High-Intensity Fluorescent Lights: The Next Big Thing?

Sometimes it's the simplest things that wow people and really take off. This month, CNN Money thinks fluorescent lights is the trend to invest in. Yeah, they've been around a while, but it turns out that with a bit of tweaking, they are now even more efficient and usable.

High-intensity fluorescent lights, produced by Orion Energy Systems, Inc., may be the next big IPO to watch out for, following past trends such as ethanol, solar stocks and electrical grid management firms.

It turns out that big warehouses often don't use fluorescent lights because the bulbs just aren't strong enough, so the company has developed extra strong fluorescent bulbs that can save a company up to 50 percent in lighting costs and provide better light. And its Apollo Light Pipes use no electricity at all, instead using lenses to capture sunlight and force it indoors.

Companies such as General Electric and Coca Cola use lighting systems from Orion, which has installed almost a million systems since its inception. About 19 percent of a building's carbon dioxide emissions typically come from lighting, so this is a smart way to reduce that pollution and save money.