SMD and COB LED Comparison

What is SMD LED?

Surface-mounted LED chips, or SMD, on a printed circuit board are known as "surface-mount devices" (printed circuit board). It is because they are manufactured utilizing surface mount technology (SMT). This method is preferred because it is more practical and can be easily installed on tiny gadgets.

Surface Mount Technology

The previous method of assembly, which relied on wire leads, was eventually rendered obsolete by this new method. This technology can be packed in even more electronics into a relatively small area. PCBs can be assembled and soldered automatically with the help of this technology.

SMD chips can be identified by their high density of connections and diodes.
You can find multiple independent circuits on a single chip with more than three diodes and more than two contacts.
The chip's output includes the three fundamental colors—green, red, and blue—and a wide variety of secondary hues.
By altering the beam angles of these three diodes, it is possible to create any hue.
Enhance device dependability, performance, significant cost savings, and impact the aesthetics of electronics and electrical circuitry design.

The manufacturing process utilized to create these bulbs and filaments is transferable to many other lighting applications. In addition, your phone's notification light is likewise an SMD LED. After your phone alerts you to something, the light you see is an SMD light.

Why Choose SMD LED?

SMD LEDs are one of the most popular lighting options available. They're put to good use in various outdoor settings because of their high efficiency and ability to produce sufficient light. But there are still more reasons to use these bulbs.

The variety of forms and patterns is wide.

Among the many benefits of these lights is the wide variety of styles, forms, and dimensions available.

The SMD 2835, SMD 3030, SMD 3014, and SMD 5050 all have elaborate designs and measure 3.5 mm, 3.0 mm, 2.8 mm, and 5 mm in width, respectively.

As previously noted, the chips used to create these bulbs are tiny and constructed on a flat, rectangular substrate. They are well-suited for retrofitting because of their compact size.

The beam angle is more comprehensive.

‍The light from SMD LEDs doesn't need an epoxy coating to be concentrated. It means their beam angle is more comprehensive than that of standard LEDs.

It has a viewing angle of around 120 degrees vertically and a beam angle of roughly 110 degrees horizontally.

These lights are great for various purposes, such as floodlighting, LED facade illumination, and spotlighting, thanks to their broad beam angle.

They blend and distribute light well.

‍Red, blue, and green light with varying beam angles can all be generated by SMD. When viewed from various perspectives, distinct color effects are revealed.

These bulbs provide a lot of light for their wattage, usually between 50 and 100 lumens per watt.

Easy to set up

The box's lightweight aluminum alloy construction is a design feature.

The SMD lights' compact size and simple construction make them ideal for various applications.

What is COB LED?

"Chip on board" (COB) refers to an LED chip mounted directly onto a substrate, such as silicon carbide or sapphire. The chips are stacked close to one another. A COB consists of at least 9 diodes, 1 circuit, and 2 contacts on a printed circuit board.

As part of its COB technology, the use of printed circuit boards and COB chips allows for the development of dependable, energy-saving lighting devices. You'll find the printed circuit board (PCB) in aluminum or ceramic COB substrate.

Depending on the board, the COB chips will be arranged in a series or a parallel pattern on the PCB.

A variety of substrate materials are used to optimize LED performance. For instance, the ceramic material's thermal conductive performance guarantees the correct temperature is maintained for the LED bulbs, allowing them to function optimally.

In addition, depending on the PCB, the chips in this kind of illumination can be stacked in parallel or a specific sequence. These bulbs take on the appearance of panels because of this.

Typically, an aluminum heat sink is used in COB bulbs. The heat sink can dissipate the light source's waste heat.

Why Choose COB LED?

Street lighting, playground lighting, light strip lighting, downlights, landscape lighting, and high bay lighting are examples of the many places you can find COB LED lights in use. The question then becomes why exactly these particular LED lights are so popular.

Superior lighting results
‍COB lights create brighter, higher-quality light and have a more significant impact on the surrounding environment. Because of how the chips are designed, more of them may be used to produce consistent, glare-free illumination.
‍
Greater thermal efficiency and lumens-per-watt ratio
Because of their construction, COB lights are more heat efficient and produce more light for their power consumption. They can produce lumens above 80 while consuming less power.
‍
Improved heat transfer
COB LEDs feature a substantial cooling area and a few individual parts. The circuit board is in sight of the COB's heat sink. In addition, the COB LED's efficient heat dissipation can be attributed to the substrate material, board circuit, and heat sink components.

What Characteristics Do SMD and COB Have in Common?

Because of their commonalities, SMD and COB lights have become two of the most widely used bulbs. Several of them are as follows:

They're both quite basic in appearance.
They generate a lot of light, with COB lights generating over 80 lumens per watt and SMD lights generating between 50 and 100 lumens per watt.
More light means less power used, making these bulbs efficient.
They have over two diodes.
They can be used as spotlights, floodlights, high bay lights, etc.
They offer good value for the money. The long lifespan (over 50,000 hours of operation) and low maintenance make up for the potentially high initial installation cost.
SMD and COB LEDs are guaranteed to be highly efficient in terms of power consumption. The lumens you use will determine how efficiently your light uses energy.

What Is the Difference Between SMD and COB?

LED lights are quickly replacing incandescent filament bulbs as the industry standard. These two lights have similarities, but some key distinctions set them apart. The details below illustrate some of the more noticeable distinctions between them.

Luminosity

Similarly, the difference between SMD and COB LED is also noticeable in brightness. The lumen output of the involved chips is a significant factor in determining the overall brightness. Since LEDs have a higher lumen, they can produce a brighter light than most other light sources. However, the lumen output varies depending on the type of LED.

The lumen output of surface-mounted diodes (SMDs) can range from 50 to 100 lumens per watt, while the COBs can generate over 80 lumens per watt. Consequently, the output of lights with COB is higher.

Color Temperature

More options for both color and color temperature are available with SMD, which makes it more versatile. If you use a few different primary colors, you can quickly achieve a wide range of hues. It also functions when you want to alter the color temperature. A diode of various colors (red, green, or blue) could be embedded in the chip. Changing the output level of these three diodes allows you to produce nearly any color.

However, there isn't much leeway for color and temperature tweaking with the COB. Intentionally limited to a single hue and brightness, its output is uniform. However, this trade-off results in steadier illumination.

Quality of Brightness

The light produced by SMD and COB LEDs is also qualitatively different. The primary reason for this is that the range and intensity of light produced by each vary. It is because of the different numbers of diodes used.

Because of the proximity of the many individual LEDs that make up an SMD light, the illumination it provides is harsh and best suited for use as a pinpoint beam.

In contrast, a COB light fixture will produce light that is both consistent and free of glare. It produces a beam of light that is both consistent and flexible. This is because its wide-angle beam makes it an ideal illumination tool. That's why it's possible to use LED COBs in your homemade surface lighting projects.

Cost

Devices utilizing these various technologies range in price. Both are extremely sensitive to their respective production prices.

SMD requires more resources to manufacture than its alternative. SMD is more expensive than COB if factoring in the time and money required to produce each component.

Typically, SMD costs are 15% of total material costs. Ten percent of COB's material cost is attributable to labor and production. This demonstrates that using LEDs with a chip on board can reduce production costs by about 5 percent.

Choosing SMD vs. COB

The efficiency, brightness, cost-effectiveness, and utility of a given light source are only a few variables that should inform your choice of lighting.

These lights are efficient in their energy use while being dependable and producing a lot of light. For instance, COB is your best bet for increasing light output because it offers a wide lumen output range, typically 80 or more lumens per watt.

SMD lights may be ideal in the bathroom, kitchen, and other rooms where diverse color temperatures are needed.

COB lights can be used for various purposes, including standard streetlights, industrial illumination, high bay lighting, and more.

Applications of SMD and COB

SMD lights can be adjusted in color and temperature, they are ideal for use in commercial settings like bars and shops.
‍
On the other hand, COB is particularly useful in the safety and manufacturing fields. This is primarily because of how bright and far their beam goes.
‍
With this illumination, you can see further away than before. As you try out the various programs, you can determine which ones suit your needs best. Many other fields could benefit from employing these LEDs as well.

Architecture
Better beam angles and more aesthetically pleasing fixtures are two benefits that more complex architectural lighting applications can reap from using COB chips. SMD LEDs, on the other hand, are used in diffused panel lights and other types of general illumination where the light source is hidden behind a frosted diffuser.
‍
Photography
Commonly used in LED video lights for photography are compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) designs. Given their wide beam angle, it's no surprise that photographers and filmmakers favor COB lights for their uniform illumination.

SMD VS COB LED, Which is Better?