Europe is one of the most important lighting markets and industrial gathering places in the world. China has a large number of export enterprises facing the European lighting market. The development of the European market is bound to receive special attention. How has the European debt crisis that has erupted since 2011 affected the LED industry? Where is the current market demand in Europe? How should Chinese companies conduct marketing? In response to the above problems, the reporter interviewed T. P. Pearsall, secretary general of the European Photonics Industry Association.

"Semiconductor Lighting": In 2012, Europe still did not get rid of the impact of the economic crisis. What impact will this have on the LED market?

T. P. Pearsall: The economic crisis has virtually no substantive impact on the LED market. Current LED has two main applications - backlight and lighting. For the backlight, the LED is sold as an assembled component of the TV. The manufacturer sells the LED assembled product instead of itself. Even people don't realize that they bought a TV and also bought the LED. For lighting, the actual application rate of LED is less than 1%. Even if the market purchasing power is reduced, the impact on LED will not be too great. On the contrary, European consumers are very interested in LED technology products, which is very beneficial to the long-term development of the industry.

"Semiconductor Lighting": Which type of LED products is currently the most popular in the European market?

T P Pearsall: This should be divided according to different consumers, different products are favored by different consumer groups. For example, straight-tube LED lamps are most often used in underground parking lots. For this type of commercial application, straight-tube LED lamps have a great potential because they are similar in price to the fluorescent lamps that are used today, but their energy-saving effects are similar. The service life cannot be compared.

Considering the application of LED in many aspects, such as medical use, in the operating room, the lighting headlamp emits a lot of heat while emitting light. This excessive heat will affect the patient Caused by injury, making the surgery often have to turn off the lights early in the process, but also makes it too long for surgery is not possible, and LED applications are a good solution to this problem, LED heat is relatively low, this It is a manifestation of its added value.

The home LED market outlook may not be so good. Because at home, people can see all kinds of different types of LED lights, but let people feel that LED can bring changes to life, not just the replacement of ordinary light bulbs, but also a process. Therefore, the top priority of LED producers is still to create new and more valuable products.

"Semiconductor Lighting": How should companies promote LED applications in the European market?

T P Pearsall: At present, the proportion of LED lighting applications in the European market is not high, and marketing is not an important reason. For example, if there are 10 lights in a home, the electricity cost spent on lighting each month is actually not much. Compared with the price of traditional light bulbs, the price of LED lights is still relatively high. If the money that can be saved is minimal, how many people will want to laboriously replace the well-used light bulb?

The idea of ​​emphasizing energy conservation is actually one-sided. The added value of LED is far more than that, and there are many possible applications. What is needed is more innovative ideas and new products to truly promote the sustainable development of the industry. Just as the smart phone industry has a genius Jobs, there are iphone products, the LED industry also needs such talented people, can create a "smart lamp", perhaps will prompt consumers to willingly pay more money to buy products . Therefore, in order to allow ordinary people to accept the LED, the manufacturer should give the LED product some other features, that is, I want to say that the value-added problem. It is hoped that large enterprises can take corresponding responsibility. In addition, it should be noted that LED marketing should be more of a producer's responsibility, and should not expect too much government support.