Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) a strong advocate of energy efficient LED technology in the Thai LED market, believes it will take another five years before residential lighting market will fully kickoff said Niwat Chayakul, the organization's Director of Power System and Research Development Department at EcoLightTech Asia 2014, which took place in Bangkok from Nov. 11-14, 2014.

Director Niwat Chayakul, Director of Power System and Research Development Department, PEA. (LEDinside)

LED bulb prices have dropped considerably in Thailand to about the same prices as Compound Fluorescent Lighting (CFL), said Chayakul. Many manufacturers at the trade show including Chinese LED manufacturer Opple, Taiwanese LED manufacturer Unistar Opto, Glaring Technology and others also pointed out prices of the popular LED T8 tube in Thailand have dropped considerably.

“Compared to five years ago when a LED T8 tube might cost up to 1,500 Thai baht (US $15.25), Unistar Opto tube prices today are in general in the range of maybe 500 to 800 Thai baht”, said Darin Charang, Sales Representative, Unistar Opto.

Unistar Opto's LED T8 tubes. (LEDinside)

Despite the price drops, general Thai consumers have still not warmed up to LED lighting products. “LED bulb prices need to be reasonable for household,” said Chayakul.

To further promote LED lighting to general consumers, PEA is tapping into its huge customer base by developing consumer lighting products and businesses through its arm PEA ENCOM.

A crowd gathers in front of PEA booth at EcoLightTech Asia 2014. (LEDinside)

As a traditional power supplier to households in Thai provinces, PEA has built up a strong customer base consisting of 15 million members and has a comprehensive network covering universities, hospitals, factories, and private companies outside of Bangkok, explained Chayakul.

PEA ENCOM 5W LED bulbs displayed at this year's EcoLightTech Asia show. (LEDinside)

The PEA company’s 40w equiv. LED (5W LED) are competitively priced at 190 Thai baht, he added. “Chinese LED manufacturer Fory LED Lighting has been the OEM for PEA ENCOM LED bulbs”, said Songsak Sakruangngam, Managing Director of Thaifill Company, the distributor for the Chinese manufacturer in Thailand. Fory LED Lighting is based in Fujian Province in China, with an R&D team mainly consisted of Taiwanese engineers, added Sakruangngam.

(Author: Judy Lin, Chief Editor, LEDinside)