Older vs Newer LEDS
- Thread starter rgkeller
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Yes. Given the same current newer LEDs will have a lower voltage requirement Which is less power. You will see these differences more as the LEDs are driven harder. You probably won't see much of a difference at 50mA for example
neutralwhite
Flashlight Enthusiast
I had a 4500k 9080 LED in April 2017 in an S2.
HDS systems are looking still to use this for a light this year.
isn't it an older LED?. Newer LED's around?.
Better Lower Voltage out there?....Better power management such as ZL?.
HDS systems are looking still to use this for a light this year.
isn't it an older LED?. Newer LED's around?.
Better Lower Voltage out there?....Better power management such as ZL?.
idleprocess
Flashaholic
The first generations of white power LEDs had a forward voltage typically > 3.6V, were binned at 35°C, sagged badly under heat, degraded quickly with heat loading, and just bested incandescent lamps in terms of efficiency. Today Vf is ~3V, LEDs are binned at 85°C, don't sag as badly, can shrug off heat loads better, and component efficiency is hitting ~200 lm/W. New LEDs are also markedly cheaper with CRI figures that are worth printing.
For a more real-world example, I've got am old Streamlight TL-3 with an old-school Luxeon V emitter that for its rated 5 watts might have hit 100 lumens. Today that same 5 watts of input power should get closer to 1000 lumens - a nearly tenfold increase. A minuscule keychain light about the size of single a 123A cell can outperform that old TL-3 in just about every meaningful way.
Climb14er
Enlightened
My current Zebralights put out far more power and last longer than my 2009 double cell 18650 Olight Triton or my earlier single cell Fenix lights. The Triton and Fenix's, still fine lights, but the newer LED's far surpass the earlier ones.
Yes, LEDs of the same design line from the same manufacturer typically do.
But often people want to compare differing product lines and designs such that perhaps a newer SMD LED is compared to an older Cree power emitter and the Cree probably outperforms the SMD due to the design as the SMD may be designed to be very cheap in cost worrying less about efficiency than cost vs the high power emitter needs to worry about efficiency more as the total output is greatly effected by efficiency while the SMD is able to reach the target output range.
Some older crees high power emitter are 120-150 lumens/watt and some newer SMD LEDs are 80-120 lumens/watt output, keep in mind newer crees are over 200 lumens/watt.
At lower lumen outputs all emitters tend to be more efficient than nearing their max output so basically if you choose a low output or high output then you need to consider LEDs that are designed with that lumen output in mind.
In other words raw lumen output generally increases along with overall LED efficiency but LED designs change over generations based upon the criteria for their intended use. As LEDs have pushed beyond the 200 lumens/watt mark the noticeable difference in output at the same lumens for old vs new LEDs is less noticeable these days.
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