20 years and 34% don’t realize that LEDs use less electricity than other bulbs.

“LED is a light revolution. With household electricity bills continuing to rise rapidly and global energy consumption increasing, the LED lighting will have a big impact,” said Steve Howard, Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Group. “Building on our belief that everyone should be able to afford to live more sustainably at home, we will make sure our LED prices are affordable for the many.”

“At IKEA, we believe that everyone should be able to afford to live a more sustainable life at home and save money on their energy bills,” added Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. President. “Also using less energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Changing a light bulb may seem like a small action but many small actions can lead to a big change. Note that if one million people changed one bulb each into an LED this would be equivalent to taking 6,700 cars off the road or planting 17 million trees per year. That’s significant.”

IKEA is also taking regular steps to reduce its own energy usage, and to focus more on renewable energy: The company’s goal is to produce as much renewable energy as the total energy IKEA consumes globally by 2020. In fact, IKEA renewable energy investments in the US will produce four times more energy than the company uses in the country. IKEA Group and IKEA Foundation also recently committed $1.12 billion to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, as well as to support communities most likely to be at risk from climate change.

IKEA is also regularly in the news here at CleanTechnica as a result of the company’s overall desire to expand its renewable energy use. One prime example comes from June of this year, when IKEA announced that it would invest €600 million over the next five years on wind power and solar power.