Taiwan International Lighting Show
International Lighting Forum: The Taiwan International Lighting Show (TILS) presented updates on LED adaption around the world plus expansions in CCFL and induction lighting. During the opening ceremonies for TILS, Jan Denneman, vp/Philips Lighting and chairman of the Global Lighting Forum, said, “We all know the lighting world is under tremendous change. For 120 years, people have lived with traditional lighting sources, and now that world has been revolutionized by LED. “LED technology offers even more opportunity: it makes creating true lighting systems easier, offers environmental protection, plus design freedom and biological effectiveness,” Denneman stated. “Lighting is responsible for 18 percent of the world’s electricity – and 50 percent of that is ‘wasted’ light. On a global scale, 50 percent of 18 percent is a lot. A switch to LED could replace 24 power plants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly.” He added, “Since LED is an electronic component, it can easily be integrated into ‘smart’ systems. Studies show that good lighting has a positive effect on worker productivity as well as the ability for children to learn, plus it provides a feeling of well-being. These effects can be better controlled with LED lighting than by traditional light sources. LEDs also invite creative lighting design because they are so small and can be hidden easily, allowing for greater design freedom.” Wolfgang Gregor of Osram, who serves as the vice president of the European Lamp Companies Federation, remarked, “Although you might have heard of some [financial] turbulence in the EU, the SSL market is very positive. Steady sustainable growth can be forecasted, however, European consumers will accept LED retrofit illumination only. We are still two to three years away to [offering] less glare and better color, but we are on the right track. The Europeans will need more time to accept LED when it comes to color-rendering and glare. European customers are picky and like warm color.” Gregor went on to say that the EU Commission is preparing a green paper on the future of lighting in Europe in effort to accelerate the uptake of LED technology. “In Europe, there is EcoDesign legislation that covers all electrical goods entering Europe,” he stated. “Requirements will include lifetime and functionality.” Gregor offered this warning: “Low-quality products must not destroy the acceptance of LED technology before a significant portion of market penetration has taken place. We need the consumers’ trust.” Bryan Douglas, CEP of the Lighting Council Australia, also spoke during the opening address. “In Australia, many LEDs are purchased online and many are poor quality. We fear consumers will be disappointed,” he stated. “There are many start-up companies supplying LEDs that do not match the claims being made. Consumers and installers are easily misled about LEDs. They lack an understanding of the technology and we must educate them. They are still thinking in terms of watts and not in lumens per watt.” Douglas observed that products that claim to be the equivalent of a 75-watt halogen, when tested, came closer to a 25- or 40-watt halogen instead. “We see the same problem occurring in the stated lifetimes,” he added. “Consumers will be confused by the range of these lifetimes. There are also concerns about safety and the failure in installations,” he remarked. “Queensland University of Technology testing has shown that many LED products have failed to meet the specifications for the application they were designed for,” Douglas cautioned. “Although there are many excellent products available, there are many more poor-performing ones. The Australian government will likely regulate LEDs by introducing minimum energy and performance requirements. We are considering Energy Star® as a temporary measure,” he said. In India, Shyam Sujan, the secretary general of the Electrical Lamp & Components Manufacturers’ Association (ELCMA), noted that the industry has been growing at a rate of 14-17 percent per year in his country. “We expect it to continue to grow at this pace for the next four years,” he observed. Noting that CFL technology is the most prevalent, he added, “We decided to bring LED to India. First we identified the barriers: limited availability of LED technology; high initial cost and a long payback time; an absence of national standards, which means low-quality products are likely; low consumer awareness; and no incentive to set up manufacturing.” The solution was to put together a task force to form a national plan. “We felt it was very important to have standards and testing labs,” Sujan said. “We have also asked the government to create testing labs, and to that end the government has approved the finances to fund these labs. We want to encourage domestic manufacturing of this technology’s materials and processes.” Sujan stated that many stores that were using incandescent switched to CFL to save energy. “However, we learned that CFL isn’t as efficient for some product displays, so there was a [migration] to halogen. We propose a change-over to LED,” he explained. The most successful adaption for LED in India so far has been in roadway illumination. The country’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency has put together an initiative to provide LED street lighting. Sujan said his association has “created an awareness program to promote LED applications, hosted numerous workshops and seminars in key cities, and produced guidelines for LED streetlights.” It is Sujan’s hope that all facets of the ELCOMA – manufacturers, designers, and assemblers – unite to address the adoption of LED technology. Throughout TILS, exhibitors stressed that CFLs are the majority of each company’s business, however, LEDs are the future and the Taiwan show was the best opportunity to present each firm’s advances. At Jan Cheng Lighting, international manager Dr. Chenwei Huang noted, “Many consumers are worried that LED lighting will be ugly. We are showing that this is not the case. This is not some far-away technology; it’s here now.” The firm offers LED products under the Dance Light brand name. “We have CE listings and some of our products will go under UL testing,” he said. “We are paying attention to market needs and are considering how people feel under the light. This is not like creating LED lighting for use in a computer or appliance.” Approximately 20 percent of the company’s business is in LED, the rest is comprised of incandescent and CFL light sources. Dr. Huang reported that the booth had visitors from the U.S., England, India, Dubai, Vietnam, and Australia as well as domestic companies. Delta offers SSL products running the gamut from packaging and drivers to finished products. The company – which has done OEM for 40 years – was showcasing its J lamp, offering 1,000 lumens, using 10.5 watts, and 120-degree illumination. An omni-directional version at 270 degrees is also available. In addition, there are PAR lamp equivalents in LED as well as M16. With an office in the U.S., Delta offers UL listing on some of its products. “We concentrate on color quality, uniformity, and the reduction of glare,” a Delta spokesman said. “If you want to satisfy the professional lighting designers, you have to offer them something different. We pay attention to things like color break and have introduced a tube that does not [show] color break. We sell an integrated program, not just a bulb. Even with so many players in the market, we believe there is a lot of potential.” Officials from DuaLux Lighting, the parent company of Vaxcel in the U.S., said, “Fluorescent is going to have a short lifespan in lighting, and not only because of the mercury/pollution issue. Soon, all lighting will be LED. You will still have the candelabra and A bulbs, but the light source will change to LED.” DuaLux, which also operates under the Nextech brand, displayed outdoor lanterns in LED with two levels of lighting. At dusk, a photocell allows the lanterns to provide 30 feet of ambient illumination at a low level. If a person comes close, it goes to full brightness for up to five minutes (the amount is set by the user) before returning to the previous setting. With 58 years of operation, Taiwan Lighting has a long history in the country. The company offers high-bay as well as other commercial fixtures. “We have 20 years of experience with heat induction,” noted Thomas Lin, president. “A lot of technology companies are trying to enter the LED market, but they need to spend a lot in cost and must build trust in their brand. We do not have this problem.” Providing an alternative to LED is the Taiwan-based company Wellypower, which is part of a conglomerate. This company is reportedly the fourth largest supplier of CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lighting) in the world. A spokesperson for Wellypower noted that the company focuses on product design and pointed to its history of repeatedly winning the prestigious Red Dot award. “We try to be different from everyone else – but with a cost advantage,” she said. The new Ceres product replicates the size and shape of the typical A bulb. “CCFL can be done in any shape and lasts for approximately 20,000 hours,” she added. “A CFL is very thick, but CCFL can be done with very thin diameters.” Wellypower is in the process of getting UL approval and expanding its distribution worldwide, she noted. Wellypower is developing LED products as well. “We do our own packaging for our LED modules,” she explained. “We control the light source from the chip level to the package. We have one of the thinnest LED downlights on the market. You will rarely see the heat sink in our LED products. We don’t want to be me-too, we want to be me-first.” LVD started out as a cold induction company called Sunlite Energy Co., with factories in Taiwan and China. “Induction lighting has high efficacy,” a spokesperson said. “It’s a surface light source that is not concentrated in one spot.” Compared to HID, induction lamps have very little start-up time and can also be switched on and off without damaging the lamp, according to the spokesman, who added that there is “very little” energy wasted when producing light plus it offers high color rendering. “LED and induction lamps can co-exist,” he pointed out. Induction lamps do not exceed 85 degrees and can be used in warehouses, offices, and for landscape and walkway applications. The spokesman said, “Some of our lamps are in Boeing’s facilities as well as Taiwan University. After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, many companies there sought out induction lamps in the aftermath. We expect growth in Japan, plus Central and South America.” The spokesman outlined a few more benefits of induction lighting. “You can look into it; there is no glare, it’s easy on the eyes,” he said. “There is no flicker and no eye strain. There isn’t a need to develop a cooling solution either. Induction lamps can also be integrated with solar power. Unlike LEDs, the induction lighting market has been booming,” he affirmed. Another big proponent of induction lighting is Amko Solara. “I think induction lighting has reached a tipping point,” a spokesman said. “It’s become very popular in factories and for street lighting.” In fact, the company has furnished several large cities globally with induction street lighting. “San Diego decided to go with induction after researching LED versus induction,” the spokesman reported. Amko Solara has also outfitted several cities in Mexico as well as those in Singapore, South Africa, Vietnam, the U.K., and Indonesia with roadway lighting. “The use of special coatings and other technologies is what makes induction a suitable solution,” he added. “Just in the first quarter of 2012 alone, we have doubled our revenue from last year.” LED chip maker Genesis Protonics established a USA division (GPI USA) in 2010. It has several products undergoing UL consideration. “We want to add value and improve brightness without adding cost,” explained Dr. Charles Li. The firm exhibited at HD Expo in Las Vegas. “Our customer is the package manufacturer,” Dr. Li said. “We don’t want to be the biggest in the world, we want to have our niche. We care more about giving value than being the lowest cost.” GPI USA plans to expand into Canada, as well as Central and South America. At Tess, a spokesperson observed, “Technology improves very quickly – and in Taiwan, it moves very fast.” The company offers a 2,000-lumen product that has patents in the U.S. and Japan and has achieved UL. “We are partners with several U.S. companies,” she added. There is also a dimmable, 1,000-lumen cool white product that is equivalent to a 100-watt bulb. Tess also provides solar lighting systems, but the payback is often long and adoption will need more government-supported initiatives. “CFL is still a major market in Taiwan,” she noted. A representative from Everlight said the company believes adoption of LED is not far off. “It took about 10 years for CFLs to be accepted in the Taiwanese market. I don’t think LED will take that long,” she said. The firm just launched a lighting fixture series last year plus accent lamps in 2012.
Everlight already has its own components, PCB board, and drivers. Epistar, Taiwan’s most well-known LED chip maker, is known for its red LEDs. “We use red LED, not red phosphor like most chip makers,” a spokesman said. “By using red LED, you have higher CRI and efficacy, however, using red phosphor will give you lower CRI.” The caveat is that red LED is more sensitive to heat, making it more sensitive to color shift. Epistar debuted a chip that offers 150 lumens per watt. “With higher lumens per watt, you can have a smaller heat sink,” he explained. “A smaller heat sink means more omni-direction, which will look more like a traditional A bulb.”: Taiwan International Lighting Show International Lighting Forum LED Lighting: October 2012 Product Review The LED Turns 50 – And Is Better Than Ever! Ten Facts About The LED Light Bulb
