Green, durable LED light bulbs spark commercial frenzy

TOKYO —

Light-emitting diode lights are selling like hot cakes since prices dropped by half this year.

The surge in demand for the new generation of light bulbs has quickly emptied store shelves, prompting more manufacturers to jump into the market.

LED lights first appeared about a decade ago, but their poor brightness limited them to emergency use. Recent advances in longevity and brightness, however, have turned their fortunes around completely.

Today’s LED bulbs cost as little as 4,000 yen but boast a longevity of 40,000 hours, which is about 40 times the life span of incandescent bulbs. They also consume nearly 90% less electricity than incandescent bulbs.

Compared with fluorescent light bulbs, LED lamps are six times more durable and use at least 40% less energy.

Rising public awareness of environmental issues is also boosting LED sales. Countries embarking on “green” initiatives are letting incandescent bulbs fall by the wayside as they move to save energy.

Under the previous government led by the Liberal Democratic Party, then Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari announced a plan last year to cease production and sales of incandescent bulbs by 2012.

As a result, demand for LED bulbs is outpacing supply.

“We are swamped by orders and just can’t keep pace with demand,” said Takahisa Uzumaki, senior manager at Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corp, a unit of Toshiba Corp, which developed LED bulbs in 2007.

Sales of LED lights spiked this summer as prices began to come down. At one large store in Tokyo’s Akihabara electronics shopping district, “Sold Out” signs were seen at the LED light section.

“Many customers buy LED bulbs just to try them out,” said a shop clerk.

In June, Sharp Corp unveiled a plan to sell LED bulbs for about 4,000 yen, less than half the price of products made by other companies. Then more manufacturers, including Panasonic Corp and NEC Corp, entered the fray.

Competition is heating up because startups founded only five or six years ago have entered the market, since it doesn’t take large facilities to mass-produce LED bulbs. That’s one of biggest differences of LEDs over incandescent and fluorescent lamps.

As new companies crowd into the LED business, Toshiba Lighting is taking on the challenge by halving its prices. Their bulbs now retail for under 5,000 yen.

The Toshiba group is fostering the business and betting it will turn into a hot sector.

“We intend to boost annual LED lighting sales to 350 billion yen by March 2016 from the current 20 billion yen,” said Masashi Muromachi, a senior executive at the parent firm.

Sharp aspires to raise annual sales to 50 billion yen in the near future.

With energy conservation a matter of global concern, manufacturers also anticipate brisk demand abroad. Toshiba aims to get overseas sales to account for 30% or more of its total LED sales by the year ending in March 2016.

Panasonic is also setting its eyes on foreign markets.

While they are experiencing a sudden burst of popularity, LED bulbs still leave something to be desired technologically. They are more expensive and less bright than their fluorescent counterparts.

The new type of light bulb can become standard in every household only when manufacturers address and overcome these weaknesses.

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12 Comments

gogogo at 11:21 AM JST - 30th October

LED lights first appeared about a decade ago

Get your facts correct, they were invented in 1962 and have been around since then, I remember using them over 25 years ago.
gogogo at 11:24 AM JST - 30th October

LED lights first appeared about a decade ago

Actually in addition a remote control uses an LED for light transmission, ask yourself when was the first remote control you used?
30061015 at 11:58 AM JST - 30th October

when was the first remote control you used?

For most, when they got married!
furuigakko at 04:00 PM JST - 30th October

Now that's a bright idea, I guess some researcher's light bulb went on.
seeker1 at 05:16 PM JST - 30th October

I think they are talking about LED light bulbs, not the LEDs themselves.
Sarge at 03:59 PM JST - 31st October

"about 40 times the life span of incandescent bulbs. They also consume nearly 90% less electricity"

Great. Now if only car makers would make cars that last 40 times as long and consume 90% less gasoline.
furuigakko at 08:03 PM JST - 31st October

Great. Now if only car makers would make cars that last 40 times as long and consume 90% less gasoline.

Get on it Sarge, expect great things from you!
Lowly at 01:22 AM JST - 1st November

They already have. Small research/ venture capital firms make those things all the time. They can't build or market them tho, just dream them up. So to sell it and make some money for themselves, They sell it and the oil companies buy them.

My friend's student's company invented a battery for cell phones that would have lasted a million hours and would have kept working for decades despite recharging over many years. This invention nearly put the company out of business. Gotta sell to live in today's world and if your products last too long you can't keep selling.
Weasel at 01:44 PM JST - 1st November

If they can only improve on the luminosity, I'd consider purchasing them. But they seem to only put out about the equivalent of 40W for a light-bulb replacement - that's my only knock against them.
realist at 11:40 PM JST - 1st November

"Only 4000 yen?" That is a scandalous price for a light bulb! Another of our freedoms being taken away in the name of the "global warming" lie.
Go90go at 09:40 AM JST - 3rd November

Lowly - My friend's student's company invented a battery for cell phones that would have lasted a million hours and would have kept working for decades despite recharging over many years. This invention nearly put the company out of business. Gotta sell to live in today's world and if your products last too long you can't keep selling.

I'd like to get some of those batteries!

Weasel - If they can only improve on the luminosity, I'd consider purchasing them. But they seem to only put out about the equivalent of 40W for a light-bulb replacement - that's my only knock against them.

Depending on type. Mine are a bit brighter than that.

Realist - "Only 4000 yen?" That is a scandalous price for a light bulb! Another of our freedoms being taken away in the name of the "global warming" lie.

I don't think that paying up front for the convenience of not having to change bulbs as often is too bad.
glycol57 at 05:29 AM JST - 6th November

This is all good news.

LEDs are indeed the future ... but, as the article said, they haven't been quite ready for prime time yet. Price and luminosity are the two big bugaboos. On the plus side they're physically durable and require no mercury - unlike CF bulbs - and have a long enough lifespan to offset the initial price. Also unlike CF bulbs, the lifespan is not tied to how often they are turned on and off.

My big annoyance with them has been the luminosity. If they can't make an LED bulb that puts out as least as much light as a 60-watt incandescent, preferably a 75-watt, then their uses will remain very limited. LEDs are bright IF you concentrate the beam, like for a flashlight. However for making enough light to illuminate in all directions even the 'array' chips such as Luxeons are not up to the task. It takes about 200 conventional LEDs pointing in all directions to do a good job of that. (I know because I came into some commercial 'bulbs' designed, apparently, for traffic signals).

If the hype here is true though and they've doubled the brightness without shortening the lifespan then CF bulbs will soon be relegated to a museum, labled as a "fill-in" technology, kind of like 8-track tape cartridges.

Something to also keep an eye on ... OLEDs (Organic LEDs) produced in big sheets using something similar to an inkjet printer. They will have a shorter life and won't be as bright - but their price will be low enough so it won't make any difference. Oh, and the sheets can be flexible, even stretchy. Self-illuminating clothing anyone ? How about a layer of them under the paint on automobiles so the whole vehicle can glow in the dark ? Big safety plus ! Big profits for the manufacturers and investors too !