Taiwan’s sales of new energy-efficient lights held steady during the third quarter of this year after demand slowed and energy prices that are encouraging the use of lower-cost lighting returned to nearly the same level as they were a year ago.
Taiwan’s light-emitting diode (LED) makers reported that their sales edged down 1.8 percent in the third quarter of this year from the same period a year earlier.
The companies’ sales during the July-to-September period this year were NT$12.0 billion (US$367.4 million) compared with NT$12.2 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to information the companies provided to the Taiwan stock exchange authorities. Taiwan’s LED sales during the first half of this year rose by more than 16 percent.
The price per barrel of oil fell to US$68.57, its lowest level in 14 months, on October 16. Lower prices for energy have sapped demand for new devices such as LEDs that help improve energy efficiency.
Still, uses of high-brightness LEDs are growing, according to market research company ResearchinChina. Car manufacturers are starting to use LEDs for high-beam and low-beam headlights, and some LED suppliers in Taiwan started to supply automobile makers in China such as DongFeng Motor Corp. during the third quarter, ResearchinChina said in a report on its website.
Computer maker Dell Inc. plans to change all of its new laptop displays to LEDs in the next 12 months, the company said in a September 24 statement on its website.
In addition to being mercury-free and highly recyclable, LED displays deliver significant energy savings compared to cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) technology. For example, Dell’s 15-inch LED displays consume an average of 43 percent less power at maximum brightness, resulting in extraordinary cost and carbon savings, the company said.
The LED market grew by nearly ten percent to $4.6 billion in 2007, increasing from the 6% growth rate in 2005 and 2006. The use of LEDs for signs, cars, signals and illumination together grew by 20% in 2007, with illumination applications growing the most rapidly.
Taiwan has the world’s second largest LED industry with a fifth of the global market. Japan has the world’s largest LED industry with a nearly 40 percent share.
LEDs reduce energy consumption by emitting light from a chip rather than an incandescent filament in a light bulb or charged gases in a fluorescent light tube. LEDs use about a tenth of the energy of an incandescent bulb and can last a decade or longer. They also produce almost no heat, thereby reducing fire potential.
LEDs are poised to take a larger portion of the multi-billion dollar market away from light bulbs and tubes as the new technology becomes more mature and manufacturing costs fall.
Taiwan LED makers have been among the first to enter the high-brightness (HB) segment. HB LEDs are a new generation of lights bright enough for car lights, interior and architectural lighting, projection, flat-panel display backlighting and signage.
Taiwan’s LED makers include Arima Optoelectronics Corp., Bright LED Electronics Corp., Epistar Corp., Everlight Electronic Co., Formosa Epitaxy, Genesis Photonics Inc., Harvatek, I-Chiun Precision, Ligitek, Opto Tech and Unity Opto Technology Co.
The high-tech lights have other advantages because they take up less space, have no breakable glass or filaments, perform exceptionally well in cold environments, require no warm up time, eliminate frequent replacement of burned out bulbs and tubes and emit no harmful infrared or ultraviolet rays.
Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), www.taiwantrade.org.tw
