LIGHTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN CHINA: CURRENT STATUS, FUTURE DIRECTIONS

By:  Steven Nadel, Guan Fu Min, Yu Cong and Hu Dexia

May, 1997

China is the world's second largest energy consumer and second largest producer of greenhouse gases. In recent years China's economy has been growing an average of approximately 10 percent annually and lighting energy use has been growing approximately 15 percent annually. Lighting presently accounts for 11 to 14 percent of China's electricity use and this share is growing. Due to China's rapid economic growth, China is having difficulty building sufficient power plants to meet projected demand. To help bring demand and supply into balance, China's Ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) calls for an emphasis on energy efficiency, including a major "Green Lights" initiative to reduce lighting energy use by 20 percent by 2000.

China has one of the largest lighting industries in the world, with a total production in 1994 of more than four billion lamps. China's lighting energy use is dominated by incandescent, fluorescent, and high-intensity discharge (primarily mercury vapor) lamps, which each account for approximately 30 percent of lighting energy use. China's lighting industry is made up of a mixture of large state-owned companies, small town and village enterprises, and large and small joint ventures between Chinese and foreign firms. Most major types of efficient light sources are now produced in China, including compact fluorescent lamps, T8 fluorescent tubes, electronic ballasts, metal halide and high-pressure sodium lamps. Overall, we estimate that widespread use of efficient lighting technologies can reduce Chinese lighting energy use by 40 percent. However, there are many barriers constraining adoption of efficient lighting technologies, with perhaps the most important being poor product quality. For many products, particularly compact fluorescent lamps and electronic ballasts, Chinese quality is not up to international levels. Until quality levels are reasonable, it is difficult to convince consumers to invest in efficient lighting. On the other hand, prices for efficient lighting products are generally much less than international levels. China is already a major exporter of lighting equipment and as the quality of Chinese products improves, exports are likely to soar.

In this paper, we review the current status of the Chinese lighting industry, discussing products, producers, and economics for the major lamp types and other major lighting system components. We also review the barriers to lighting improvements and current efforts, such as Green Lights, to overcome these barriers and improve lighting efficiency in China. We conclude with recommendations for further steps Chinese policymakers can take, as well as opportunities for foreign involvement. Already China has made enormous strides developing and promoting efficient lighting products; these efforts are likely to accelerate over the next few years and have enormous impact on lighting products and energy use in China, as well as elsewhere in the world.

60 pps., 1997, $15.00, I972