Homebase says it works "very closely with suppliers and in-store colleagues to ensure that customers are informed about how to reduce light pollution and considerate lighting when they purchase outdoor lighting".

BBC: Light pollution: Is there a solution?

The Federal Trade Commission is said to be skittish on antitrust grounds about green-lighting the purchase by the two music wholesalers, who jointly run smaller Web sites columbiahouse.com and totale.com.

FORBES

Eight19, a start-up spun out of Cambridge University, has a similar model in which small payments, like those used to buy kerosene, allow the purchase of a solar-lighting system to be spread out.

ECONOMIST: Solar lighting

However, the purchase of stock tied to the options play suggests one strategist is cautiously optimism on the maker of LED lighting products ahead of earnings.

FORBES: Bulls Barge Into Cree Call Options Before Earnings, Speculate On Sears