"We not only produce energy-efficient bulbs, but also strive to take the quality of lighting to the next level," says Michael Yu, CEO of the Taiwan-based Liquidleds. He made the comment while marking the debut of the world's first soft filament LED Lamp at Light + Building 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany, the world's biggest platform for the lighting market. "In contrast to the ways most other players broke into the industry," Mr. Yu explained, "we have pursued patent protection for most of our new soft filament lamp technologies. These inventions, marked by the bendable characteristics of the soft filaments, drastically improves the quality of light and will open up a variety of options for a lighting fixture design." The demand for LED lighting market, Mr. Yu added, continues to grow at an increasingly robust pace, reducing the need for traditional lighting products. But the real challenge to the industry will be how to bring new sensory experiences for the consumers through design, how to let creativity roam wild into the world of lighting.
Worldwide demand for LED light bulbs exceeded 500 million units in 2015, according to the statistics. And the LED market has seen an annual steady growth rate of over 35%. Last year, China and the US hopped on the EU bandwagon to phase out incandescent light bulbs for general lighting use. A few number of Scandinavian countries have, since February this year, imposed an import ban on the "special purpose" decorative vintage lamps. Some analysts even predicted that most of the EU countries may soon follow suit. Therefore, how to churn out quality, LED vintage reproduction bulbs has become the new focus this year. It's not hard to notice the widespread implementations of the LED bulb technology when one takes a stroll down the busy floor of the Light + Building Fair.
Energy Efficiency with a Touch of Visual Comfort
At the Light + Building 2016, Liquidleds showcased 4 product lines categorized by filament styles: the H, U, W and C series. These series, coupled with different lamp shells, offer customers a menu of up to 40 product selections. "The ability and flexibility to cater our customers a wide range of tailor-made products is what differentiates our company from most others.
Through commitment to quality work, Liquidleds stands out from the US, European and Chinese market players that mainly focus their business on mass production." says Mr. Yu. Today's LED reproduction lamp design centers around how the bulb filaments are bonded. The low-power LED chips are mounted either on a thin narrow glass or sapphire substrate. Thanks to the new filament technologies, the small LED emitters can now be arranged linearly in a filament package, enabling the LED light to travel in all directions. Liquidleds' new, soft filament lines are made with special polymer materials, using the company's proprietary production process.
"From the early days when our engineers used liquid to boost heat dissipation efficiency, to the period when PC boards were selected, by our lab technicians, to turn the bulbs lighter and to increase cost efficiency, to the times when our R&D teams deployed the new, rigid LED light strips to help improve the quality of light, Liquidleds has been successful in the LED lighting market for more than 10 years. However, in the quest to turn LED bulbs into an ultimate source of soft and comfortable light," the CEO of Liquidleds, Mr. Yu, says, "there's a long way to go and a plenty of room for improvement." He further stresses that although lighting has brought to our everyday lives convenience, conservation and eco-awareness, it is also important to note how factors like architectural forms, visual designs and space environment affect the softness, the overall quality of the light. "The new Liquidleds’ product lines are the fruit of our innovation, a project we embarked upon some two years ago through continuous research and development on the new LED lighting technologies. We would like to catch the energy that the vendors emitted during their visit on our tiny booth at 2016 Light + Building Fair. We welcome their collaborative approach and echo the same voice that there is a need to connect the dots and support one another in this new frontier of the antique reproduction light market."
An Ecological Industry
"Big players often get to call the shot. But newcomers entering today's LED lighting market, however, may have a chance to be the next-generation game-changers,“ says Mr. Yu, who identified three basic issues contributing to the success, or failure, of an LED lighting business: the type of LED filament materials being used, the best glass bulb technologies applied, and, the most important of all, the quality and quantity of patented technologies created by the participants. He added that, for the selection of materials, Liquidleds has developed a solid network of suppliers and partners, making sure that a supply of quality materials would go uninterrupted. In the area of the glass bulb production, we have accumulated over 10 years of experience, giving us the expertise and knowledge to choose the best production method, or combination of methods, for each project. And, as for the R&D part, our engine is constantly running, our investement continuously expanding. "Our technologies have paved a solid foundation for our growth. They serve as a bond among our business partners that seek for mutual collaboration. They represent more than just a strategic asset to our company."
Mr. Chien Lang Huang, vice president of Liquidleds, says that thestandard LED light bulb is mainly composed of five elements: an LED filament, a driver, a stem, a glass bulb, and lamp caps. Liquidleds' focus, for the past a couple of years, had been developing research solutions to tackle issues involving heat dissipation, light patterns, and power supply of the LED lighting products. "To this date, we have created more than a number of 100 patented technologies in areas such as LED Lamp bulb sealing, HV LED and isolation designs, and on the application of materials like ceramic substrates. We are very positive about the prospects in the Eurozone. " Mr. Huang says, "and in light of this positive growth picture, we have, from time to time, applied patent applications in the region."
"The LED lighting as an industry is, by its nature, a highly competitive one. Creating better solutions to address the shortcomings of this wonderful technology is even a tougher business to boot. Patent rights, therefore, should be respected by all parties involved. Law compliance promotes innovation and creates a win-win for every consumer, every industry participant." says Mr. Yu. The LED soft filament lamp technologies address the heat dissipation issues and, at the same time, allow the light to radiate in both directions. It is so far the best LED replica of the old vintage filament bulbs. "The passage of light through the glass material has been a success story. Even though technologies evolved over time, our passion to produce an LED light source that radiates your daily life, remains forever the same."
