Official Standards Definitively Shed Light on LED Streetlighting in Taiwan

On December 4, 2008, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan set the first national standards for LED streetlighting, which, also reportedly the world's first of its kind, is expected to rid of second-guessing for the island's LED-streetlight manufacturers, definitively shedding light on LED performance and inspection as they look to further tap the potentially lucrative market.

According to S.N. Chen, Director of BSMI's First Division, who oversees the enforcement of the standard, codenamed CNS15233, points out that setting this set of standards underscores the government's determination to pursue its "energy conservation, carbon reduction" policy. "The government is push hard to encourage official organizations and the private sector to adopt energy-saving products like LED streetlights. The new standards define clearly guidance for official procurements of LED lights, thereby fostering demand," she says.

The ministry's Bureau of Energy has budgeted NT$130 million (US$3.8 million at US$1:NT$34) to install eight-meter LED streetlights on selected minor roads to field test the LED light's thermal-dissipation under high ambient temperatures according to the standard. The budget will be released this year as soon as it is approved in the Legislature.

20-percent Brighter

"Ideally the budget should be raised to NT$260 million (US$7.6 million) to replace all mercury streetlights islandwide with LED lights for the latter is 20% brighter at the same wattage," comments J.D. Chen, Director of the Energy Bureau's Energy Technology Division, estimating that replacing a 250W mercury streetlight with a 125W LED streetlight, meeting the newly introduced standards, can save up to 52% in electricity.

According to the online clearinghouse LEDInside, run by the online memory-chip marketplace DRAMeXchang.com, Taiwan had 1.4 million streetlights or so last year, an increase from the Energy Bureau's estimated 1.3 million lights in 2004. LED streetlights numbered only 2,000 to 3,000 units or less than 1% overall. However, LEDInside estimates that Taiwan's LED streetlight market to grow at compound annual rate of 113% during 2008-2012, with such streetlighting to be ubiquitous in Taiwan after 2010.

Also, the Energy Bureau, Chen notes, has set up a fund totaling about NT$120 million (US$3.5 million) annually to finance government-backed R&D centers to work on unique LED-lighting technologies with private organizations, which can then use technologies achieved as chips in cross-licensing talks with international players.

Well Positioned

Chen points out the uniform standards can help manufacturers enhance chances to win contracts and help them control costs easier than before, as well as believing that Taiwan is getting a head start over other countries for its earlier introduction of the LED streetlight standards. "Taiwan already has many LED R&D centers, set up verification capability, strong government backup and well-developed distribution channels for LED products. Most of all, Taiwan is a leading supplier of LEDs," he says. Last year alone, Taiwan turned out US$1.9 billion of LEDs, for 26% of the global revenue, making it the world's No.2 supplier only next to Japan.

Chen predicts that setting the CNS15233 standards will likely motivate Taiwan to do the same for indoor LED lighting by 2012.

The CNS15233 standards are the first such specifications set by the Taiwan government, according to Dr. L.L. Lee, Deputy Director of Electro-Technology Division of the Energy and Environment Research Laboratories under the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), who was involved in the drafting of the standards. "Department of Industrial Technology felt the industry needed a set of standards to follow due to the inconsistent quality of products made. "The CNS15233 specifies basic product performances and product safety. Although the criteria for product functions were drawn for the Taiwan industry, product inspections are completely compliant with those adopted by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and UL (Underwriters Laboratories)," Lee stresses.

With LED streetlights made up of lighting fixture and LED light source, the drafters of CNS15233 turned to international standards as references. "CNS15233 disqualifies products showing electric leakage and electromagnetic interference, as well as specifying luminous efficiency, lifespan, color-temperatures and difference, illumination intensity and eco-impact factors," Lee adds.

The CNS15233 standard classifies LED streetlights into three grades: 75Lm/W and above, 60Lm/W and above, and 45Lm/W and above, testing them non-stop for 1,000 and 3,000 hours separately and requiring the retention of 92% of their initial luminosity after 4,000 hours.

"Such tests are to determine the durability of an LED streetlight. Also, we define the useful life of the light as the period before illumination decays to 30% of the original level. Plus the standard requires a light to withstand at least 8,000 on-and-offs," she says.

Reference for China

Chen at the Energy Bureau believes that Taiwan's LED streetlight standard would become a major reference for China as they try to follow suit. A Cross-strait conference addressing the LED industry, he adds, is to take place in mid-2009, where the mainland attendees can look to taking a few tips on standards drafting from their Taiwan counterparts. "To have China adopt our CNS15233 would very much help to pave the way for Taiwanese manufacturers to enter the vast China market, already recognized as the world's biggest for LED streetlights," Chen says.

Taiwanese LED manufacturers as Epistar, On-Lite Technology, Bright LED Electronics and Everlight Electronics, among others, have plunged into streetlight production and entered into alliances with mainland Chinese manufacturers in LED-packaging, traffic-light, and streetlighting industries to tap the enormous mainland market.

According to an LEDInside report, China's streetlights have been growing annually at 20% since 2006, when its 15 million streetlights already outnumbered all other's. Such figure pegs China's streetlight market with a value of around five billion yuan (US$735 million) a year.

Industry insiders in China estimate LED streetlights could save over two billion kilowatt-hour of electricity a year. They actually field tested LED streetlights against traditional types by installing 202 of each kind on a three-kilometer road and 333 on a five-kilometer stretch. The side-by-side comparisons proved, they touted, that the LED-lit three-kilometer road saved up to 510,597 yuan (US$75,087) overall, including electricity, maintenance and cable installation relative to the traditional lights; while the LED-lit five-kilometer road, they reported, showed even greater savings totaling a reported one million yuan (US$147,000).

Surging Global Growth

The market research organization Topology Research Institute of Taiwan offers more promising news: estimating that global shipments of LED streetlights to surge at a record 1.3-folds to total 2.1 million systems this year from last year's 900,000 lights, with a market penetration estimated to surpass 1%, implying incredible untapped potential.

With relatively costlier LED lamps still being less acceptable by individual consumers, many governments worldwide have been replacing traditional streetlights with LED types to save energy in public works projects, with LED streetlights playing a key role to justify the transition to a more expensive form of lighting, the institute says.

As part of the 17 official standards set for LED specifications, CNS15233 governs streetlighting while the others regulate thermal resistance of LED devices, lifespan of LED lighting devices and modules, measurements of electrical and photonic properties of LED devices, and measurements of photonic and electrical properties of LED modules.