Paying for the poor quality of T8 LED tubes
In order to reduce costs and production pressure, major international companies continue to outsource their products to Asian countries for production. While enjoying the low labor costs in Asia, major international companies also have to bear product quality risks. T8LED tube OEMs must take the responsibility for solving product quality management problems, and consumers should also raise awareness and pay attention to T8led tube quality problems.
On June 4, 2015, CREE announced the recall of 700,000 LED T8 tubes produced in China, which accounted for more than 90% of the number of LED tube recalls in 2015. Followed by the German Osram North America branch, on August 25, announced the recall of 55,000 LED T8 tubes produced by the Korean foundry. The huge recall of LED T8 tubes is mainly related to the place of application. Because LED T8 tubes are usually used in factories and retail stores. In the North American market, the main reason for the recall of LED products is the danger of electric shock and burns. Both CREE and Osram recalled T8LED tubes because of the danger of burns. Most of the recalled products failed to meet the strict life cycle, electrical safety and heat resistance test standards of DLC certification. According to statistics from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, between 2010 and 2012, there were an average of 1,700 fires caused by lighting equipment each year. The only good news is that the number of such fires has been decreasing, from 1,900 in 2010 to 1,400 in 2012.
China-made T8 LED tubes still have the highest recall rate because China is the world's largest T8 LED tube production base. Another argument states that China's high recall rate is mainly due to fierce price wars. In May of this year, Philips ignited a price war and launched two low-priced LED bulbs for $4.99 in the US market, and GE launched three ultra-low-priced LED bulbs for $9.99.
