Voice of the People's Congress: LED Promotion Must Avoid Blindness and Be Handled with Caution

Yesterday, provincial People's Congress representatives elected from Guangzhou inspected the Municipal Construction Committee. At the meeting, some People's Congress representatives pointed out that the LED lamps currently being piloted for replacement in Guangzhou have many shortcomings compared to the high-pressure sodium lamps in use, and the maintenance cost of LED lamps is relatively high. Before promoting LED lamps, professional detailed calculations should be conducted, maintaining a wise and clear-headed approach and promoting cautiously.

According to Chen Yaxin, Deputy Director of the Municipal Construction Committee, in the construction of the LED lighting project, the original lamps were fully utilized. For the dismantled old lamps, recycling was carried out in relatively remote areas whenever possible. At the same time, energy-saving renovations were carried out on urban street lamps, mainly around the Convention and Exhibition Center, replacing the original street lamps with LED lamps to achieve energy-saving effects.

Some cities have reduced usage after the pilot

Regarding Guangzhou's night lighting, provincial People's Congress representatives are very concerned, especially Xin Pu, a provincial representative from Guangdong Power Grid Company, who has put forward many suggestions on the renovation of LED lights. "There is now a trend of promoting LED lights in the country, but whether LED lights are good or not, and whether they save energy, should be judged by data," said Xin Pu. Under the same lighting intensity, LED lights are actually not more energy-efficient than high-pressure sodium lamps. Currently, this technology is still in the exploratory stage worldwide. After pilot programs in some northern cities, they are gradually reducing the use of LED lights, and Guangzhou cannot blindly promote them on a large scale. "Replacing LED lights should be approached with caution; overly premature hype will come at a great cost."

LED is not the only choice for energy saving

"Using any new technology comes with risks, and Guangzhou needs to maintain a wise mind," said Xin Pu. The currently widely used high-pressure sodium lamps have not yet found a better replacement. Compared with LED lights, sodium lamps have unified standards, and replacement only requires changing the bulb; while LED lights have inconsistent standards, making maintenance and replacement very troublesome. At the same time, since LED emits white cold light, its color rendering is also relatively poor. Not only does the city look "very cold," but people under the illumination of LED lights also appear sickly. "Energy conservation and emission reduction are good things, but using LED is not the only way," suggested Xin Pu, adding that as long as the times for turning the lights on and off are well controlled, a lot of money can be saved.

Regarding the concerns of the People's Congress representatives, Chen Yaxin said that the replacement of LED lights is only a pilot, with a total of 10,000 lights replaced so far, all provided free of charge by enterprises. At the same time, the government has also used voltage regulation technology to achieve energy saving, not just the single replacement of lamps. "Please rest assured, representatives. The government is also very cautious and clear-headed about the energy-saving renovation of lamps."

(Responsible editor: yuy)