This year the new crown pneumonia epidemic has delayed the lighting demand for public projects and home decoration, but it has also caused a surge in new demand for ultraviolet sterilization and plant lighting. The new business of some leading LED lighting companies has even increased several times. How the LED lighting industry grasps new opportunities in an uncertain environment has become the most concerned topic at the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition, which opens on October 10th.
"Traditional lighting can create new opportunities." Signify Yao Mengming, general manager of the lighting design and application department in China, believes that there are five new opportunities. One is that China is playing an active role in responding to global climate changes, and there is still room for the popularization of LED lighting; the other is that 3D printing lighting can satisfy Individualized needs, and the recycling of environmentally friendly materials is realized. Third, China’s agricultural plant lighting market has grown rapidly this year. Signify has pilot projects in Sichuan, Wuhan, and Shanghai. The dishes cultivated with artificial lighting in the canopy are not available.
Fourth, UV disinfection has been re-emphasized and applied to hospitals, supermarkets, and aquaculture markets. Sales of Philips UV lamps in China have tripled this year. Signify is also developing UV disinfection lamps for civilian use, but if you don't pay attention to UV rays, it will harm your eyes and skin, so you must pay attention to safe use. The fifth opportunity is wireless optical communication (LiFi), which is more secure than mobile communication networks and can be used for the industrial Internet. However, there are still too few people currently using it, and it will take some time to popularize.
Osram has also expanded from lighting to more innovative applications. Xie Wenfeng, Vice President of Sales for Greater China and Japan of Osram Opto Semiconductors Division, said that Osram has several key directions in the future: first, AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and other immersive micro-display optical applications; It is a sensor that helps cars to drive intelligently and autonomously. China will be the largest market in this area in the future. Face recognition with sensors can prevent fatigued driving and drunk driving. It has been applied on school buses, and sensors can also be used for intelligence. Wearable devices such as watches are used to measure blood pressure and blood sugar; the third is ultraviolet sterilization, which can be used in home appliances and automobiles; the fourth is plant lighting. Osram's plant lighting business in China has increased by at least three or four times this year.
Seoul Semiconductor is also betting on new fields such as ultraviolet sterilization, plant lighting, and Micro LED. Xu Xiaomin, general manager of the lighting division of Seoul Semiconductor Greater China, said that ultraviolet sterilization and home appliances are the largest application market, used in air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, water purifiers, and other electrical appliances. Seoul Semiconductor has cooperated with Haier, Hisense, Gree, Midea, etc. Chinese home appliance companies cooperate; automobiles are the second largest application market because automobile air conditioners also need to sterilize the air through ultraviolet rays. Seoul Semiconductor’s UV LED chip production capacity has tripled this year, and the supply is still in short supply. In terms of plant lighting, Seoul Semiconductor is developing full-spectrum technology that resembles sunlight to ensure the nutrition and taste of plants.
Safety, health, intelligence, and interconnection are the technological development directions of the lighting industry. Lin Liangqi, director and CEO of NVC Lighting, said that while NVC is consolidating its commercial lighting business and cultivating market segments, another focus is on home lighting. It is working on intelligent whole-house lighting solutions, which have a lot of room for imagination. "If the lighting industry does not undergo digital transformation, it will be marginalized in the overall home."
Op Lighting is making efforts in outdoor smart lighting. Wang Cheng, Marketing Director of OP Lighting, revealed that OP has participated in smart outdoor lighting projects in more than 20 provinces in China and hopes to enter the first echelon of outdoor smart lighting in the next three years. Not only lighting companies, but also Internet giants, Huawei, and other companies participate in this field, which is full of competition and cooperation. From the transformation of multifunctional light poles to future operation and maintenance, the outdoor smart lighting business will bring new benefits. OP has already piloted long-term operation and maintenance in Suzhou.
A reporter from China Business News noticed at the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition that Foshan Lighting also puts smart lighting products in the most conspicuous places, including its smart voice bedside lamp cooperating with Tmall Elf, and smart reading and writing table lamps cooperating with Huawei Wait. Foshan Lighting has established smart home solutions with Huawei HiLink, Tmall Elf, Baidu's Xiaodu artificial intelligence assistant, JD.com, Tencent Lianlian, Skyworth, Tuya, etc.
Tang Guoqing, director of the Semiconductor Lighting Technology and Application Professional Committee of the China Illuminating Society and vice chairman of the National Semiconductor Lighting Engineering R&D and Industry Alliance, believes that the LED lighting industry is in a period of transformation, seeking a new future through technological innovation and new application expansion.
