Forum Discussion

downtheroad's avatar
downtheroad
Explorer
May 06, 2015

led style...?

Any advice on which style.
I'm going with warm white T10 base

Which do you recommend?....flat array or round (cob) array for over head lights?


or

30 Replies

  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Yep. Look for ~300 lumens output, to make it same bright as the old 20W incandescent bulb.

    The industry is changing fast, and there are brighter diodes now than 5050, but to me many smaller diodes looks better than fewer brighter ones. More uniform light.
  • As mentioned, I use the flat ones for directional lights. The squared ones for the lamp type lights.

    I found out, that it seems at the factory they didnt much care how they wired the lights in my camper. Meaning its a 50-50******shoot as to which part of the plug is + and which is -. SO on some of my LED's I had to remove the base, cris-cross the leads (and heat shrink one of them) and put the base back on for them to work.

    It may take you a day or two to get used to the new lighting colour.
  • I recommend the flat array for flat mounted fixtures.
    Cob is better for sconce type fixtures.
    Need 250 to 400 lumens to have equivalent brightness.
    JMHO
  • More modern LED chips are th 5630 and 5730 chipsets, and these seem to not only have more Lumens per chip, and emit them at wider angles.

    The 5050 SMDs are Dated now and the market flooded with them and their smaller predecessors.

    Radially firing LEDs do not seem to utilize the reflector properly and having the flat panel versions aimed properly is the ticket.

    The 5730 or 5630 LEDs are not yet widely used in lighting for interior uses but more so for vehicular Exterior signal lighting, but an LED in an housing designed around a filament light source is questionable in ultimate result.

    LED chips can be driven harder or less so, to produce more/less light, so direct comparisons by number of chips alone is not wise, not even from the same 'store' brand name or manufacturer.
  • I have little COB bulbs in my car to replace the dome lights. Two panels with 6 elements in each is AMAZINGLY bright.

    If you can find a flat COB style with a lot (20+) elements, I think that is your best bet.

    Jose
  • I have little COB bulbs in my car to replace the dome lights. Two panels with 6 elements in each is AMAZINGLY bright.

    If you can find a flat COB style, I think that is your best bet.

    Jose
  • The flat panel directs most of the light down, they work well for reading or ceiling lights. The cob gives a more diffuse light and are good when you want to light up an area.

    BTW, neither of the lights you show will give much light. You would want at least 36 of the 1210 (3528) LEDs, which are shown, or at least 18 of the 5050 LEDs.
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    No big difference. I would go with flat, since they are shining down anyway. Boards with pigtail connector are (usually) cheaper than boards with built-in connector like on your photo.