What are COB Lights?
COB LED Lights?
If the term COB makes you imagine a piping hot corn-on-the-cob, we do not blame you. After all, ‘COB lights’ is not a term that you would use in daily life. But if you’ve ever explored the various lighting options and solutions available on the market, you would possibly hear this term.
COB lights are in fact a type of LED light. The COB stands for Chip-On-Board, where the LED chip is mounted on an underlying layer called substrate (for example, silicon carbide or sapphire). Simply put, imagine a bunch of small-sized LED chips stuck to a board. This arrangement gives it the name Chip-On-Board.
Why COB LED Lights?
The arrangement of the LED chips, tightly bound together creates one large LED chip of high intensity and uniform brightness. It’s the equivalent of ‘big things come in small packages’ in the LED lighting world.
It’s a relatively newer technology of LED and is able to produce a much larger output than old-school LEDs, viz, Dual In-Line Package (DIP) LEDs and Surface Mounted Device (SMD) LEDs. LED COB lights also have lower consumption and have good thermal management in terms of lighting solutions.
Since the build is compact, there is also some heat generated which is why COB LEDs are usually coupled with a heat sink. Though the COB light price increases slightly as a result, they are still within the price range of conventional LEDs.
Where are COB Lights Used?
Considering their high intensity and power efficiency, COB LEDs find wide use in below applications:
- Indoor and Outdoor Residential Lighting where high-intensity lighting is preferred. For example, living rooms and front porches.
- Retail Stores where the light intensity influences the attractivity of the products on display.
- Restaurants
- Offices and Workspaces
- Industrial Lighting
- Photography and Cinema Studios, where high-intensity lights are required.
Types of COB LEDs used
Considering their compact size and high thermal efficiency, you will know the type of COB LEDs being used in different forms in living spaces. They can be found as:
- COB Spotlights
- Surface COB Lights
- COB light for false ceiling
- COB LED Strip Lights
- Cinema Spotlights
- Automobile Beam Lights
Why do COB LEDs have an edge?
Here are some features of COB LEDs that give it an edge in the context of lighting solutions:
- High luminous intensity
- Low power consumption and power efficiency
- Thermal efficiency when compared with traditional lighting
- Long lasting performance
- Easy to design and customize
- Consistent colour depth and uniformity
What we’ve learnt today
COB LEDs have distinct advantages and are the preferred choice when high-intensity lighting is required. They are also used in a wide variety of applications, and the COB light price is competitive when we consider their high luminosity and longer life.
So, the next time you hear the term COB, we’ve led you to become bright starry-eyed gazing at an LED-on-the-COB.