LED beads are the basic light source in LED strips, bulbs, and fixtures. Since the development of technology, there are various types to choose from. If you are looking for high-quality LED beads for your project, this article will provide a comprehensive guide.
Main Models of LED Beads
Surface-Mounted Device (SMD)
Common Models
Surface-mounted device is the most widely used packaging form in the LED industry. SMD lamp beads are usually named with four digits, representing their sizes. There are four common models: SMD 2835, SMD 5050, SMD 3030, and SMD 3528.
Performance
Most surface-mounted devices have a small volume and light weight. Besides, the large emission angle provides you with a very uniform light distribution. The angle often ranges from 120° to 160°. Moreover, SMD has high-quality heat dissipation, which can prolong the lifespan of LED beads. Nowadays, SMD has reached large-scale production, making it cost-effective.
Applications
Due to its small size and flexibility, SMD is widely used in commercial decoration and ambient lighting. Many high-resolution screens, such as meeting room screens and stadium LED screens, primarily utilize SMD. In addition, SMD 2835 and SMD 3030 are often used for panel lights, downlights, and bulb lights.
Chip on Board (COB)
Performance
COB integrates dozens of LED beads onto a single panel. This makes its light more uniform, resolving ghosting and light spots. It also has high thermal conductivity, which enhances the stability at high power. Moreover, with more beads of the same size, COB can achieve extremely high brightness.
Applications
The spotlight effect and good CRI make COB popular in shopping malls. Film shooting also uses COB to provide a stable, high-brightness, flicker-free light. Due to its excellent heat dissipation, mining lamps and street lamps usually use it to ensure long-term and high-intensity work.
Dual In-Line Package (DIP)
Performance
DIP is the first LED packaging form that achieves commercial success. It is durable, which can effectively resist impacts and a moist environment. Besides, by changing the shape of the top, DIP can be made with narrow viewing angles (15°-30%) for long-distance illumination.
However, the DIP’s heat dissipation efficiency is low. As a result, you can only use the DIP for low-power applications. Besides, in full-color LED displays, the red, green, and blue colors of DIP are usually separated independently. If you watch it up close, you will find the uneven color distribution.
Applications
Firstly, DIP is often used for outdoor large screens, including square screens and stadium scoreboards. Secondly, DIP is widely used for traffic facilities, such as traffic lights and tunnel indicator lights. Thirdly, it usually serves as an indicator light or decorative lights. Fourthly, you can use DIP for education, since it’s easy to operate by hand.
High-Power LEDs
Performance
High-power LEDs refer to LED beads with a single rated power of 1W or more. This type is characterized by high brightness. You can use it for long-distance irradiation. Moreover, it has a high CRI, which can accurately reproduce the true colors of objects. Besides, it has a long lifespan of over 50,000 hours.
Purchasing Attentions
Heat dissipation is a huge challenge for high-power LEDs, so it’s important to equip a heat sink. What’s more, the constant current drive is also necessary, since the high-power LEDs are sensitive to the electric current. And this equipment helps it maintain stability.
Applications
High-power LEDs are designed for occasions that require strong light over long distances and for lighting large areas. For example, this type is often used for glare flashlights, street lamps, plant growth lamps, stage lights, and car headlights.
Different Luminous Colors of LED Beads
White LED Beads
White LED beads are the most special beads. One popular method is to pair the blue light chip with a yellow phosphor. There are three models with different color temperatures. The warm white has a yellowish hue and is particularly suitable for bedrooms and dining rooms. The natural white is close to sunlight, and is suitable for the kitchen, study, and office. Besides, the cool white has a bluish hue and is suitable for basements and flashlights.
Monochromatic LED
By emitting a specific wavelength, monochromatic LEDs can provide pure color light. The spectral width is usually only 15 to 30 nanometers. It can directly emit light from the chip. In addition, different colored light beads have different voltages. The red, orange, and yellow LED beads are about 1.8V to 2.2V. And the blue, green, and purple LED beads are about 3.0V to 3.6V.
There are different kinds of monochromatic LEDs. Red LEDs are suitable for traffic lights, plant seedling raising, and promoting wound healing. Green LEDs are commonly used for advertising screens, green space landscapes, and interior decoration. Blue LEDs are suitable for teeth whitening, display, and deep-sea lighting. Yellow LEDs are suitable for vehicle-mounted turn signals and warning signs.
Multi-Color LED
Core Classification
Multicolor LEDs integrate two or more chips of different colors within a single light-emitting diode. By controlling the brightness and switching, it can emit millions of colors. For example, bi-color usually integrates red and green with two or three pins.
RGB LED includes red, green, and blue. By adjusting the current proportioning (PWM), you can have access to 16.77 million different colors, theoretically. Moreover, RGBW and RGBWW add pure white or warm white light chips to the basic of RGB. This kind of light is purer and has better color display.
Applications
Multi-color LEDs are suitable for ambient lighting lamps, such as RGB light strips for e-sports rooms. You can also use them for landscape engineering, such as Building lighting and fountain underwater lights. It is recommended to use multi-color LEDs for a full-color display screen. In addition, you can purchase them for the electronic device status indicator.
Special LED Beads
Plant Growth Lamp Beads
Plant growth lamp beads are specially designed to simulate the spectra required for plant photosynthesis. By providing specific wavelengths, these beads regulate the plants’ entire growth cycle from germination to flowering and fruiting. When purchasing these LED beads, you should pay attention to professional indicators: PPFD and PPE.
There are some common types. For example, full-spectrum white light is close to sunlight, and it is beneficial for humans to observe plant diseases and pests. The blurple light was popular in the past. But it is not convenient to observe, and it is uncomfortable to the eyes. The COB type is suitable for large plants. Moreover, the SMD LED bead is the most common type. You can adjust the spectrum flexibly.
Ultraviolet (UV) Lamp Beads
UV lamp beads refer to a special LED that can emit invisible light with wavelengths ranging from 100nm to 400nm.
Core Types
There are primarily three core types. The first one is UVA, ranging from 315 – 400nm. It is primarily used for industry and curing. The second one is UVB, ranging from 280 – 315nm. It can promote the production of vitamin D in the skin. The third one is UVC, ranging from 100 – 280nm. It is widely used for sterilization and disinfection.
Purchasing Attentions
When purchasing the UV lamp beads, it’s important to pay attention to the radiant power. For example, you need a UVC lamp bead at 270nm for disinfectant, while a UVA lamp bead at 365 or 395nm for nail lamps. What’s more, you can’t look directly at UV lamp beads. You should also protect your skin from burning and ventilate to reduce ozone.
Infrared (IR) Beads
IR beads are a photoelectric consumable with an emission wavelength of over 700nm. This is almost invisible to the human eye. They serve as the core of signal transmission, night vision imaging, and sensor detection. Besides, the performance of IR beads is entirely determined by wavelength.
Applications
There are two popular wavelengths of IR beads you can choose from. The first one is 850nm. You can use it for camera fill lights and facial recognition. The other one is 940nm. You can use it for concealed monitoring and remote control. You can also use IR beads for optical communication, infrared induction, and biomedical applications.
Purchasing Attentions
When choosing IR beads, it’s important to notice the radiant intensity and the viewing angle. The first one determines how far the infrared rays can travel. The second point is particularly important for the remote control and the surveillance lighting. Although infrared light is invisible, high-power infrared light will cause thermal damage to the retina. As a result, you mustn’t look directly at the working infrared light at close range.
Main Parameters of LED Beads
Luminous Flux (lm)
Luminous Flux is the core indicator for measuring the brightness of LED beads in lumens (lm). It represents the total amount of light emitted by a light source in all directions and can be perceived by the human eye. When purchasing, you can choose the higher lumen value, since these LED beads are brighter.
Forward Voltage (VF)
Forward voltage is the minimum DC voltage required across LED beads. It is the most crucial parameter for calculating resistance and matching the driving power supply in circuit design. Besides, colors can influence the VF. For example, the IR light ranges from 1.2V to 1.5V, while the UV light ranges from 3.2V to 4.0V.
Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)
Correlated color temperature is a physical indicator to measure whether the color of light is warm or cool. Its unit is Kelvin (K). There are three kinds of CCTs. The first one is warm white, ranging from 2700K to 3500K. The second one is natural white, ranging from 4000K to 4500K. The third one is cool white, ranging from 6000K to 6500K+.
As for humans, warm CCT can inhibit blue light, which is beneficial for melatonin secretion and helps with sleep. In addition, the cool CCT contains more blue light, which can refresh the mind and improve concentration.
Color Index (CRI)
Color index is an indicator of LED beads’ ability to reproduce the original color of objects. It takes natural sunlight as the standard (CRI = 100). If the value is close to 100, the color of objects will be more natural and realistic. For example, a CRI below 70 will make the object look grey, while a CRI over 90 will make the color bright and well-bedded.
Viewing Angle
The viewing angle describes the degree of light diffusion emitted by the lamp beads. The emission angles vary due to the difference in packaging forms. For example, the DIP LED bead is characterized by a narrow angle, 15° to 60°. The SMD LED bead has a wide angle, ranging from 110° to 140°. The COB has an ultra-wide angle that is over 160°.
If you want to shoot far and accurately, you can choose a narrow angle. If you want to shoot wide and even, you can choose a wide-angle bead.
FAQ
What Is the Best Type of LED Beads?
The best type of LED beads depends on your requirements. If you pursue the quality and evenness of light, COB can be your first choice. If you pursue high-cost performance, you can prioritize SMD LED beads. Moreover, high-power LED beads are characterized by strong light and long-distance shooting. For intelligent color and atmosphere features, RGB LED beads can be a good choice. In addition, DIP is suitable for tough environments. What’s more, it’s important to pay attention to CRI, CCT, and luminous flux while purchasing.
Which Type of LED Bead Is Brighter?
High-power LED beads and COB LED beads are brighter than other types. The single light of a high-power LED bead has the highest brightness and can shoot the farthest distance. In addition, if you need a luminous area that looks very bright and even, COB LED beads are the brightness choice. A coin-sized COB module can reach 5,000 to 20,000lm. Its entire surface emits light, presenting an extremely powerful visual impact.
How to Check the Quality of LED Beads?
To ensure the quality of LED beads, you can follow several steps. Firstly, you can observe the appearance with your eyes. You can check whether the brackets, packaging, welding surfaces, and metal wires are firmly attached and have intact surfaces. Secondly, you can conduct an electrical test. You should ensure that the light brightness remains consistent and the color is pure. You can use your mobile phone camera to point at the LED beads and make sure there are no severe dark and bright stripes. Thirdly, it is recommended to check the core performance indicators. You are supposed to choose LED beads whose CRI is over 90 and a luminous flux of 130-180 lm/W. Moreover, the LM-80 test report ensures the lifespan of over 50,000 hours.
Final Thoughts
There are huge differences in performance and applications for various LED beads. By learning the basic information about LED beads, you can choose the most suitable one for your project. If you are looking for high-quality LED beads, JINGYLED can be your best partner. We will provide you with professional, customized service. Don’t hesitate to contact us for your LED beads!
