Anchor to Expand LED Lighting Business and Begin Manufacturing in India

Anchor Electricals, a subsidiary of Panasonic India, is reportedly looking to expand its LED lighting business. Last week the company opened an LED lighting experience center in Mumbai and announced plans for a similar center in Bangalore."Our next such showroom will be in Bangalore and we will continue expanding to other major cities in India and hope to increase to 1,000 stores, including distributor and dealer stores, by around FY 2014-15," Anchor Electricals vice president sales Ashok Gangar said. "We will open four distributor stores in Mumbai and gradually spread out to other main urban areas." Gangar further stated that Anchor would soon select a site for a new plant to manufacture LEDs in India, however, he refused to share the details of the location.

Panasonic acquired Anchor, the 49-year-old Indian family-owned electrical equipment brand, in 2007. Anchor sells products like switches, fans, CFL and LEDs and also sells switches under the Panasonic brand, which are priced slightly higher.

"By March next year our turnover would be Rs 2,100 crore and it has almost doubled. In 2007, when Panasonic acquired it, the turnover was around Rs 1,000 crore," he said, adding that it has remained in number one atop the electrical switch gear industry. Currently, 55 percent of the company's revenue comes from this business segment, Gangar noted.

Although, presently the company does not export, Ganger revealed the company has plans to export in next two years to Gulf and Africa. "Till now there is no export from us. But in last few years, changes have happened. Our quality has improved as new technologies are coming from Japan. In next two years, we would start exporting our products to Middle East and Africa under Anchor by Panasonic brand."

Why led light tube's 3014 lamp bead will replace 3528 lamp bead?

In the previous year, led light tube of indoor lighting in the industry which is around 0.06w, the ball bubble made most of the 3528 lamp beads, and in the first half of the year is 3014 lamp bead based to use most, using 3014 lights in the market is more attractive, more novel and also continue to strengthen in the competition in the market.

As early as in the first half of 2012, Xin Light electronics, Hong photoelectric, and other enterprises have launched 3014 white light series products, and those led lighting enterprises have also passed the white LED test. In 2013, as the industry growth, in the field of indoor lighting of ball bubble lamp and led light tube warm into the outbreak. The amount of 3014 also continued to rise, has been largely replaced by 3528.

In high LED industry research institute of statistics, in 2012 China LED ball steep light sales breakthrought in 200 million, up 15.8% from a year earlier. China LED bulb sales in 2013-2017 annual compound growth rate at about 66%, up to more than 2.5 billion sales in 2017. And indoor lighting in the ball bubble lamp also is less than the size of the led fiuorescent tube, thus it can be seen both occupied how much market share.

3528 lights in the LED market replaced by 3014 of the main reason: 3014 lights, ball bubble or fluorescent lamp, it has reduced the cost of the luminous flux increased. Moreover, 3014 lights, Which possess the better light rate and price advantage, have better heat dissipation performance and bigger light emittint area. Thus concluded that a long period of time, the use of 3014 lamp as the core source of led lighting tube and bulb is a kind of trend.

It's Time for the LED industry to Tackle Compatibility

The story behind LED development—only the 4th lighting technology developed in human history—is remarkable. The potential ahead of LED lighting to deliver real and measurable advantages—to save energy, last years longer, significantly lower bottom-line costs—is limitless.  But for it to be the next great defining feature of the lighting landscape, LED lighting needs to work.

Yes, work. That’s precisely the question LED end-users, specifiers, designers, utilities and regulatory agencies ask themselves before adopting LED options for their stores and retail fronts, offices and homes. Will these alternative lighting offerings achieve what they promise?

And the simple, scary truth facing the LED industry today is often, there’s no guarantee they will.

Today, legacy infrastructure—the transformers, fixtures, and control devices already incorporated into built environments—creates unique and challenging compatibility interferences with widespread LED adoption.  

What we’ve seen to date in our current, ongoing preliminary phase of LED adoption is “plug and play” applications--a customer simply installs an LED bulb into an existing fixture. Sometimes that fixture works with the LED bulb’s mechanical, electric, and thermal requirements; sometimes it doesn’t; and sometimes there are mixed results. The effect? Consumer uncertainty.  

Any new technology only has a small window to prove its value. Second chances with first impressions do not exist—which is why in any market; it’s essential to capitalize on the moment of market introduction. It’s an opportunity—and a test—to gain the trust of the consumer on the first try.  

The LED industry, peers, partners, and competitors, must work together to ensure full compatibility with the millions of lamps, dimmers, transformers, and fixtures on the market.

When looking at the compatibility problem, there are three separate issues to address: 1. Electrical compatibility; 2. Mechanical compatibility; and 3. Thermal compatibility.  

Electric Compatibility. Common voltages in lighting systems are significantly higher than LED requirements. As a result, the transformer and dimmers often don’t operate consistently, or properly.  Frequently this causes the LED to flicker and dim erratically, one lamp powering off before another, or the LED not even powering on at all.

Mechanical Compatibility. Problems arise when LEDs do not match the size and dimensions of traditional lamps.  It’s simply a matter of fitting a square into a round hole—the LED does not fix the legacy fixture’s width or height.

Thermal Compatibility. Traditional light sources and LEDs operate at dramatically different temperatures.  While some halogen lamps operate at 200 degrees Celsius, LED lamps must operate between a specific thermal temperature to ensure long life and safety standards.  In much of the legacy fixture infrastructure, there’s no means to dissipate heat in the bulb design.  

Let me be clear. Compatibility is the number one compelling problem facing the entire LED industry today. No end-user, designer, specifier will–or should—care what promises and potential LED technology holds in the future, if it doesn’t meet their needs in the present.

So while others keep the issue in the dark, Ledzworld works to guarantee our technology fits legacy lighting infrastructure. How? By proofing every one of our LED solutions against hundreds of the most commonly used dimmer, transformer and fixture applications.  It’s painstaking work, but it’s this behind-the-scenes effort that gives our customers the peace of mind they need, and deserve.

We’re also innovating LED drivers that guarantee our lamps are hassle-free, and work seamlessly on a wide range of magnetic and electric transformers and in combination with commonplace dimmers.

Recently, the company launched a breakthrough MR16 LED lamp with our patented Chameleon driver.  The Chameleon driver self adjusts to its environment by first detecting the transformer type, then analyzing its waveform, and finally adjusting itself to make a perfect electrical fit with that particular transformer. This innovative driver makes the company's MR16 LED retrofit lamps truly "plug and play" devices that can be used in a wide variety of transformer and dimmer combinations.  Anywhere, every time.

What’s more, the CTR functionality implemented in Ledzworld's Chameleon driver design also provides an intelligent temperature control monitoring system. The temperature control system acts as a watchdog by continuously measuring the ambient temperature inside the driver compartment by utilizing a built-in thermal sensor embedded into the Chameleon driver chipset.

Bottom-line, our lamps work on the spectrum of magnetic transformers, in combination with most commonly used leading edge dimmers, and with a large variety of electronic transformers paired with commonly used trailing edge dimmers.

Ledzworld set out to revolutionize the lighting industry with one unshakable commitment: to develop, design, and manufacture LED lighting that meets—and exceeds—all LED technology expectations. But that starts with ensuring that our technologically progressive, best-in-class lamps work as well with older infrastructure as they do with the new.  

So that a few bad actors don’t spoil LEDs reputation, it’s time for the entire LED industry to tackle compatibility, together.  

Japanese LED Market Size Doubles

Over the past few years, Japan has seen an upsurge in energy conservation awareness. In the wake of the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, the government has even proposed plans for a “low-carbon society”. LED products have since experienced rapid popularization becoming the poster child for energy saving products. A recent survey shows the Japanese LED market size will undergo explosive growth in 2012 of 195 percent to $420.4 billion Japanese yen (US $4.2 billion),as reported by Liberty Times.

The LED market experience exponential growth last year according to Yano Research’s “2013 LED Lighting Market Research Findings” as published in a Japanese media source. The market this year continues to have high energy saving demands. Driven by LED market’s rapid growth, it is forecasted that the market scale for general lighting products will increase.

High popularization for energy saving efficiency

The main selling point of LEDs is that they save around 40 percent more electricity than florescent bulbs with a lifespan of more than 40,000 hours, which comes to over 10 years. In highly energy conscience Japan, popularization of LEDs began much earlier  than other countries with various related merchandise available on the shelves of home appliance hypermarkets.

The Chinese LED lighting market in comparison has only just begun popularization this year. Chinese LED lighting demands could increase in 2015 to $100 billion yen  according to forecasts by market research companies. Japanese manufacturers hope to take advantage of the opportunity and snare a large chunk of the Chinese market.

Competition is becoming fiercer with the increasing number of companies  entering LED lighting. Companies are straining to accelerate development of product distinction from their competitors to keep the market from transforming into pure price competition. LED lamps are no longer just lighting fixtures, but value added interior decoration pieces with aesthetic design and functional value. 

Japanese LED manufacture Koizumi has recently released the industry’s first lighting simulation app called Virtual Lighting Design where users can pick from various locations (bedroom, entrance hall, and hallway), room size, material for flooring and walls, and more to test LED lighting luminosity before deciding to purchase products.

The LED lighting market is expected to continually expand, but whether companies will be able to release products with features aside from energy-efficient and long-life products will become an important condition for companies vying for market share.

French OLED Lighting Company Makes American Debut

On October 29th, French OLED lighting company BLACKBODY opened its New York City showroom in SoHo, making remarkable new OLED technology accessible to American architects and the interior design communities. 

OLED Lighting showroom in New York (photo courtesy: OSA Direct/BLACKBODY)

OLEDs, Organic Light-Emitting Diodes, offer unparalleled lighting solutions. The lightweight, ultra-flat, glare-free, shadow-free and heat-free technology can be used to create inspiring designer indoor or outdoor light fixtures. Unlike conventional light bulbs, OLED light sources emit 100% useful light. OLED allows larger surfaces of light to be created, shaped and manipulated. As well as increasing opportunities for design, OLED technology is clean with 0% polluting components. OLEDs are used by automotive and medical equipment manufacturers, and OLED displays are currently being introduced to the market for cell phones and televisions.

"With no shadows, glare, or heat, OLED fixtures provide soft, flattering and welcoming light. The romantic lighting, when incorporated into dramatic designs, creates a breathtaking display hardly accessible to other electronic lighting options," said Alessandro Dolcetta, Co-Founder of BLACKBODY.

The new showroom will be dedicated to creativity and will exemplify the myriad of designer lighting options made possible by the BLACKBODY's OLED technology. Visitors can experience the possibilities of this new technology to provide a unique ambiance for executive lobbies, offices, hotels, and private homes.

The showroom presents several products designed by major European designers. Thierry Gaugain, the Blackbody art director, has made significant contributions to the current collection as well as to the design of this first showroom.
"OLED technology brings lighting design to a new level," said Bruno Dussert-Vidalet, Co-Founder of BLACKBODY. "With the opening of our New York City showroom, we are glad to be introducing this new light to American designers and architects and are excited to see how they will integrate this technology in their work." 

What kind of ways the buyers they use to find a supplier in LED industry which manufacture LED Downlight, LED Panel Light,T8 LED Tube, etc.

1  International lighting fair
Most company ,especially big brand or company will visit to big size professional LED show, such as German Frankfurt Show, US Les Vagas LED show, Hong Kong international lighting fair to search led products such as Dimmable LED Downlights, LED Flat Panel Light, T8 LED Tube Light. You can received very warm reception when you entered any company’s booth, and salesman try to introduce their best product to you, quiting you price and invite you visit their factory is you are available. you can’t judge how big the company it is on the show.

2  B2B platform or website
Since the Internet Technology has been developed rapidly, there are many B2B websites helping overseas buyers find proper suppliers from China, such as Alibaba, Made-in-China, Tradekey,
EC21 etc. The buyers, especial for small buyers, such as distributers, wholesalers, dealer or on line shop owners  will send many inquiries to different companies, and he will receive many quotations in various price level. Buyers can make comparison among those price list he got to select the properest the like, but there is a big risk for him to cooperate. Why there is such a big difference in pricing, What’s really it behind the lover price? Can they guarantee the quality of products?

3 Google engine or some local search engines
Most people would like to search product on the Internet, because they used to do and like to do in such a Internet era, It is the quickest and easiest way to find the manufacturers via computer or even cellphone. Meanwhile, there are too much information on the Internet, Most buyers can’t  judge which one they need trust, which one they need eliminate?  Another problems, buyer has great patience to scan the information shown in Page 1, Page 2, Page 3. When it reach to Page 4, theirs patience has been used up to go on .While not all good companies in China spend money on Internet marketing, they are good at produce high quality product and service, but their company homepage are not shown in Page 1 , 2 or 3. The buyers will miss such a good opportunity for cooperate them .

4 Professional sourcing agent service
Some companies, especially big company want to place a order to a company, they are unsure the details of their partners to be, they will ask some professional souring agent to know more about the partners, such as register capital, register year, the amount of sales annually, the size and management. Then, they will decide which one is properest for them to cooperate among the companies souring agent recommended.

5 Business development letters
Every buyers will receive many unexpected business development letters from Chinese LED manufacturers if their mail address can be found. This is a really a annoying problems the buyers are facing now. We can’t guarantee all information is useful to buyers, while there are some contents in the mail do really arise buyer’s interest to make the business further. So we can say it is good way for buyers to find new good product and make profit.

To sum up, there are many good manufacturers who attach great importance on quality and service. On the other side, there are many valued buyers from overseas looking for reliable supplier and many ways he can use as well. How can we match the reliable supplier and real buyers perfectly. That’s the issue I will talk next time. thanks.

5 Key Points U.S. Market Considers When Purchasing LED Luminaires and Lighting Systems

Recently discussions in the U.S. market about LED luminaire and lighting systems have revolved around several new key points. Among these, two big factors are that some luminaires are already able to reach an energy saving benefit of 85 percent and that the durability of some LEDs has been increased lessening the probability of RMA in U.S. channels which increases distributor acceptance. 

Below are 5 new main points when purchasing LEDs:

1. Have a full understanding of the company’s product efficiency claim, overall lighting installation cost, resources, maintenance costs, and after sales service.
2. Evaluate the quality of the LED, compare the efficiency of the light output, and whether or not it accords to American green hotel test specifications. This test and evaluation is very strict with every energy efficient feature being closely considered.
3. When evaluating LED luminaires, consider whether or not it can employ even better Energy Star standards and material, and whether the manufacturer provides the product’s test report.
4. Verify and carefully examine lighting and energy efficiency numbers provided by the manufacturer in case of fabrication.
5. Upon inspection of LED lighting fixture or lighting system installation requirements, verify if the abides by the National Electric Code

LEDLink and Edison Enter Hand in Hand into Backlight Market

Secondary optics lens manufacturer LEDlink passed Edison’s direct backlight product certification in August for LEDlink’s direct backlight OD 22mm and 30mm standard sized secondary optic lenses. By passing the certification, the optic lens can also be used in panel lighting. The two companies now plan to make their way into the direct backlight market.

Taiwan LED packaging manufacturer Edison and Secondary Optics Lens manufacture LEDlink have a very close relationship. After changing its focus in the LED lighting market, Edison established a backlight production chain at their Yangzhou factory. The factory can produce about 1.2 million Light Bars (LED light strips) monthly. Edison remarked that their current production capacity is still small.

Following Edison’s entrance into the backlight market, the company watched whether or not LEDlink would also follow suit. LEDlink pointed out that their secondary optic lens have already pass Edison’s direct backlight product certification and has the opportunity in the future to provide Edison with OD 22mm and 30mm secondary optic lens needed for direct backlight products showing that LEDlink hopes to enter together with Edison into the direct backlight market.

LEDlink Chairman Tang Delong pointed out that LEDlink is staying cautious with its cross over into the direct backlight market due to numerous competitors. Therefore they are cutting into large shipments in the initial stages of new products. However, competitors developing similar products bring added pressure, so the core of LEDlink is still small-volume large-variety production within the LED lighting market.
 

How to avoid the light pollution? Commercial led lighting will be your best partner to solve the light pollution.

Many people have come to realize the dangers of outdoors light pollution, but indoor light pollution problems are still not paid  enough attention. In fact, Poorly designed of Indoor Lighting will cause a certain extent of light pollution, affecting the liver’s health.

There are various reasons caused indoor light pollution, but what are the real reasons by the lighting design? At present, many consumers have errors on the interior lighting design, Mainly in the excessive lighting, lighting is too bright or too dark, the color complex, in fact, These problems can be avoided in the lighting design. "

Many consumers use a lot of lighting in pursuit of decorative effect. In fact, General lighting decoration budget should be within 5% of the total project total cost budget, excessive decorative lighting not only occupants eye fatigue, decreased vision, what’s more it is also harmful to the human’s eye cornea  and it may cased iris damage.

As a result ,people who may  suffered from dizziness, fatigue and other physical symptoms like neurasthenia.  In  another way the overly bright or dark lighting, will make the occupants as fatigue or decreased vision, increased incidence of cataract. And there are many consumers like colorful lights. In fact, these colors messy lighting, not only harmful to vision, but also interfere with the brain central nervous system function.

"light pollution" of Indoor lighting should not be overlooked, so are there any way to avoid its adverse health effects?  Here are some suggestions from lighting design experts.

Firstly, when choose the lamp, you should choose those with high color, high-strobe, stable performance characteristics. Such as fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts, LED lamp and so on. the commercial led lighting in High CRI , moderate, spot no flare, no aperture of, can help you see the authenticity of the object to and comfortable; high strobe LED Lighting can reduce eye fatigue; stable performance and high efficiency lighting can make driver long lifespan, greatly increasing the overall stability.

Secondly, with guarantee the normal lighting you can reduce pollution through the ingenious arrangement of lamp. Such as concealed installation of lighting, avoid exposing the high points of light. In addition, selecting the anti-glare led lighting can significantly reduce the glare caused by light pollution.

Thirdly, using indirect light adequately,for example, use the lights reflected off the ceiling and in this way,light is both uniform and comfortable. it is better to use where indirect lighting in a ceiling or light-colored ceiling and require a relatively high illumination uniformity.

EnvironmentalLights.com Adds MaxLite LED Ceiling Panels and Troffers to Product Offering

EnvironmentalLights.com, an online retailer for high-quality, energy-efficient LED lighting systems, announced today that they have added MaxLite’s Direct Lit LED Panel Performance Series, FlatMax™ Edge Lit LED Panels and ECO-T™ LED Recessed Troffers to their website. EnvironmentalLights.com currently offers over 2,000 products including a variety of outdoor and under cabinet lighting fixtures by MaxLite.

“There has been a growing amount of interest from many of our large volume customers for LED ceiling panels for their commercial buildings,” said Alicia Cheng, Director of Product Development. “The super thin FlatMax Edge Lit LED Flat Panels are especially nice, and also won an honorable mention in the Lighting for Tomorrow awards.”

Designed for drop in ceilings, LED Ceiling Panels are the ideal energy-efficient replacement for traditional fluorescent troffers in offices, schools, hospitality, healthcare and other commercial and industrial applications. This high quality performance series is fully dimmable and compatible with building controls, motion sensors, timers and daylight harvesting systems.

“MaxLite is honored to continue its partnership with EnvironmentalLights.com with the addition of LED ceiling solutions to their website,” explains David Wyatt, MaxLite’s VP of Sales West. “Now the online retailer can offer its customers MaxLite’s LED fixtures as high quality and energy-efficient replacement solutions to inefficient ceiling lighting.”

DesignLights™ Consortium Qualified

Constructed for heat sink and thermal control, these DesignLights Consortium (DLC)-qualified LED fixtures operate with reduced heat and without emitting radiation, for reduced HVAC costs. The DLC is a collaboration between utility companies and regional energy efficiency organizations that is striving to help improve commercial design practices and encourage energy efficient commercial lighting.

FlatMax Edge Lit LED Flat Panels

The recent recipient of a Lighting for Tomorrow Honorable Mention, the FlatMax Edge Lit LED Flat Panels are ultra low profile (two inches deep) and ideal for low clearance T-bar and grid drop ceilings. The fixtures are available in 1'x4', 2'x2' and 2'x4' models in 3500°K (warm white) and 5000°K (daylight white) color temperatures. Each LED panel includes a diffuser cover for uniform shadowless light.
Lighting for Tomorrow is organized by the American Lighting Association (ALA), the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL). The Lighting for Tomorrow competition recognizes the best of the new energy efficient residential lighting products and especially those with consumer appeal whose installation and use are helping to transform the market for efficient lighting.

Direct Lit Flat Panels

Constructed with a textured diffuser cover for uniform and shadowless light, the Direct Lit Flat Panel Performance Series contain an enclosed driver in the junction box allowing for an installation depth of only four inches. The fixtures are available in 1'x4', 2'x2' and 2'x4' models in 3500°K (warm white), 4100°K (neutral white) and 5000°K (daylight white) color temperatures.

ECO-T LED Recessed Troffers

Designed with the look of a traditional fluorescent fixture, MaxLite’s ECO-T LED Recessed Troffers house LED strip lights that emulate fluorescent lighting, but operate with the energy saving and long life benefits of LED technology. At just over three inches deep, with an internal wiring box, the slim profile makes this LED recessed troffer ideal for low depth ceiling cavities.
Each LED panel includes a prismatic clear diffuser cover for high lumen output. The recessed troffers are available in 2'x2' and 2'x4' models in 3500°K (warm white), 4100°K (neutral white) and 5000°K (daylight white) color temperatures.