LED the future of efficient green lighting; in Pakistan

I wonder how many of us are quite willing for a change and are making up their minds to shift towards this technology of efficient lighting which dawned upon us recently. This technology of future has reached our doorsteps by the courtesy of our Chinese neighbors. I have been in contact with the local representatives of OSRAM, a leading European firm working in the field of LED lighting. According to them a single PRATHOM LED bulb can be made available @4500/- PKR which to my understanding is quite high a price in every respect. I wonder if people have ever tried their Chinese counterparts like OSAKA etc which are readily available in the local market and almost on all the supermarkets.

LEDs are just an application of solid state physics and are not that new to us. We have seen these lights in radios, cell phones etc already. Only the improvisation to use these as dedicated light sources to replace incandescent bulbs is revolutionary and rather new.

I have seen countrymen confusing it with Emergency Lights which are easily available in the local market @300/- PKR. In fact a lot of Emergency Lights being sold out in the local market employ LEDs but I am talking about LED bulbs or tube lights that can directly replace the Incandescent Bulbs and Fluorescent Lights.
e.g.,
OSRAM PARATHOM LED
and
LEDTRONICS
the former is being owned by a Pakistani entrepreneur who in fact is one of the pioneers of this technology. One may check their line up at
LEDTRONICS PRODUCTS 1
LEDTRONICS PRODUCTS 2

Pervaiz Lodhie is President and CEO of LEDtronics, Inc. He established LEDtronics in 1983 in Torrance, California. Mr. Lodhie founded and serves as Chairman of PABE, Pakistani-American Business Executives, and an information portal. He is Founding Director of PAL-C, Pakistan American Liaison Center.

INTERVIEW OF PERVAIZ LODHIE
http://www.pabe.org/index.htm
BLOG OF PERVAIZ LODHIE

I have always been thrilled to hear the success stories of Pakistani entrepreneurs functioning in the foreign markets. I was quite surprised to know that a Pakistani has been pioneering the field of LED lighting solutions. Furthermore, the clients list available on LEDTRONICS was another surprise where even Buckingham palace and large suspension bridges are on it.

One fine example of LED powered Emergency Lights are Rechargeable Lamps which can run on both AC and DC i.e., when there is Electricity running in from the mains and when there is no power (battery mode). It is listed at @899/- PKR and might be available in the local market at around 330/- PKR.

LED RECHARGEABLE BULB ON SYMBIOS.PK

To me the main hindrance towards adaptation of this technology is the associated cost. Even in the west LED lamps haven't been yet mass adopted due to this reason. Maybe once when prices drop substantially then masses will switch over to LEDs. Just like solar panels, substantially high prices discourage mass adaptation, otherwise every one among has already switched towards solar power if the photovoltaic panels were cheap.

Q. One must be curious as to why there is such a difference in price?

On one hand a single LED bulb (of European origin though) costs Rs. 4500 but on the other side Chinese LED emergency lights can be bought for a few hundred rupees. Is it because the Chinese emergency lights are not really LED technology but just claim to be for marketing reasons?

A. Chinese emergency lights also use true LEDs but to my opinion it is only the painstaking potentially expensive qualification process that makes these light bulbs expensive. Furthermore, CFLs in Europe cost way much than that in Pakistan. Anyone can confirm this by checking prices of these on international websites.

Q: Are LEDtronics products available in Pakistan?
A: YES!

I left the same question on the website of LEDtronics. Surprisingly, I was contacted by their country head, some Lodhie guy residing in Karachi who told me that they have an in house manufacturing facility at KEPZ Karachi but they are not retailing their products at the moment at least. Though, he looked very interested in corporate lighting projects.

He is manufacturing inside KEPZ simply because of duty free raw material. The Government of Pakistan should allow alternate energy projects to be setup inside Pakistan and give them duty and tax relief. Unless people at the helm of affairs in the Pakistan Government become genuinely serious about alternate energy the situation would remain pathetic. Simply creating AEDP or committees (with irrelevant or unsuitable people) won't solve the problems.

I talked to the representative (still doubting their credibility though) of Toshiba Lighting (Kainat Enterprises Lahore) recently about any possibility of introducing Toshiba LED lighting solutions in Pakistan, but they too are relying upon CFLs and Tube lights alone. Some of the LED products being boasted by Toshiba are as under;
TOSHIBA LED LIGHTING PRODUCTS

However, they are planning to introduce Chinese LED lamps with Kainat brand name (Latest News; Kainat Enterprises are introducing/launching re-branded LED Lighting product as well as TOSHIBA LED Lighting products. The first shipment will be arriving in the first week of March 2011 and an 8 watt light will be retailed @Rs. 1000-1200/-.). ORIENT a giant conglomerate is practicing the same business strategy by importing CFLs manufactured in china and then marketing those with their own brand name, a legitimate practice as a lot of power generator manufacturing companies in Pakistan are doing this by importing CBUs from UK and China and selling those with their own brand names.

Private labeling is happening in a number of sectors in Pakistan. Firms are importing stuff from China (factory of the world) and labeling it with their own brand name and selling it here.

Some Pakistani firms offering LED Lighting Solutions;

OSAKA (LED LIGHTS)
A prominent firm in this field which is now gaining increasing acceptance of the consumer day by day.

Prices for a very few of their products are as under;

OS-6030L Rs.250/pc

LED Spot Light 3W Rs.445/pc

as on 27.02.2012 

COUNTRY GADGETS (LED MAGLITE)
A firm which boasts about dealing in legendary MAGLITE

PAKARCADE - LED Light Bulbs
An online shop offering free home delievery of LED Light Bulbs of various wattages and having applications covering indoor, outdoor as well as automotive lighting.

GET Technologies; Super NRG Saver

NRG thing seems a bit overkill. However, they are out to bring about a revolutionary change in the electricity consumption pattern of common citizens of Pakistan. Let's hope for the best and see if the masses are ready to take the next quantum jump in the direction of optimal usage of available energy.

Philips LED Light Bulbs
Philips a reliable multinational company has cataloged its LED Light Bulb products on its website. Although, these are a bit expensive but it is very obvious of the fact that the said products bear the name tag of PHILIPS. Surprisingly prices being mentioned are in PKR.

Shaan Technologies (PVT) Ltd.

ShaanTech is an affiliate of LEDtronics, Inc, which is a leader in innovations and solutions for LED lighting products since 1983. Mr. Pervaiz Lodhie, President of LEDtronics, Inc established ShaanTech in 1998 to both create employment in Pakistan and provide skilled product assembly for his North American manufacturing facility. ShaanTech is an acknowledged high quality Hi-tech LED lighting manufacturing company with a well trained and experienced workforce led and managed by a professional management Team.
 

I have recently contacted their below mentioned representative,

Yasser Khalid
Business Development Executive
Off: +92-21-35080062
Cell: +92-300-8288198
email: sales-admin@shaantech.net


The information communicated is detailed as under;

Dear Zaheer

As per our telephonic discussion earlier and the requirement you send.
Kindly go through the following web link for features & specifications for your requested LED Lamps & Lights.
Our LED A19 Bulbs are operatable at 85~265Vac

Product Description, Web Link & Quotation:

LED Light Bulbs, A19 Style, E26 Base, Only 7 Watts Replaces 40 to 50Watt Incandescent - Non-Dimmable
http://www.ledtronics.com/Products/ProductsDetails.aspx?WP=930



LED Light Bulbs, A19 Style, E26 Base, Only 8 Watts Replaces 60 to 75 Watt Incandescent, Dimmable (Also available in 220 VAC)
http://www.ledtronics.com/Products/ProductsDetails.aspx?WP=88

Prices are in US Funds EX Works ( Torrance, CA 90505, USA)

Payment required in full prior to production via bank wire transfer, delivery 08 weeks or sooner after receipt of funds. Please advise if official quote required.
See attached terms & Conditions with payment instructions. Also provide your favorable mode of shipping and carrier (FEDEX / UPS/ TNT/ DHL etc)

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