LED technology is famous for its innovative lighting and illuminating process due to its efficiency in giving light and conserving power. Thus, this technology finds its famous application in LED lights, illuminating most households worldwide today.
But LED technology continuously improves and innovates. The latest one making buzz is the COB LED. What is it, and what promise does it hold for most consumers worldwide?
1. LED Technology
To appreciate COB LEDs, we must first understand how effective LED lights are. The most common lights in the market are SMD LEDs. These “Surface-Mounted Devices ” are brighter and can last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
Even better, these LED lights consume less electricity than traditional light bulbs. The traditional view is that for lights to be brighter, you need to consume more energy because they need more heating. The advent of LED lights changed that.
The difference lies in how the device generates light. Incandescent bulbs generate light by heating the wire filament inside. LEDs, meanwhile, generate light through electroluminescence. You run an electric current through the diodes, making them emit photons.
That accounts for the lesser energy consumption of LED lights despite being brighter.
2. COB Technology
COB LEDs are a significant improvement over SMD Lights. They can last twenty times longer than traditional incandescent lights, meaning they also have more than double the shelf life of SMD Lights.
They can also pack so many lumens (a measure of brightness) in LEDs they tend to be brighter. COB LEDs can illuminate specific targeted areas better than incandescent bulbs and their predecessor, SMD Lights.
The secret of COB lies in the advanced technology employed for COB LEDs. COB stands for “chip-on board,” referring to this device’s tightly packed arrangement of chips. The technology connects those chips with a sapphire substrate or a silicon carbide.
COB LEDs have so many lumens because arranging LEDs and packing them tightly in the device allows for a greater concentration of light and uniformity. That allows for more excellent brightness in a targeted coverage area. If you look at its structure closely, there are no spaces between those diodes, allowing for a greater concentration of lumens.
Going deeper, a discussion of the advantages of COB LED will highlight the significant differences between COB and other devices, such as SMD LEDs and traditional incandescent bulbs.
3. Advantages of COB LEDs
The development of COB LEDS is due to the need to find even more efficient LED lights that can optimize and maximize all the advantages of LED technology. Among the advantages of the COB LED are:
Powerful Luminescence
Because of the great concentration of light due to chips tightly packed in just two contacts, COB LEDs can generate more lighting than regular LEDs and traditional incandescent bulbs. On average, a COB LED can have 80 lumens, but some can go as high as more than 200 lumens.
In comparison, SMD Lights usually have between 50 and 100 lumens. The arrangement of diodes in an SMD LED results in lesser brightness due to a lesser concentration of light. SMD LEDS only have up to three diodes per chip, even though they have more connections.
COB LEDs, meanwhile, can have 9 diodes or more in each chip in each connector. That allows for a greater concentration of light, resulting in more brightness and luminescence.
Greater Concentration of Light
Because of uniformity, the lights can provide excellent illumination over a specific covered area. That makes them better than traditional or SMD LEDs for specific objects and applications needing superior lighting and brightness.
Greater Energy Efficiency
LED lights are generally energy efficient, but a COB LED is more energy efficient than SMD LEDs. First, they can generate more lumens and provide more excellent brightness with less energy use. You can save on electricity costs and battery fuel.
Second, they generate little heat. Incandescent bulbs are notorious for that; even SMD LEDs, used for long hours, will generate some heat. COB LEDs, however, generate lesser amounts of heat, and they have practical advantages in specific applications and situations.
COB LEDS, then, are better for sustainable energy and the environment. They maximize the less electricity they use to give the most excellent brightness and illumination the technology can afford.
Specific Applicability
The superior brightness, excellent uniformity, and better concentration of lighting make COB LEDs ideal for specific industries, applications, and devices. They provide excellent illumination and visual clarity, helping people in some industries be more efficient.
Photography, videography, film, and television are among those who benefitted the most from using these lights. A significant concentration of light usually produces more heat, but with COB LEDs, this is not a problem. It is an excellent solution for those who are constantly working, literally, with and under lights.
Other industries, like mining and factory-specific industries, utilize particular COB LEDs, like COB lamps, to illuminate specific areas for better work efficiency. Hospitals and medical professionals also use COB LEDs because of their distinct advantages over others.
COB LEDs are best in areas that need lighting and concentrated illumination, including parks, streets, gardens, storage rooms, halls, etc.
Durability
Most devices running on LED technology are durable, but COB LEDS are more durable than SMD and others.
COB LEDs’ relatively straightforward but efficient approach to lighting allows them to use fewer components. Fewer components mean less susceptibility to breakdowns and failures, making them long-lasting and considered more durable. On average, the shelf life of a COB LED is more than double that of an SMD LED.
4. The Disadvantages of COB LED
COB LEDs might be superior to others in most aspects, but they have certain disadvantages due to their technology’s peculiar nature. Among these disadvantages are:
Color Selection
COB LEDs are available only in limited colors because they have only two connectors. They are excellent for objects, things, and surfaces that do not need other colors or color variation. Because of this, there are certain limitations as to their applicability, particularly with some devices.
For instance, they rarely apply to smartphones because most need varied lighting. With their technology’s various color applications, SMD LEDs can provide that.
Consistent Energy Source
Much as it spends less energy, it needs a constant energy source to operate. You also need constant energy sources, like electric outlets and batteries, to avoid damaging specific components.
Heat Sink Availability
The diodes are prone to less heat than an SMD LED or incandescent bulb. However, when you concentrate a COB LED on a particular surface or object, the light will generate much heat in the long run, making a heat sink imperative.
That may not be the case for SMD LEDS because they illuminate a particular surface evenly. That allows for the dispersion of light and, thus, heat in a larger area.
Costly
On average, COB LEDs are costlier than their SMD counterparts. That is due to the advanced technology needed by COB technology. However, they are also costlier due to the peculiar nature of the components themselves.
A connection has more diodes than the SMD LEDs. If one breaks, fails, or becomes ineffective, you must replace the whole connection, even though other diodes work efficiently. That makes replacing a component or repairing the COB LED costlier than SMD LEDs.
It is also costly because it requires a high level of craftsmanship due to the nature of technology and materials. The process of manufacturing COB LEDs makes it pricey. However, simultaneously, the process makes specific components susceptible to breakdown, increasing the possibility of repair.
5. Why Buy COB LED?
Despite the drawbacks, it makes sense to buy a COB LED. More so if:
- Illuminating a specific surface area for a more extended period requires greater concentration and focus of lighting.
- You work in an industry that necessitates the use of COB LEDs.
- You need a lighting source that is energy efficient and better for sustainable energy and the environment.
If you have any questions concerning LED technology, its applicability, or devices that use it, we at Ledsino can be of significant help. We can give you the best insights into what LED technology can offer.
We also have the best devices that offer LED technology. From display technologies to gadgets and smartphones to various electronic equipment, we have them. They are the best in the business and are guaranteed to be long-lasting and efficient.
6. Final Thoughts
LED lights are a vast, significant improvement over traditional lights. They are better in all significant aspects: lighting and illumination, energy efficiency, and cost. Because of that, most industries and households worldwide employ LED lights for illumination of all kinds.
COB LED is among the latest in LED technological innovation. Owing to its materials and technology, it has distinct advantages. Various industries, from entertainment and visual arts to heavy industries, have used it for specific applications.
It has some drawbacks, too, but everything being equal, COB LEDs have many positives. You might buy COB LEDS because you need them, so if you have the money, you have every reason to go for it.
