Neon lighting is a leading cause of fires at restaurants, and the signs are vulnerable to vandalism. By contrast, LED signs made of Plexiglas are tough. At the trade show, iLight exhibited an LED sign that still worked after taking a blast from a shotgun.
The limitation: iLight¡¯s signs can¡¯t be made economically on a one-off bases, as done at small neon-signs shops around the country.
The feature of LEDs likely to propel them into homes is aesthetic, not practical. Arrays that mix red , green and blue LEDs can produce any color of the rainbow. Instead of a dimmer, you might have three sliding knobs that let you mix color.
¡¡ãOn a very hot day, you might want blue light to cool it down a bit, or on a winter day, you may want to simulate sunlight,¡¡À said Steve Landau of Lumileds Lighting, an LED-making joint venture of Agilent Technologies Inc. and Philips Lighting.
Qantas Airways Ltd, the Australian airline, recently outfitted its first-class cabin with LED lighting that shines a deep blue when it¡¯s time to sleep.
A system like that would be too expensive for most homes. But industry experts believe the price will come down in a few years as technology develops.
¡¡ãWe are still in a very young research environment,¡¡À said Norbert Hiller, vice president at Cree Inc. of Durham N.C. which produces blue and green LEDs. ¡¡ãOur researchers keep surprising us.