This year 2024, China’s Energy Conservation Promotion Week is scheduled from May 13th to 19th, with the theme “Green Transformation, Energy Conservation Battle.” The National Low Carbon Day is set on May 15th, with the theme “Green Low Carbon, Beautiful China.”
According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the arrangement for the “National Low Carbon Day” activities will highlight the characteristics of climate change issues, focus on disseminating scientific knowledge about climate change, and promote the concept of green and low-carbon development.
Solar lighting is one of the manifestations of green and low-carbon practices.
With the increasing depletion of Earth’s resources and the escalating investment costs of conventional energy sources, various safety and pollution hazards are ubiquitous. In recent years, driven by the urgent demand for clean lighting energy and low-cost lighting power from all sectors of society, solar lighting has emerged as the initial off-grid lighting model of the new energy era.
What is Solar Lighting?
Solar lighting devices can convert solar energy into thermal energy to generate steam, which is then converted into electrical energy by a generator and stored in batteries. During the day, solar panels receive solar radiation and convert it into electrical energy output, which is then stored in batteries through charge and discharge controllers. At night, when the illuminance gradually decreases to around 101 lux and the open-circuit voltage of the solar panels is around 4.5V, the charge and discharge controller detects this voltage value and initiates discharge, providing the necessary electrical energy for lamp sources and other lighting equipment.
Compared to the complex installation of grid-connected lighting fixtures, outdoor solar lighting fixtures do not require the laying of complex lines. Simply making a cement base and then fixing it with stainless steel screws makes installation simple. Moreover, compared to the high electricity bills and maintenance costs of grid-connected lighting fixtures, high-power solar lighting fixtures can achieve not only electricity-free operation but also zero maintenance costs, requiring only the one-time payment of purchasing and installation costs. Furthermore, solar lamps are low-voltage products, running safely and reliably, without the safety hazards posed by grid-connected lighting fixtures due to problems such as circuit material aging and abnormal power supply.
Due to the significant economic cost benefits brought by solar lighting, it has spawned different application forms, ranging from high-power street lights, and courtyard lights, to outdoor applications such as medium and small power signal lights, lawn lights, landscape lights, sign lights, insecticidal lights, and even household indoor lighting and portable lighting fixtures represented by flashlights, all of which are supported by solar lighting technology. Among them, solar street lights are the most sought-after solar lighting fixtures in the current market demand.
China’s export of solar lighting products
With the approaching dates of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality commitments in various countries, the global market demand for various new energy products such as photovoltaics and wind power continues to rise. LED lighting products using photovoltaic power generation technology have gradually become popular export products in China’s lighting industry due to their advantages of environmental protection, energy conservation, environmental protection, safety, long service life, and easy maintenance.
In 2023, photovoltaic LED lighting products became one of the categories of Chinese lighting export products that were able to maintain growth in export volume, export value, and export unit price.
According to customs data, the export value of “other electric lamps and lighting devices designed exclusively for LED light sources used in photovoltaic” in 2023 was $1.32 billion, an increase of 27% year-on-year, accounting for 2% of China’s total export value in the lighting industry, an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2022. The export volume was 330 million units, a year-on-year increase of 1%; the export unit price was $4 per unit, a year-on-year increase of 25%.
The United States is the largest market for China’s photovoltaic LED lighting products exports, with export values and volumes reaching $280 million and 100 million units respectively in 2023, representing year-on-year increases of 6% and 12% respectively.
Solar lighting market prospects
Currently, the solar lighting industry has relatively matured technology and market systems. Looking at the domestic market development direction and combining it with the country’s dual-carbon policy, the prospects for the solar lighting market are promising. However, feedback from some end consumers indicates that the solar lighting industry still faces challenges such as technical difficulties, high costs, and inconsistent product quality. Continuous technological updates and iterative upgrades focused on product sustainability are needed to make it gradually become a stable product accessible to more people.
With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, it is expected that the lighting market in 2024 will pay more attention to environmental protection and energy conservation. More lighting products will use environmentally friendly materials and adopt more energy-efficient designs and technologies, which may drive growth in the field of solar lighting.
