Is solid state lighting ready for the incandescent lamp phase-out?

To encourage energy-efficient light sources, many governments around the globe have introduced legislation to phase out the incandescent lamp for general illumination. The United States enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that introduced minimum efficiency standards for lighting that will eliminate some incandescent lamps in the range of 40 W to 100 W by 2014. This begs the question: Is solid-state lighting ready to handle the incandescent phaseout? There is no doubt today that LED technology has advanced to a stage where it can cater to many lighting applications, including A-lamp replacements up to 60 W. However, several challenges must still be addressed before white LED based A-lamp replacements are adopted broadly in the general lighting market. The LED lighting community is actively seeking answers to many of the technical and market challenges. This paper discusses the current state of LED lighting technology, where it is in terms of performance, the challenges to be overcome, and the considerations needed if LED lighting is to succeed in the market for incandescent replacement lamps.