LEDs will soon be used for almost every lighting application and will significantly reduce the demand for electricity. Since the advent of the new government in India in 2014, the LED sector has been witnessing a huge boost, with several predictions claiming that India is on the verge to become the largest LED based market in the world. LED( light-emitting diodes), as a technology, has been around for over 5 decades now but has been gaining tremendous popularity in recent times due to its energy efficiency and durability features. Phenomenal growth has been recorded over the past five years in the LED market and the trend is expected to continue over the next five years.
In India, Narendra Modi government has undertaken flagship scheme called UJALA( Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All), introduced initially as Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme( DELP), with an aim to replace high-power consuming, inefficient lightings with the energy-efficient LED lamps. This has accelerated the LED market in India in a tremendous momentum.
" With India selling 770 million LED bulbs every day, the country will soon become the LED capital of the world. Prices of LED bulbs have come down to Rs. 55 from over Rs 332 two years ago," said Piyush Goyal, power minister.
According to Saurabh Kumar, MD, Energy Efficiency Services, the nodal agency for implementing the UJALA scheme, stated that India consumes around 12 % of all LED lighting systems sold in the world. He says that the UJALA scheme has played an instrumental role in this. More than 9.7 crore LED bulbs have been distributed so far under the scheme.
It is projected that, the UJALA scheme would save Rs 40,000 crore in annual electricity bills for consumers. The scheme is also expected to result in reduction of 20,000 MW load, energy savings of 100 billion units and bring down greenhouse gases emission by 80 million tonne a year.
Hon’ ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the LED bulb as“ Prakash Path” –“ way to light ".
Speaking on the scheme, Kumar says, " UJALA ' s beauty is that there is no subsidy involved, neither by the Centre nor by any state government.
Under the scheme, the price of an LED bulb will cost Rs. 85 for a 9-watt on an average. Some states have received even lower prices during bidding. According to a report titled,“ India LED Lighting Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020” by research based management consulting firm TechSci Research, the country’ s LED lighting market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 32 % during the span of 2015-20.
In India, lighting sector accounts for about 20 % of the total power consumption. Currently most of the lighting needs in domestic and public sectors are met by high-power consuming incandescent or CFL bulbs. The UJALA scheme aims at replacing around 77 crore inefficient bulbs in the country with LEDs.
The rise in LED consumption in India can be accounted under the following factors: Central government’ s schemes like UJALA, offering subsidized LED lighting products; Rising personal disposable incomes; Declaration and implementation of smart city projects; Awareness drives on energy efficient power consumption technologies and its benefits; Application of LED lightings by government in public space such as parks, streets, railways, metro stations, parking lots and other public places.
In 2015, the outdoor lighting application alone generated a revenue share of over 60 % in India LED market and the trend is expected to continue through 2021.
Currently adoption of LED lighting products has been recorded highest in the Southern and Northern states of India due to higher literacy rate and awareness. Rising urban population of the country, that has rose to 33 % in 2015, is expected to further drive demand for LED lighting in India during next five years.
The“ India LED Lighting Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020” report observed that upsurge in adoption of LED lighting is encouraging major players to set up manufacturing and assembling units in India in the near future. These include Philips, Innovlite, GE, Havells, and Syska amongst the few of the leading players in India’ s LED lighting market, along with various new entrants expected to venture in, in the coming years. The report also states that Philips LED continues to be the dominant player in the country’ s LED market, followed by Syska LED lights, as the third largest contributor to the total revenue, along with Havells, Innovlite, Osram, Bajaj, and GE among others.
This rising trend in LED has witnessed several exclusive LED exhibitions and trade fairs in major Indian cities. Light India and LED Expo are the prominent among them all.
In the international arena, LED lighting has already taken several technological leaps with advanced concepts and technologies in LED becoming an integral part of urban infrastructure.
According to a recent report by Philips Lighting, at Smart Cities Expo World Congress in Barcelona, urban populations are growing rapidly and 60 % of the world population is predicted to be living in cities by 2030. Philips Lighting Research unveiled an image of how connected lighting technology will play a key part in supporting the smart cities that are expected to be inhabited in just over a decade.
The company claims to be working to aid in paving the way for massive urban growth by developing a people-centric blueprint for lighting and Internet of Things( IoT) services in the smart city of the future. The column on LED and LED based lighting consists of latest technologies offered by the companies.
ELE Times | 17 | December, 2016