US-based LED Firm Cree Reportedly Plans to Cut Costs of LED Street Lamps

US-based LED firm Cree reportedly plans to cut costs of LED street lamps by half to US$200/unit but no detail is avaiable. Industry sources say they are shocked by the news. If Creed decides to keep its street lamp prices cut in half, the prices of its LED light sources are expected to also go down, the sources said. Other upstream LED chip makers will face pressure to reduce their prices as well, said sources. According to media reports, if the reductions in maintenance and electricity costs are taken into consideration, Cree's LED street lamp set-up costs will be similar to US high pressure sodium lamps, making those in the industry further believe that LED street lights will become even more prevalent. At present, international first-tier manufacturers price their 100-120 watt LED street lamps around US$400-600. Cree also holds LED chip technological advantages and is a leader in LED optical engine design. It has significant influence in the LED street lamp market and if it were to lower all of its prices, it could set off a wave of price cuts. Leadray's general manager, JF Lin, said that lower prices in LED street lamps are an unavoidable trend. If Cree lowers its LED street lamp prices, it predicts that its light source prices will also drop, which means that LED street light manufacturers' costs will drop as well, added Lin. Lin also said that the reason for price reductions is still unclear, but speculates that they may be due to high wattage LED lights having technological issues and that the US$200 prices are geared towards low wattage street lamp products. He also said that this will bring competition to Taiwan's LED market nonetheless. Source: www.digitimes.com