Introduction: In the modern and contemporary development of the lighting industry, LED and COB light sources are undoubtedly the two most dazzling pearls. With their unique technological advantages, they jointly promote the progress of the industry.This article will delve into the differences, advantages, and disadvantages between COB light sources and LEDs, explore the opportunities and challenges they face in today's lighting market environment, and their impact on future industry development trends.
PART.04
Light and Energy Efficiency: Breakthrough from Theoretical Limits to Engineering Optimization
Traditional LED light source
The improvement of LED luminous efficiency follows Hertz's law and continues to break through material system and structural innovation. In epitaxial optimization, the In GaN multi quantum well structure achieves an internal quantum efficiency of 90%; Graphic substrates such as PSS patterns increase light extraction efficiency to 85%; In terms of fluorescent powder innovation, the combination of CASN red powder and LuAG yellow green powder achieves a color rendering index of Ra>95. Cree's KH series LED has a luminous efficiency of 303lm/W, but the conversion of laboratory data to engineering applications still faces practical challenges such as packaging loss and driving efficiency. Like a talented athlete who can create amazing results in an ideal state, but is constrained by various factors in the actual arena.
COB light source
COB achieves breakthroughs in engineering light efficiency through the synergy of optical coupling and thermal management. When the chip spacing is less than 0.5mm, the optical coupling loss is less than 5%; For every 10 ℃ decrease in junction temperature, the light attenuation rate decreases by 50%; The integrated design of the drive enables AC-DC drive to be directly integrated into the substrate, with a system efficiency of up to 90%.
Samsung LM301B COB achieves a PPF/W (photosynthetic photon efficiency) of 3.1 μ mol/J in agricultural lighting applications through spectral optimization and thermal management, saving 40% energy compared to traditional HPS lamps. Like an experienced craftsman, through careful tuning and optimization, the light source can achieve maximum efficiency in practical applications.
PART.05
Application scenario: Expansion from differentiated positioning to integrated innovation
Traditional LED light source
LEDs occupy specific markets with their flexibility. In the field of indicator display, 0402/0603 packaged LED dominates the consumer electronics indicator light market; In terms of special lighting, UV LED has formed a monopoly in the curing and medical fields; In dynamic display, Mini LED backlight achieves a contrast ratio of 10000:1, subverting LCD display. For example, in the field of smart wearables, Epistar's 0201 red LED has a volume of only 0.25mm ², but can provide 100mcd light intensity to meet the needs of heart rate monitoring sensors.
COB light source
COB is redefining the paradigm of lighting engineering. In commercial lighting, a certain brand of COB tube lamp achieves a 120lm/W system light efficiency, saving 60% energy compared to traditional solutions; In outdoor lighting, most domestic COB street light brands are already able to achieve on-demand lighting and light pollution control through intelligent dimming; In emerging application areas, UVC COB light sources achieve a 99.9% sterilization rate and a response time of less than 1 second in water treatment. In the field of plant factories, optimizing the spectral formula through COB full spectrum light source can increase the vitamin C content of lettuce by 30% and shorten the growth cycle by 20%.
PART.06
Opportunities and Challenges: Rise and Fall in the Market Wave
Opportunity
Consumption upgrade and improvement of quality demand: With the improvement of living standards, people's requirements for lighting quality have increased. COB, with its excellent luminous performance and uniform light distribution, has ushered in a broad market in high-end residential lighting, commercial lighting, and other areas; LED, with its rich color and flexible dimming and color adjustment functions, is favored in the smart lighting and ambient lighting markets, meeting the personalized and intelligent lighting product needs of consumers in the trend of consumer upgrading.
Consumption upgrade and improvement of quality demand: With the improvement of living standards, people's requirements for lighting quality have increased. COB, with its excellent luminous performance and uniform light distribution, has ushered in a broad market in high-end residential lighting, commercial lighting, and other areas; LED, with its rich color and flexible dimming and color adjustment functions, is favored in the smart lighting and ambient lighting markets, meeting the personalized and intelligent lighting product needs of consumers in the trend of consumer upgrading.
Promotion of Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Policies: Global attention is paid to energy conservation and environmental protection, and governments around the world have introduced policies to encourage the lighting industry to develop towards high efficiency and energy conservation.LED, as a representative of energy-saving lighting, has gained a large number of market application opportunities with policy support due to its low energy consumption and long lifespan. It is widely used in indoor and outdoor lighting, road lighting, industrial lighting and other fields;COB also benefits, as it can achieve certain energy-saving effects while improving lighting quality. In professional lighting scenarios with high light utilization requirements, optical design and energy conversion can improve energy-saving effects.
Technological innovation and industrial upgrading: The continuous wave of technological innovation in the lighting industry provides new impetus for the development of COB and LED. COB R&D personnel explore packaging materials and processes to improve their heat dissipation performance, light efficiency, and reliability, reduce production costs, and expand their application scope; Breakthroughs in LED chip technology, innovative packaging forms, and the integration of intelligent control technology have greatly improved its performance and functionality.
Challenge
Intense market competition: Both COB and LED are facing fierce competition from numerous manufacturers. The LED market is characterized by mature technology, low entry barriers, severe product homogenization, intense price competition, and compressed profit margins for enterprises; Although COB has advantages in the high-end market, with the increase of enterprises, competition has intensified, and creating differentiated competitive advantages has become a challenge for enterprises.
Rapid technological updates: In the lighting industry, technology updates quickly, and COB and LED companies need to keep up with the pace of technological development, adapt to market changes and consumer demands. COB enterprises need to pay attention to the progress of chip, packaging technology, and heat dissipation technology, and adjust the direction of product development; LED companies are facing dual pressures of upgrading traditional technologies and the rise of new lighting technologies.
Imperfect standards and specifications: The industry standards and specifications for COB and LED are incomplete, with ambiguous areas in product quality, performance testing, safety certification, etc., resulting in uneven product quality, making it difficult for consumers to judge superiority and inferiority, which brings difficulties to enterprise brand building and market promotion, and also increases operational risks and costs for enterprises.
PART.07
Industry development trend: the future path of integration, high-end and diversification
The trend of integrated development: COB and LED are expected to achieve integrated development. For example, in lighting products, COB serves as the main light source to provide uniform high brightness basic lighting, combined with LED color adjustment and intelligent control functions, to achieve diversified and personalized lighting effects, leveraging the advantages of both to meet consumers' comprehensive and in-depth needs.
High end and intelligent development: With the increasing demand for quality of life and lighting experience, COB and LED are developing towards high-end and intelligent direction.
Enhance product performance, quality, and design sense, and create a high-end brand image; Lighting products are integrated with technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and artificial intelligence to achieve automation control, scene switching, energy consumption monitoring, and other functions. Consumers can remotely control lighting equipment through mobile apps or intelligent voice assistants to achieve energy-saving management.
Diversified application expansion: The application fields of COB and LED are constantly expanding and diversifying. In addition to traditional indoor and outdoor lighting, road lighting and other markets, it will also play an important role in emerging fields such as agricultural lighting, medical lighting, and ocean lighting. LEDs in agricultural lighting emit specific wavelengths of light to promote plant photosynthesis; The high color rendering and uniform light of COB in medical lighting help doctors diagnose and treat patients, and improve the medical environment for patients.
In the vast starry sky of the lighting industry, COB light sources and LED light sources will continue to shine, each leveraging their own advantages while integrating and innovating with each other, jointly illuminating the bright path of sustainable development for humanity. They are like a pair of explorers walking side by side, constantly exploring new shores in the ocean of technology, bringing more surprises and brightness to people's lives and the development of various industries.
Taken from Lightingchina.com
Post time: May-10-2025