Demand for LED light bulbs has been rising fast in 2012 but some labels have been exaggerating their quality. According to the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), 20% of LED light bulbs have power outputs that differ by 20% compared to their labels.
Due to requests from the Bureau of Energy, ITRI has been designing energy-saving labels which will adopt the highest standards in the industry. According to industry sources, the labels are likely to create shuffles in the market. ITRI indicated that after gathering suggestions from the industry, proposals will be sent to committees in the Bureau of Energy and it expects details to be announced in January 2013. ITRI also plans to announce the LED light bulb brands that passed the standards at end of first-quarter to second-quarter 2013.
Demand for LED bulbs in Taiwan is expected to reach 1.5 million units in 2012, and the penetration rate of LED bulbs in the local light bulb market is likely to top 30% in 2014 and further climb to 50% in 2015, according to estimates by industry sources. ITRI estimates that by the end of 2012, there will be 46 brands of LED light bulbs and 154 models in Taiwan.
There are currently two initial suggestions for LED light bulb standards. One is cold white LED light bulbs with a color rendering index of 80 and above. The efficiency of these light bulbs needs to reach 80lm/W. Warm white LED light bulbs with a color rendering index of 80 and above need to have an efficiency of 85lm/W, according to ITRI. The estimated percentage of products that will pass this test is about 10%, said ITRI. The second suggestion is to increase the efficiency standard of the first suggestion by 5lm/W, which would give a passing rate of only 3%.
A team at ITRI has been surveying the industry and among 29 firms, 22 firms choose the first standard suggestion. Firms such as Delta, Everlight, and Formosa Epitaxy chose the second standard suggestion. The firms that chose the second suggestion indicated that there are many LED firms in China and the higher the standard, the better protection for Taiwan-based firms.
Taiwan to introduce energy-saving labels for LED light bulbs
