Report Highlights

Human Centric Lighting in the U.S.: Market Overview

The U.S. human centric lighting market, covering tunable-white and circadian-effective luminaires, dynamic spectrum systems and supporting controls, reached an estimated USD 1.9 billion in 2024. Its structure reflects a layered regulatory system rather than a single national program. The Department of Energy sets federal efficiency baselines under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, while states and municipalities adopt energy codes that determine which controls must be installed in new construction.

Private actors have led product innovation. Signify, Acuity Brands and Lutron Electronics developed circadian-capable products largely through voluntary frameworks such as the WELL Building Standard administered by the International WELL Building Institute, which awards credit for circadian lighting design. Government has been dominant in healthcare, where Facility Guidelines Institute standards adopted by state licensing agencies specify lighting for patient spaces, and in federal buildings under Executive Order 14057.

Policy-Driven Growth in U.S. Human Centric Lighting

Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations, administered by the California Energy Commission, is the most consequential mechanism. The 2025 edition, effective 1 January 2026, requires automatic daylighting and occupancy controls in most non-residential spaces, pushing specifiers toward networked controls that can also deliver scheduled spectral tuning. Because California holds a large commercial construction base, compliance-driven controls purchases translate directly into human centric unit demand.

Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code, expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, grants a deduction of up to USD 5.00 per square foot for interior lighting upgrades that reduce lighting power below the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline when prevailing wage requirements are met. Building owners recover upgrade costs through tax savings, which makes tunable-white retrofits financially viable in office stock. The 2025 federal tax reconciliation law ends the deduction for projects beginning construction after 30 June 2026, creating a near-term buying window.

Regulatory Barriers and Compliance Costs

Certification adds cost and delay before products reach the job site. Luminaires and drivers require UL safety listings from a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and this process often adds three to six months to new product launches. FCC Part 15 authorization from the Federal Communications Commission applies to any luminaire with wireless controls, and smaller manufacturers absorb these testing costs more heavily than incumbents.

Tariffs raise input costs for imported drivers and fixtures. Section 301 duties administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection apply to many China-origin LED fixtures and components, with a 25 percent rate on products under USTR List 3. Importers must verify Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification to determine the applicable duty, and misclassification exposes them to back duties and penalties.

Policy-Created Opportunities in the U.S.

Healthcare modernization offers the clearest procurement pathway. The Veterans Health Administration's major medical construction program, funded through congressional appropriation, specifies patient-room lighting that supports circadian health, and hospital projects following Facility Guidelines Institute design standards require spectral tuning in patient and staff areas. Suppliers that secure approved-product status for these projects gain multi-year demand visibility.

Federal and state incentives create subsidized demand categories. Executive Order 14057 directs federal agencies to reduce building energy use, and General Services Administration projects carry this requirement into federal leases and renovations. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority offers lighting incentives for commercial retrofits, and utilities that accept DesignLights Consortium-qualified products extend these rebates to tunable-white and controls-integrated fixtures.

Market at a Glance

Leading Market Participants

• Signify
• Acuity Brands
• Lutron Electronics
• Hubbell
• Eaton
• Ideal Industries
• Current, a Daintree company
• Zumtobel Group
• ams OSRAM
• Ledvance

Regulatory and Policy Environment

The primary legislation is the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which gives the Department of Energy authority over federal efficiency standards for covered lighting products. State energy codes built on the International Energy Conservation Code, published by the International Code Council, and on ASHRAE Standard 90.1 are enforced by the California Energy Commission in California and by local building departments elsewhere. Key compliance requirements include automatic controls under Title 24, Part 6, UL listing for safety, and FCC authorization for wireless controls. Upcoming changes include the Title 24 2025 edition effective 1 January 2026, the Section 179D construction-start deadline of 30 June 2026, and the next IECC cycle with ICC development ongoing toward its 2027 edition.

Compared with regional peers, the U.S. framework is decentralized and incentive-led. Canada's National Energy Code for Buildings is adopted by provinces with comparable control requirements, yet federal tax deductions for lighting retrofits have no Canadian equivalent at the scale of Section 179D. The European Union applies mandatory ecodesign and energy labeling rules under the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC and its lighting regulation, which sets binding product-level requirements. The U.S. system therefore rewards early adoption through tax and utility mechanisms, while the EU enforces minimum performance through regulation.

Long-Term Policy Outlook for U.S. Human Centric Lighting

By 2032, state energy codes will set the main compliance floor for human centric features. California's 2025 standards will be followed by further code updates in other states, and the next IECC edition will shape how controls are specified in new commercial construction nationwide. Specifiers who understand these code cycles will shape product requirements before they reach the market.

Federal support will shift from tax incentives toward private certification and procurement. The expiry of Section 179D removes a major retrofit driver, so growth after 2026 will depend on WELL and LEED credits, utility programs and federal procurement under federal sustainability directives, which face executive-branch revision. Suppliers that align products with DesignLights Consortium criteria and UL listings will hold the strongest position as policy support narrows.