Affordable LED Lamps Come to Korean Homes

As we all know that LED lamps have long been known for their efficiency, but due to high prices they have been mostly restricted to expensive industrial and consumer goods like billboards, TVs and automobile lights. But yesterday Philips, the Dutch electronics company, announced it would begin selling LED bulbs at the local discount chain E-mart. Branded “Ambient LED,” the lights work in sockets for incandescent or halogen lights. Ambient LEDs last 45 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Replace one incandescent light with an LED, and it can cut 30 kilograms of carbon dixiode emissions per year, the same as planting a tree. “With hopes of introducing high-quality lighting to consumers, we are offering LED lights at a very competitive price,” said Kim Yun-yeong, vice president of the company’s light division. Ambient LEDs are priced around 20,000 won ($18), about half the cost of previous varieties. LG Electronics also began selling LEDs for homes in February. The Seoul-based company announced yesterday that it received a certification from the Korea Energy Management Corporation for the product’s exceptionally high energy efficiency. Compatible with halogen sockets, LG LEDs can be used for 12 hours daily for 10 years and cost 34,000 won. “We plan to accelerate our LED light business in the coming days by introducing eco-friendly bulbs different from other lights,” said Kim Yong-hwan, director of the company’s solution business team. LG plans to use those lights at its Yeouido headquarters when they are renovated this year. Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, is adopting a wait-and-see approach, still uncertain whether LEDs will succeed in the consumer market. Samsung has been making LEDs for industrial purposes since 2007.