Lighting Revolution Facts & Views

India Lighting Industry outlook and new initiatives for domestic and municipal industry.

Did you know that lighting is a major source of energy consumption?  By reducing the carbon footprint of our lamps, we can literally cut millions of tons of CO2 emissions each year. Electricity used over the lifetime of a single incandescent bulb costs 5 to 10 times the original purchase price of the bulb itself. While many people are familiar with compact fluorescent bulbs, light emitting diodes (LED) bulbs are actually the greener choice.  Particularly when they are solar LED lights. Solar LED lights are used by more than just homeowners.  Airports, marine crews, outdoors people, and communities in developing nations all rely on these convenient lighting options.

Light emitting diode (LED) lighting has changed the outlook of Indian lighting market over the last few years, by rapidly displacing many conventional technologies such as incandescent, HID, and fluorescent lighting. LEDs’ energy efficiency, lesser maintenance costs, and eco friendliness have popularized LEDs in street lighting & domestic lighting applications. Unlike heat-emissive light sources such as incandescent bulbs, LEDs produce heat but do not dissipate it, making them one of the greenest and coolest light sources available. As LEDs are the most miniature light sources available, they can be custom designed for the application they cater to from street light to mobile phone lighting & Commercial display to domestic lighting bulb. This flexibility helps lighting companies produce more lighting designs with LEDs than with any other lighting technology. The worldwide lighting market will grow to approximately EUR 110 billion ($159 billion) in 2020, with 80% of total from general lighting, according to a report from McKinsey & Company (Munich, Germany). Sales of LEDs are expected to soon completely eliminate incandescent bulbs. The LED lighting market is anticipated to grow 45% per year through 2019. The LED lighting market at $4.8 billion in 2012 is anticipated to go to $42 billion by 2019. The reason is the declining price points, the increased interest by the channel in pushing LEDs to consumers. LED lamps lower the overall cost of lighting. LED lighting costs are less than the costs of incandescent lights. LED lamps offer up to 50,000 hours of illumination with a fraction of the energy used by traditional incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs generate 90% less heat than incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs extend time between bulb replacements. The bulbs are used to achieve a near zero-maintenance lighting system. LED lighting products are coming to market rapidly. Suppliers carry up to 150 different LED bulb and lamp styles to fit the various needs of consumers and businesses. LED lighting products face competition in the general lighting market from both traditional lighting technologies provided by numerous vendors as well as from LED-based lighting products provided by a growing roster of industry specialized participants. The emergence of cost-competitive LEDs has caused a “paradigm shift” in the lighting industry that has changed everything. The LED lighting industry rapid technological change has been brought by enormous changes in the regulations affecting lighting. Short product lifecycles are a result of new manufacturing and materials science that are the result of companies trying to improve the economies of scale to make price points more attractive to customers.

LED lighting for homes is the best method for interior home lighting today. While LED lights are not inexpensive, the long lifetimes and low power use mitigate the initial high cost. Domestic LED lighting is still something many people don’t really understand what’s involved, where to use energy saving LED lighting, how to use domestic LED lights or what the issues are regarding installing low energy light bulbs. The most important factor is the cost, which puts many people off straight. It’s hard to see how a domestic LED replacement light that costs many times more than the ordinary light bulbs you’ve always bought before could possibly save you money. But believe it – it will save a fortune and sooner than you might think.

Now a day, LED lights are becoming more powerful and versatile and gradually dropping in price. That’s make LED Lighting the future. The major corporations in the lighting industry are all betting their businesses on LED home lighting and moving away from both regular incandescent and CFL “low energy” or “energy saving” light bulbs. Economic scenario and survival in a new age of global warming and energy crises – the lighting industry is being forced to adopt effective energy saving lighting solutions. And soon the light revolution will reach to homes & rural areas.

Not limited to industrial adoption, government is also actively engaged in phasing out conventional light bulbs. The energy (and hence real money) costs of both manufacturing and, quite literally, burning traditional light bulbs is becoming prohibitive to all concerned. More than major factors like, environmental cost in terms of waste heat, CO2 output and disposal. The lifespan of incandescent bulbs is less than 2% that of LED lamps and in the case of CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps), which still last only about 10% as long, there is the added problem that they contain highly toxic mercury vapour and must be disposed of in a controlled manner. Between legislative push and technological pull, the conclusion is inescapable: domestic LED lighting is coming to a home near you, real soon.

Convinced by LED lighting benefits, so, which domestic low energy light bulbs should we buy for our homes?

The very first concern is the ratings. Don’t be confused either by the low wattage rating for energy saving domestic LED lamps. A 7w incandescent bulb would give scarcely any light at all, but a 7w LED bulb is extremely bright. As a rough guide a ratio of 1:10 works well – in other words a 5w LED would be a good match for a 50w incandescent bulb. The next thing you will be confronted by after power rating is “color”. This is a value such 4700K (where K indicates Kelvins – a temperature scale where 0 degrees is “absolute zero”).

All you need to know about color temperatures is that the lower the value, 2100K for example, the warmer and more yellow the light and conversely the higher the value, such as 5100K the colder and bluer the light will appear. There is no hard and fast rule as to what color temperature is “best”. It depends on personal taste and what you require the light for – bright, closer to daylight color or a softer more gentle ambience. This color scale example gives an idea.

Installing LED replacement lamps throughout your home should be seen as an investment as well as an opportunity to introduce new, innovative and cost-efficient lighting ideas into your home. The upfront costs can be quite significant (even though the savings are equally as impressive and surprisingly quick to kick in) so it is sensible to tackle the conversion in several phases.

Then there is the question of where and how to use LED lighting in and around the home. Un knowingly many people have only encountered domestic LED lighting in limited areas such as novelty lamps, high powered LED torches and solar powered LED garden lighting. The LED based lighting solutions are increasingly available in market. Unlike a conventional incandescent lamp that scatters (mostly heat and some) light in all directions, an LED emits a very bright, pure light that is highly directional. This makes them absolutely ideal as replacement spot lights, particularly for replacing halogen lightswhich seem to be everywhere in the home these days, wasting heat and money in equal measure. LED lamps also remain cool to the touch, since they convert nearly all their input electricity into light and don’t waste heat, and are therefore far safer than extremely hot halogen bulbs that can present a serious fire risk in some situations.

There are many reasons why LED technology should be a consideration in street and area lighting.  LED lights are environmentally friendly because they consume so little energy.  They are free from hazardous chemicals such as mercury and lead which release toxins. They are not made with arc tubes like traditional HID but instead use diodes.  Diodes help boost the resistance of the lamp giving them a higher rate of durability compared with other lamp technology, which ultimately provides a significantly longer lifespan.

LED is becoming more common in street lighting applications because it projects the lumen output of the LED more efficiently, which allows for wider coverage of a consistent light pattern. Uniformity is one of the benefits of a well-designed solid state lighting product.  LEDs depreciate more slowly than many traditional light sources such as metal halide or induction technologies.  All of these factors, including higher light uniformity, improved color rendering and high color temperature, allowing for wider coverage, can reduce the wattage of fixtures required in many outdoor applications.  This significantly reduces the cost of energy, and allows for lower cost of ownership over the life of the system.

An LED street light is an integrated light that uses light emitting diodes (LED) as its light source. These are considered integrated lights because, in most cases, the luminaire and the fixture are not separate parts. Most LED street lights have a lens on the LED panel, which is designed to cast its light in a rectangular pattern, an advantage compared to traditional street lights, which typically have a reflector on the back side of a high-pressure sodium lamp. In this case, much of the luminance of the light is lost and produces light pollution in the air and surrounding environment. Such street lights can also cause glare for drivers and pedestrians.

Manufacturers of LED based lighting from India and abroad are seeking to tap the massive potential of the street lighting market in India, which is currently placed at $ 55 million and is likely to grow at an annual rate of 47% annually, $478.62 million by 2015.

Leading players Philips Electronics has already done more than a few projects across India with Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Pune Municipal Corporation, Bhatinda Development Authority, Amritsar Municipal Corporation, Pune – Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Haldia Development Authority etc, are being joined by NTL Electronics.

The LED manufacturers that switching to an LED based system for urban street lighting can result in major energy savings which translates into large monetary benefits as well. For example, a pilot project done by Kolkata Municipal Corporation in 2010, under which 276 street lights were changed to LEDs is estimated to have resulted in a Rs 11 lakh reduction in annual energy bills. If the KMC replaces all 180,000 streetlights it could potentially save about 35,000 kw and Rs 75 crore annually. As per a Bridgelux report, replacing a typical 250 watt streetlight with LED can result in an up to 50% reduction in energy consumption as compared to conventional lighting as a a 5-watt LED can replace an 18 watt CFL.

Solar street lights are raised light sources which are powered by photovoltaic panels generally mounted on the lighting structure. The photovoltaic panels charge a rechargeable battery, which powers a fluorescent or LED lamp during the night.

Most solar panels turn on and turn off automatically by sensing outdoor light/sunlight. Solar streetlights are designed to work throughout the night. Many can stay lit for more than one night if the sun is not available for a couple of days. Older models included lamps that were not fluorescent or LED. Solar lights installed in windy regions are generally equipped with flat panels to better cope with the winds. Latest designs use wireless technology and fuzzy control theory for battery management. The street lights using this technology can operate as a network with each light having the capability of performing on or off the network.

LED is usually used as lighting source of modern solar street light, as the LED will provide much higher Lumens with lower energy consumption. The energy consumption of LED fixture is at least 50% lower than HPS fixture which is widely used as lighting source in Traditional street lights. LEDs lack of warm up time also allows for use of motion detectors for additional efficiency gains. Battery will store the electricity from solar panel during the day and provide energy to the fixture during night. The life cycle of the battery is very important to the lifetime of the light and the capacity of the battery will affect the backup days of the lights. Controller is also very important for solar street light. A controller will usually decide to switch on /off charging and lighting. Some modern controllers are programmable so that user can decide the appropriate chance of charging, lighting and dimming.

Let’s have a look on the views we received some of the Industry players from LED Industry of India.

Texas Instruments (India)

Spokesperson: Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Business Development Manager – Power Management

According to Frost & Sullivan Research, the LED lighting market in India was $73.3 million in 2010 and will continue growing at a compounded rated of 45.53% till 2015. Additionally, the Association of Electrical Lighting Manufacturers in India (ELCOMA) said that, the lighting industry in the country has been growing at nearly 17-18% annually over the past couple of years.

The Government of India entities like the Ministry for Renewable Energy and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency have already deployed a number of schemes and incentives that have helped in the adoption of LED for lighting, in the rural and urban India.

To continuously promote and increase awareness of the advantages of LED lighting, awareness campaigns have to be carried out in urban and rural India to increase consumer adoption. Additionally, standardization should also be focused on and encouragement for indigenous manufacturing.

The industry is working towards making Domestic LED Lighting long lasting so that consumers are able to see the true benefits of this technology. Furthermore to reach all populations awareness campaigns on benefits, promotional initiatives on LED lighting, conducted by the Government bodies will help in creating mass appeal.

A recent McKinsey report has predicted that 70% of lighting will become LED based by 2020.

Additionally, the increasing energy bills and the falling price of LED lights are already driving the adoption of LED lighting.

Along with this trend, incentives offered by the Government of India for indigenous manufacturing under the various new policies such as the modified special incentive package scheme (MSIPS) are expected to further strengthen LED manufacturing and adoption.

One of the integral steps that, will help drive the Indian LED Lighting Market to maturity is setting up an ecosystem. This ecosystem would include manufacturers of LED, drivers, luminaires etc. Additionally, we need to work towards nurturing intelligence and improving R&D capabilities of players in this ecosystem. Furthermore, knowledge development in areas such as optics,  battery technology and other technical areas are required. The need for the ecosystem development is important as industry players and employees should have a working knowledge of the local market to improve and drive business prospects for the LED industry. Support from the Government to set up training and resource centres, will also help us work towards building a mature market.

Kwality Photonics Pvt Ltd

Spokesperson: Mr. Vijay Kumar Gupta (CEO)

“The share of domestic lighting industry is approx. Conventional: 25%, CFLs & FTL: 65% and LEDs:10%

For street lighting the classification, will be, Conventional: 10%, CFLs & FTL: 80%, LEDs: 10%.

Government, for 80% of its requirements, should allow open bidding for an OPEN standard LED streetlight of 18Watt, 30Watt, 60Watt (the full Circuit, electrical, Mechanical drawings, to be supplied by ER&DC or Similar Govt organization). So it’s only competition for efficient manufacture & compliance to specifications. This allows lowered prices due to mass production of peripheral components by third party upstream manufacturers. Vendors can invest in capacities for 1 million instead of 25000/100,000 Pcs per month as of now. The design can be based on highly cost effective 130 lumens LEDs, and raise the bar once in 18-24 months that allows excellent preplanning and visibility to all players. For rest 20% requirements, it should allow Innovation in design, with only output Lumens and lumen distribution specified. A Rs150 MRP bulb of 7Watt-700Lm will be a reality soon, if the Govt can prevent buyers from rushing to China whenever large demand tenders materializes. 100% Takeover by LEDs will never happen, the reason being the cost disparity. By 2020 we can expect 50% penetration by LEDs. Other technologies with different price points and dimensional, complexity issues, will coexist for next 25 years at least.

India LED industry will mature, if Government Buyer agencies accept to create an ecosystem that allows Manufactures to invest in the business with 200% confidence. This is possible, if, primarily in my opinion, Uncertainties of Design is eliminated. for example a supplier of Incandescent bulb glass shell produces one million shells per day using a “ribbon” plant (the shells move a high speed on the conveyor, giving a look of a continuous ribbon- They make SINGLE DESIGN globally accepted glass shell size of 60mm & 45mm in Pear-shape. One machine produces more Shells than whole city of Firozabad, the glass making city. Hence Leave 20% of the market to innovation, and bind rest of the market to one to three basic designs that cater to full spectrum of uses in each lighting segment. Today’s BIS standard for LEDs are just reliability verification standards & just standardize the testing methodology. But take a look at the BIS standards for Incandescent bulbs & automotive bulbs – they completely specify every aspect of the product, be it mechanical dimensions, internal constructions, electrical parameters, testing methodology, reliability test methods.

Contact: Kwality Photonics Pvt Ltd, 29AB, Electronic Complex, Kushaiguda, Hyderabad 500062 India, Ph:  9000081171, 140-27123555, Email: kwalitypolyWa@gmail.com

Everlight Electronics India Pvt Ltd

Spokesperson: Mr. G. V. Giriprasad – Country Manager

Expected LED Lighting in 2014 is around Rs 3000 Crore. Domestic Light or Indoor Lighting contributes around 40 to 45% as this has not reached to House Hold yet. Only segments such as Hospitality, Office, Big Retail outlets and to some extent Decorative Lighting come under this. Compared to CFL, and other conventional, penetration of LED is just 3% in India. Out of total Power generated, lighting eats 18% and out of this 18%, street light eats 15%.   Still HID and others dominate in this but LED has penetrated in a big way.  Out of total LED Lighting which is (3000 Crore) Street Light contributes 55%. Street lighting is mostly government undertaking.

Government is on right way whether framing the specs of street Light though very stringent OR evaluating the suppliers. However, additional measures such as below may improve the speed of promotion

1. Increase the frequency of new tenders.

2. The specs of Street Light as of now is very stringent which leads LED Street Light expensive. Relaxing these specs allow cost to come down. For example: CRI expected is 80 which is not required. This can be relaxed.

3. Awareness of LED Street Light & It’s maintenance to Officers to workers at Municipal level.

We players have ensured that Pricing of LED Lighting to bring to an extent that Government is encouraged to pitch in & offer subsidies which have already started in Products such as LED Lanterns & Bulbs. Other positive things we observed such as LED Lighting and it’s promotion is not restricted to specialized medium meant for either Electronic/Lighting/LED. Advertisements started rather in General mediums such as News Papers & TV too. Time span for LED market to mature, is bit difficult to answer owing to fragmented spread of end user. User in Cities can be covered fast. But same can’t be said for an user in a remote village.  However, looking at the speed of transition, we can guess in coming 5 years this should happen. To encourage LEDs based lighting industry to grow, it is required by the government. To encourage more & more Local manufacturing in Small and Medium scale. Implement the same policy which was done for CFL, Increase Marcom Budget for awareness.

Contact: Everlight Electronics India Pvt Ltd, Suit No.3, 2nd Floor, Alpha Block, Sigma Soft Tech Park, Varthur Kodi, Whitefield Main Road, Bangalore, Ph 80 – 41633111, 80 – 41623111, Fax: 80 – 41622111, Email: giriprasad@everlight.com

Vinita Electronics India (P) Ltd.

Spokesperson: Mr. Tarun Jain – Proprietor

The share of LED Lights in an Indian Lighting Usage is approx. 20% in Domestic Lighting and 10% in street lighting. This ratio reflects the facts, despite of all advantages of LEDs, The market is limited to high end and specialized lighting applications. To promote LEDs on government level, it is required that, Government should replace ordinary street lights with LED as LED lights will be cost effective and it will be a kind of direct advertisement to a layman. This kind of activities, will bought the public attention to LEDs, encouraging them to go for LEDs in domestic lighting as wel, As of now LEDs in household is limited to only decorative applications New building designs coming up, to promote replacement of traditional, lamps & bulbs with LEDs, a awareness campaign will help a lot. Government has already starts using LED Street Lights in Many states, presenting role model to other NGOs, Municipal Corporations & Public to opt for LED Lights. As mostly street lights has wattage of 150w above so it can convert to 50w to 80w by using LED’s, to surely save electricity and thus energy to a great extend. Three strong reasons of using Led Lights are, its eco friendly, Great power saving, Long lasting life span (40000 to 50000 hours), and low maintenance required, promoting these advantages to local public can encourage the use of LED Lights to a great extend.

Contact: Ninital Electronics Ltd. 59, 2nd floor, New Hanuman Building, Opp. S. V. Bank, S. V. Lane, Lamington Road, Mumbai 400 007.(India), Ph : 22-23878304, 33152068, (M) 07666111225, 09699749976, Fax: 22 23878304, Email: vinitaelectronics04@yahoo.co.in, Website: www.vinitaelectronics.in

Mettwa Electrical & Appliances P. Ltd. (MEAPL)

Brand: Zercon Lightings

Spokesperson: Mr. Alok Kushwaha (Head – Sales & Marketing)

To promote LEDs in domestic & municipal use, we are providing the quality lights at very affordable price with better light output. Most of Indian market, is economical poor & unaware of LEDs advantages. LED Lightings will reach to them in coming times, because of TV ads, LED is known to many of us. LEDs lighting will completely replace conventional lighting, by 2020. For the Indian lighting industry to mature, Govt policy should be sported to LED lighting.

Mettwa Electricals and Appliance Pvt. Ltd (MEAPL) has been established to provide energy efficient and environment friendly LED lighting products under the brand name “ZERCON”.

Contact: Mettwa Electrical & Appliances P. Ltd, B-7/2, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-2, New Delhi-2, Ph: 011-41600414, Fax: 011 – 41704942, E-mail: info@zerconlights.co.in