The future of global LED products is dominated by lighting

LED can only be used as indicator light in the 1990s. After the 1990s, the successful development of the InGaAlP quaternary red, yellow light, and GaN blue and white devices has been successful. LED applications have begun to change from indication to illumination. The main application areas include LED displays, traffic lights, landscape lighting, mobile applications, automotive lamps, LCD display backlights, general lighting, and more.

At present, LED products are widely used in mobile phones and are the most important application field of LED products, accounting for about 31% of the total market demand. In general, each cell phone needs 10-20 LED products, which are used on the mobile phone keyboard, display backlight, and camera phone flash. The penetration rate of LED products in the mobile phone market has stabilized, and the future growth of LED products for mobile phones will be directly affected by the sales volume of mobile phones.

Since 2014, the main growth driver for the growth of the global LED industry has come from lighting applications, accounting for 50% of the total. The progress of LED lighting technology and the decline in price have made LED into the lighting field a reality. In 2017, the price of LED bulbs of international lighting giant Philips further dropped to 5-7 US dollars, and Osram also used the price of less than 7 US dollars to seize the market. Because the luminous efficiency is higher than the energy-saving lamp, the price is lower than the energy-saving lamp, and the life is longer than the energy-saving lamp, the LED lighting product has become a powerful alternative to the energy-saving lamp. Faced with the trend of declining prices, global LED companies have sought out the subdivision force. The key enterprises are moving toward the high end of the value chain, strengthening innovative research and development in automotive lighting, plant lighting, intelligent lighting and other sub-sectors, and providing alternative lighting solutions for different application environments.

Furthermore, the global phase out of the incandescent lamp program has entered a critical period. From the time point of view, the main countries and regions that phased out incandescent lamps in 2013 will enter the window period for the elimination of 75W, 60W, and 40W; from the perspective of coverage, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Australia, the European Union, and Japan Countries such as South Korea, China and other regions have entered the period of prohibition and elimination of incandescent lamps, which has greatly stimulated the replacement and use of new light sources in 2014 and accelerated the promotion of LED lighting. The United States, the European Union, South Korea, Japan, and China have proposed LED lighting product replacement process tables. South Korea proposes to ensure that LED lighting products enter the 30% general lighting market in 2015; Japan proposes that the replacement rate of LED lighting in 2015 is 50%, and that in 2020 LED lighting products will be replaced by 100%. The gradual improvement and improvement of LED certification and standards have made LED lighting enter the critical period of development in 2014, and policy promotion has become a favorable guarantee for the development of the LED industry.

On the whole, replacing traditional light bulbs will be the largest application market for LED lighting in the next few years. In 2017, the penetration rate of global LED lighting reached 36.7%. It is expected that by 2020, the penetration rate of LED lighting in China will reach 60%-70%. The product structure has gradually entered the general household lighting from outdoor lighting, commercial lighting, etc., becoming the main driving force for the rapid growth of the LED industry. From an individual application point of view, including display lighting, commercial industrial lighting, outdoor lighting, indoor lighting, light bulb replacement, etc., will be the most important application market for LED lighting in the next few years.