The LED bulb, new flagship product in Japan

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The LED bulb, new flagship product in Japan




by Targol » 05/10/09, 10:58

It is a bit long to read, but it is encouraging for the future of very low consumption lighting. When the Japanese giants launch out into the LED bulb, democratization and lower prices are not far away.

Large posters, prominent displays, explanatory panels, light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs, "ecological, economical", shine through their ubiquity in Japanese appliance stores, easily attracting the eyes of the customer. " Look, shouldn't we buy an LED lamp instead, they say it lasts longer? ", A Japanese woman in a consumer electronics store in central Tokyo asks her husband, manipulating, pensive , a compact fluorescent bulb that she was about to pay for. His attention was caught by the advertisements that stand in the aisles of this large specialized store.

Barely visible and sold for more than 75 euros each in Japan a few months ago, LED bulbs are now numerous and offered at half the price.

"The price decline is likely to continue," predicts the boss of Toshiba's lighting subsidiary, Shinichi Tsunekawa. This is mainly due to two reasons, confirms a seller of the Bic Camera brand in Tokyo. "On the one hand, technical progress has made it possible to reduce the costs of mass production, and on the other hand competition is sharpening with the arrival of new entrants who were not present in this lighting market but who come there armed with efficient technologies, ”he explains.

Japanese liquid crystal display (LCD) specialist Sharp is one of them. The person responsible for the plunge in prices, don't look, he's him. This summer, it launched a range of light bulbs based on its own (secret) technologies at a price twice lower than that of competing models then on the shelves, which is also doing better in terms of quality. Sharp had already announced a year earlier its entry into the LED lighting market for professional use. "We are concentrating our efforts on research and development of technologies and products that are good for the environment and health," explained a manager of this new activity at Sharp. The consumer offer followed, probably earlier than the competition thought.

"Sharp has also distinguished itself with its bulbs by solving a problem relating to LEDs which is that their light is directional. It was the first to succeed in homogenizing their distribution", adds the seller. In fact, Japanese LED bulbs, like the Dutch Philips, do not look like clusters of large LEDs covered with a glass globe, but have the aesthetics of traditional bulbs. They have more or less the same format. To achieve this result, Japanese manufacturers apparently use technical know-how which they have mastered well in other applications, for example in the backlighting of liquid crystal displays (LCD). Sharp however confides that the homogeneity obtained results in large part from the composition and the particular shape of the translucent cap. Impossible to know more, however. Toshiba is more talkative and agrees to open one of its bulbs: inside is housed a flat module covered with a layer of very small diodes, all resembling an integrated circuit. Equipped with standard bases, all these new bulbs can replace overnight on conventional sockets the energy-consuming incandescent lamps which heat more than they light.

However, the fact that said LED bulbs are now technically sophisticated and affordable is not enough, because they are still 40 times more expensive to buy than the filament models of yesteryear and 4 times more expensive than the most recent compact fluorescent lamps. They are in fact profitable only in the medium and long term, offering a decade of use at a rate of 10 hours per day while consuming up to eight times less electricity than the other models, even if they are labeled "low- consumption".

To convince consumers, Sharp also plays on the atmosphere. One of the new bulbs offered is sold with a remote control. The latter allows you to change the shade on seven levels of a gradient from orange to perfect white. It is also possible to adjust the brightness from 0 to 100% as desired. The same remote control can control all the bulbs in the same room within a radius of 5 meters.

In addition to Toshiba and Sharp, the Japanese electronics giant Panasonic is also trying to establish itself on this market by insisting on the ecological virtues of its new range (low consumption, long lifespan, reduced mass and less use of materials). Panasonic intends to be among those who will share the market considered very promising light emitting diode (LED) bulbs, while incandescent models with very poor performance will soon be banned from shops and those with fluorescent tube (compact fluorescent bulbs) suffer 'disadvantages to use (time required to reach maximum lighting). A firm affiliated with the Japanese electronics group Mitsubishi Electric is also in the ranks, as is NEC, which had to revise its initial projects in the light of these rapid changes to offer more competitive products than those it planned to launch. , an unforeseen event which notably led him to entrust production to a Chinese factory.

All these Japanese electronics groups do not limit their ambitions to the borders of Japan. It targets the global market and does not hide it. The Japanese conglomerate Toshiba, which manufactures both nuclear reactors and light bulbs, said Wednesday that it would expand its sales outside the archipelago. "We expect our new lighting systems division to generate sales of 2015 billion yen (2016 billion euros) in 350/2,6," said Toshiba deputy general manager Masashi Muromachi, at a press conference. This activity includes new LED bulbs, spotlights, floor or ceiling lights and other types of LED luminaires for professional use, as well as bare components and backlights for video screens or on-board lamps in vehicles. "We are setting up new structures in Europe (France, Great Britain, Germany) and North America to promote and sell these products there," added Mr. Muromachi.

The group, which is also studying dedicated commercial establishments in China, India, Russia and Brazil, hopes that at least 30% of its sales of “new lighting” will be from abroad by 2015. Currently, the Toshiba's lighting division, which claims 200 billion yen (1,5 billion euros) in sales this year, only achieves 3% outside of Japan.
LED lights currently represent only a tiny proportion (2-3%) of the total, but their share could climb to around 20% by 2012, especially since they can significantly contribute to reducing emissions. greenhouse gases. "Lit for 10 hours a day for 10 years, an LED bulb generates 187 kilograms of CO2, 84% less than an incandescent model that must also be changed several times in this period of time," insists Mr. Tsunekawa .

The new Japanese government has set itself the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% between 1990 and 2020 levels, which amounts to a drop of 30% compared to that of 2005, because in the meantime s an increase is produced. Households and small businesses are mainly responsible for Japan's difficulty in complying with the clauses of the Kyoto Protocol which requires Japan to reduce its emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by 6% between 1990 and 2012. Authorities are expected to lead by example, for example by replacing traffic light lamps or street lamps with LED equivalents. Large chain stores (Lawson and Seven Eleven convenience stores in particular), who want to save money in the long term and gain an image of responsibility, have started to replace LED lights for their signs, ceiling lights and ray lighting. If everyone got involved, the effect would be significant. Indeed, industries, offices, stores, parking lots and other indoor and outdoor professional and public places are responsible for 60% of the electricity consumption linked to total lighting in Japan.


Source (with photos): clubic.com
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by Christophe » 05/10/09, 11:18

A little less than 75 euros is that what democracy calls you?

Ah yes I forgot that China was still a democartico-communist dictatorship !! : Mrgreen:

I just noticed a funny "trick": as soon as there is "people" or "democracy" in an organization, it is generally the tool of a dictatorship! : Mrgreen: : Mrgreen:

Sorry for the HS.
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by Targol » 05/10/09, 11:21

Christophe wrote:A little less than 75 euros is that what democracy calls you?


But no, Christophe, reread what I wrote:
Targol wrote:(..) democratization and falling prices are not far away.


I didn't say she was already there : Mrgreen:
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by Christophe » 05/10/09, 11:24

Well, dividing the prices by 10 is not done in a few months ... Well I don't think so ... so the "not far" is not suitable I think! : Cheesy:

If that happens we will have some on our shop but when I see the prices of the Megaman led bulbs (price> 50 € up to 120 € per bulb !!! must stop the delirium!) I don't really want to offer them in a context of "economic crisis" ...
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by Targol » 05/10/09, 11:40

Christophe wrote:Well, dividing the prices by 10 is not done in a few months ... Well I don't think so ... so the "not far" is not suitable I think! : Cheesy:


You never know, the mass effect on this scale, it can be very fast. If all the big Japanese manufacturers start to mass produce and flood the market, the effect will inevitably be felt on prices.

The price is also what prevents me from changing the 3 24V halogen spotlights in my living room into something more economical.
In the meantime, I turn on the switch only long enough to turn on the compact fluorescent lamps. Then I turn off.
It's a shame because it's pretty: I put the spots flush with the ceiling. They light up between the beams. It has a nice effect.
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by Christophe » 05/10/09, 11:49

Targol wrote:You never know, the mass effect on this scale, it can be very fast. If all the big Japanese manufacturers start to mass produce and flood the market, the effect will inevitably be felt on prices.


It's nice to dream ... maybe that's what we are taught at school but the reality is very different! You will never divide the prices by 5 to 10 "quickly" on an industrial scale!

In addition, it is because we produce 10 times more that prices are 10 times lower. The worst is the manufacturer / merchant who takes into account, not the cost of buying / producing the product, but the potential gain by the buyer to set his prices !! It's just outright moral scam! But business and moral = 2 right? Sorry for my naivety!

See the evolution of the price of photovoltaic panels ...pkoi are there scammers / clever people who offer 3 kWp for 33 € in France while for 500 € you have the same thing in Belgium? It is surely not a story of production cost ...

B) Phillips and Megaman are already making LED bulbs: they are big manufacturers, right? Surely there are others ...

C) 24 V your living room thing? Already it's weird 24V ... not common ...

If they are 50 mm spots, turn them off and put GU10. Do not forget that 12 V = transformer = losses ... The 12V should be reserved:

a) to water features
b) passage pieces (especially for LEDs)
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by Targol » 05/10/09, 12:22

Christophe wrote:C) 24 V your living room thing? Already it's weird 24V ... not common ...

If they are 50 mm spots, turn them off and put GU10. Do not forget that 12 V = transformer = losses ... The 12V should be reserved:

a) to water features
b) passage pieces (especially for LEDs)


I put 24V out of ignorance. It's probably 12V if you say so. In any case, there is a transformer, that's for sure. And I can hardly change that now, I would have to break everything.
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by Christophe » 05/10/09, 13:01

Ok it's 12 then.

Ben you have access I think at least to (for maintenance if the install was badly done):

a) at the base (MR16)
b) to the 12V wire behind the base
c) to the transformer

So you can very well:
a) use the same wires passing from 230V instead of 12V
b) change the sockets
c) shunt the transformer

Going to GU10 gives you a lot more bulb choices. Provided that your spot can accommodate GU10 bulbs if it's R50 as I suppose it's good ...

We have sockets and lots of different GU10 bulbs in our shop: https://www.econologie.com/shop/ampoules-led-c-90
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by Targol » 05/10/09, 13:13

As I am zero in electricity, I am going to ask a stupid question: will the wires provided for passing 12V resist 220V?

... I will try to answer myself by myself with my old memories of physics lessons ..
  • By changing the bulb, we do not change the power demanded (although by switching to LEDs, we would even decrease it).
  • the power is the intensity times the voltage so in 12V, we have a lot more amps that pass than in 220V.
  • However, if my memories are good, it is the intensity that requires the wire section so it should go given that by increasing the voltage, we lower the intensity.


Am i good?

I'm going to see tonight if all of this is accessible, but anyway, at the moment, I can't afford to buy 6 bulbs and 6 caps to replace everything.
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by Christophe » 05/10/09, 13:25

Yes you have good! It is the intensity that counts even if the "electrical" insulation is also important (= thickness of the insulation) but between 12 and 240V AC the 2 are compatible at this level.

Targol wrote:As I am zero in electricity, I am going to ask a stupid question: will the wires provided for passing 12V resist 220V?


Yes it is the reverse which is not possible in case of high amperage ... on the other hand be careful: forbidden if on your installation you have "naked" parts which carry the 12V !!

There are often bare fittings which carry the current on 12V luminaires ...
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