However, crises of energy-saving lamps have become chances for LEDs. It is a controversial topic that whether indoor LED lighting products can finally replace energy-saving lamps. The industry is generally of the view that LED lights and energy-saving lights are two independent products within two distinguished stages of lighting development. They may coexist for a long time. Hong Wu, chairman of Shanghai Lighting Society indicated that energy-saving lamps will not be replaced by LED in next three years. “In 2011, we estimate that this process will cost us at least 10 years, now it seems not.” Mr. Wu also said that if judged by the strict international LED standards, most of the LED lamps currently on the market are unqualified, especially for indoor LED lighting products.
Restrictions from core LED chip technologies reduce the quality of domestic LED products, which has become an obvious weakness of Chinese LED manufacture. Cooling problem of high LED lighting products and more reliable and more efficient fluorescent powder are two main technical difficulties for international LED lighting industry. According to the current technology level of China, replacing energy-saving lamps (less than 10W) by LED lighting techniques should have no problem. But for energy-saving lamps with power consumptions more than 10W, LED shows its incapability.
LED is an artificial spawning baby. The main factor of artificial spawn is government support policies rather than materials. The State Council executive meeting held on 16th May determined the implementation of encourage consumption policies of energy-saving household electrical appliances. Central government funding for these subsidies will total 26.5 billion yuan, in which 2.2 billion yuan are for promotion of LED and energy-saving lighting products. This is the third favor from central government to LED industry this year. In one of previous documents indicated that Chinese government will spend nearly 40 billion yuan on purchasing LED street lights and provide 30% subsidies for providers. At local level, Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and Fujian Province have become the LED investment hot spots. Local governments issued all kinds of incentives to LED industries. As the largest LED manufacturing base, Guangdong was typically cared for by local government.
