The Thailand LED luminaire market is still pretty much focused on conventional replacement products, such as LED T8 tube lights and LED bulbs, but some bold manufacturers are hoping to introduce smart LED lighting products as observed at LED Expo Thailand 2015, which took place in late May this year at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center.

L&E's interactive LED mirror prototype product. The reflective quality of the mirro makes it difficult to show the displayed info on the mirror. (LEDinside)

L&E showcases innovative strength

Thailand’s largest LED manufacturer L&E displayed an interactive LED mirror at their booth. The mirror consists of IR motion sensors that are embedded on a table surface below the mirror, which is capable of detecting hand gestures. L&E is currently working on integrating the sensors into furniture, said a source from L&E.

Top: Hand gestures can be seen on the LED mirror. Bottom: The IR sensors that are used to detect hand gestures. (LEDinside)

The color and brightness of the mirror’s surrounding LED light stripes can be adjusted through entire hand gestures or by swiping two fingers. The LED light strip’s brightness is adjusted through vertical movements of moving the hand up or down, and by moving the hand left or right the luminaire’s color can be changed from cool to warm white. The mirror also functions as a display showcasing the latest weather, news, or other information. The scheduled launch date for the product has not been decided. L&E staff did not reveal much about the prototype’s application sector, but it might be suitable for hotel or residential applications.

L&E's smart LED bulbs to be launched later this year or in early 2016. (LEDinside)

The company also showcased smart LED bulbs that it plans to sell by late 2015 or early 2016, said Napasorn Rittharom, Lighting Design Manager, Design, L&E. The smart LED bulbs use Zigbee wireless standard, and will be sold as a starter kit consisting of four LED bulbs and one gateway. Nichia LED chips are used in these smart LED bulbs that can be controlled in groups with a maximum of 50 LED bulbs.

Top: Philips Hue LED bulbs. Bottom: Philips Hue Go. (LEDinside)

Philips highlights Hue bulbs and solar streetlight

Not surprisingly, Philips has continued its global smart lighting strategy and continued to promote Philips Hue bulbs and Philips Hue Go products at the lighting show. Apparently, Philips Hue LED bulbs have been unavailable on the Thailand market for some time, even though the product has been showcased before. The Philips Hue LED bulbs will be launched on the market later this year and will be sold through Apple retail stores, said Thaunpopua Sontichni, Product Manager of Philips Lighting in Thailand. The Dutch lighting giant was also highlighting its solar lighting solutions at the show. Philips has been purchasing solar cells from suppliers, said Sontichni. The solar streetlights have an IP 68 rating.

Richard Hsu, Senior Director, Oversea Division, Everlight. (LEDinside)

Everlight to launch gateway free smart LED bulb

Everlight also showcased a new smart LED bulb product to be priced at about double the price of average LEDs. The Bluetooth-based LED bulbs to be launched in the Thailand market in 3Q15 do not require a gateway, and can be controlled in separate groups, said Richard Hsu, Senior Director, Oversea Division, Everlight. The color tunable LED bulbs can be tuned from cool white to warm white from 2,700K or 3,000K by smartphones running on iOS or Android systems. Other Everlight products at the booth were mostly LED streetlights, or high bay lights for industrial applications. According to Hsu, all of Everlight’s LED luminaires have passed Thailand’s TISI lighting standards.

Everlight smart LED lights uses Bluetooth technology, which enables it to function without a gateway. (LEDinside)

Sweoo displays smart bulbs and Thai temple inspired lights

Taiwanese automotive LED lighting manufacturer Laster Tech’s LED bulb brand Sweoo, displayed multi-functional smart LED bulbs. The smart bulbs are WiFi based, and require additional gateway. Although, the plastic LED bulbs can only control 20 LED bulbs in each group, it can employ different flash patterns and blink in sync with music beats, and also be programmed as an alarm. The company is still in talks with local agents about distributing the products into retail stores, said Kukoc Su, Director, Lighting Business Division, Laster Tech.

Sweoo color tunable smart LED bulbs. (LEDinside)

Another interesting product showcased by Sweoo was a LED luminaire resembling the roof of Thailand temples. The light has an interesting concept, in which it can be reassembled to meet consumers lighting demands. If a single bulb is not bright enough, an additional ring of LED lights can be added, said Su. The design resembles a LED luminaire version of Transformers, but the staff at Sweoo’s booth explained it was inspired by Buddhist temples in Thailand.

Sweoo's conceptual assembly LED bulb. (LEDinside)

The conceptual lighting product is a standard 6W LED bulb with the option of adding components to achieve 8W, 10W, 14W, 16W, 18W and 24W. This product will be exclusive to the Thailand market.

A diagram of how Sweoo's Assembly LED Lamps can be combined. (LEDinside)

Sengled showcases music playing LED smart bulbs

This is the first time that Chinese smart LED lighting manufacturer Sengled has attended the lighting show. The company has been selling its smart LED bulbs on the market since last year for around 5,000 Thai baht, said Feng Gao, Sales Manager, Export Department, Sengled. The higher price tag attached to the bulbs is because the bulbs come with in-built speakers, which allows it to play music. Some of the company’s smart LED bulbs are being sold through Apple Store.

Feng Gao, Sales Manager, Export Department, Sengled. (LEDinside)

The company was also selling traditional LED lighting luminaires, such as dimmable GU10 and M16 LED bulbs. Sengled has partnered up with local construction companies to develop its products. Sengled is targeting the commercial, hotel, and retail market with its products in Thailand. Currently, the company is highlighting LED tracklights and downlights.

Sengled smart LED bulb products have in-built speakers. (LEDinside)

Lucala showcases smart lighting products to attract partners

Some new players in the Thailand LED market, such as Chinese LED manufacturer Jiangsu Lucala Lighting Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Linyang Electronics, displayed smart lighting products to attract potential partners.

Zhou Xiang, Vice President of Linyang Electronics, the parent company of Jiangsu Lucala Lighting Technology. (LEDinside)

The company’s products emphasize Linyang Electronic group’s strength in smart meters and electronic systems, said Zhou Xiang, Vice President, Linyang Electronics. The company’s experience of working with IR, Blueetooth and Zigbee connectivity technologies in the smart meter industry are transferable to smart LED lighting products, said Zhou.

Lucala's smart LED products. (LEDinside)

Smart lighting products is just one field the group is working on. In general, Lucala is still mostly targeting the LED T8 tube market, and is seeking partners in the construction sector or others to enter schools, factory and municipalities lighting projects. According to Zhou, the company’s total LED lighting solution can halve energy consumption. The company is also considering cooperating with large lighting manufacturers and work as an ODM.

Lucala showcases one of its LED tube light designs. (LEDinside)

TCP Lighting targets designers with smooth dimming LED Lights

In its first year in the Thai LED lighting market, TCP Lighting showcased its smart lighting products, which attracted a lot of inquiries from visitors at LED Expo Thailand 2015, said Harik Su, General Manager of TCP Taiwan. However, the company was mostly featuring its smooth dimming LED bulbs that have a color temperature of 3000 K.

Left to right: Richard Chuang, Director of TCP Taiwan and Harik Su, General Manager of TCP Taiwan. (LEDinside)

“We are only selling these luminaires to designers,” said Su.

Bulbs suspending from the top of the booth are the dimmable LED bulbs that the company hopes to sell to high end restaurants and hotels. Other lighitng products on the table are smart lighting products. (LEDinside)

Compared to average luminaire designs where two drivers are required, this new luminaire only requires one driver and one white LED for tall the color tuning. The dimmable light is able to achieve 2,000K to 3,000K color temperature, bringing its performance close to halogen or incandescent. The bulbs will be priced at around US $20.

Su noted LED product prices in Thailand on average or 20% lower than in Taiwan. The company is still looking for a partner or local distributor.

(Author: Judy Lin, Chief Editor, LEDinside)