Samsung aims to lead global lighting market with LED lamps

Samsung, the Korean consumer electronics giant has launched a family of LED (for light emitting diode) lamps with the stated objective of becoming the global leader in the lighting industry. The twentieth century lighting industry was dominated by the prominent names GE, Philips and Osram, until smaller players from the far east came in with lower costs. LED technology is set to change the the lighting industry from tungsten filaments and glass bulbs to semiconductors. Samsung with its experience with LED technology in its consumer electronics display products, especially TV sets, and its brand name recognition appears well positioned to realize its ambition.

Samsung LED bulbs

The global general lighting service industry has revenues estimated at $70 billion. The lighting industry is projected to grow rapidly in the next 10 years due to the emerging economies becoming more urbanized. Lighting is already the biggest single segment of energy usage at around 27 percent. LED lamps use only one-fourth the energy used by incandescent bulbs. A 10 watt LED lamp has the same lumens output as a 40 W conventional lamp. The shift to LED lamps will, therefore, contribute to energy conservation in a major way. The lower energy usage also means reduced heat load on the building air-conditioning systems which add to the energy savings.

The second significant advantage of LED lamps is their long life. A typical incandescent or fluorescent bulb has a service life of about 1000 hours which means that the lamp requires replacement once a year. The LED lamp, in contrast, has an expected life of 40,000 hours which means that the lamp will outlast the wiring and the switches that connect to it. The LED lamps can also be calibrated to generate lighting in pleasing soft colors in place of the harsh lighting we see with fluorescent lighting.

The major negative at present is the very high cost of LED lamps with single lamp prices over $40. These are 50 to 100 times the cost of incandescent bulbs and therefore, the acceptance of LED lamps for home lighting could be slow. LED lamps will find faster acceptance in lighting of large public spaces like shopping malls and office blocks, where the energy savings and the savings on light bulb replacements including labor could offset the cost differential.

The LED lamps launched by Samsung are designed to fit into the same lamp holders and luminaries as the present lamps. This is, obviously, to cater to the lamp replacement market. The availability of LED lamps would, soon, bring about major changes in the way room lighting is designed. The large heat radiation from incandescent bulbs required the light fittings to be mounted at a height in a room. The need to have access to replace burnt out bulbs dictated the design of lamp holders. With LED lamps, it would be possible to rethink lighting to be located close to the actual points of use, perhaps concealed into furniture like work desks and so on. These new approaches to lighting design should result in LED lamps and fittings being designed different from the ones made to fit existing lamp sockets. That could, hopefully, result in lower cost designs.

LED lamps are made from semiconductors and the history of that industry says that prices fall very rapidly with volume increase. Lower prices would certainly increase acceptance and generate greater demand. Other semiconductor manufacturers could follow Samsung into the lighting market, either with end-user products or intermediates for other companies to make the end products.

Via: Mail Online