Special thanks goes out to CPF member Saabluster for sending me a few of these to test. These have been out now for well over a year. When they were announced, I was quite surprised by the quoted spec of over 150 lumens per watt efficacy figure. Although the bins I have are not quite that high, I am impressed with the amount of light that these little LEDs produce.
NSPWR70CSS-K1 binning: c0P8 These are a nice neutral white tint. Binning shows they produce 129 l/w typ. and 138 l/w max (@50ma)
NSPLR70CSS-K1 Binning f6P7 This is the warm white version. The tint is more of a pinkish tone as opposed to the icky yellowish color that some WW LEDs produce. This bin produces 106 l/w typ and 116 l/w max
According to the spec sheet, the most efficient possible output is 164.5 l/w, but I doubt the availability of them. If they exist, it is probably in the coolest white bin.
They look like ordinary flux LEDs, but with a wide glob of phosphor. The warm white one looks more orange-ish when off. The little square at the 5 Oclock position near the edge of the phosphor is the ESD diode. I am glad to see Nichia using them as they can make the product a lot more reliable in real world use.
Beam shots with different color balance set on camera:
Flux LEDs are typically wide angle LEDs. These shots are reflections off a white wall. With the color balance on daylight, the WW LED shows pretty much what I'd expect. The neutral white one is a bit greenish. Color rendering on high brightness LEDs are usually not the greatest.
Color balance on tungsten. The WW LED is still a bit warm.
Color balance on fluorescent mode really corrects the neutral white LED well.
Fade tests. This is the main purpose of my reviews. Maximum rated continuous current of the product is 60ma. I am driving one warm white LED at 57ma with no heatsink and two others (warm and neutral white) at 90ma with heatsinking. I check them on my light meter at 20ma every so often. To find mcd value, multiply reading by 1,500.
Initial check: 336 hr. slight gain in brightness
Update 10-10-10: 1464 hrs. These are handling 90ma well with the special heatsinks. The WW has dropped a little while the white has dropped less. The non heatsinked WW one at 60ma has gained very slightly. The drop may mean nothing since past experience shows that LEDs will vary during the tests. Time will tell.
Output vs current. Comparing WW non heatsinked to the heatsinked one. As expected, the heatsinked one performs better at higher currents. I didn't push the non HS LED past 70ma since it is being tested in the fade test and I didn't want to risk damage.
Conclusions:
Positive
So far handling the 150% drive quite well
Neutral white LEDs can make over 20 lumens at only 50ma!
Integral ESD protection diode
Copper leadframe with (probably) silver plating. (most others use steel)
Negative
Typical Nichia. Hard to find
A bit pricey. I was quoted $1.50 in qty of 100
I think these LEDs are a great product that are ideal where high efficiency light is needed at a lower flux and cost as compared to a power LED. These would be great for automotive interior lighting, night lights, landscape lighting, ect. If only Nichia would let distributors like Digikey sell them...
NSPWR70CSS-K1 binning: c0P8 These are a nice neutral white tint. Binning shows they produce 129 l/w typ. and 138 l/w max (@50ma)
NSPLR70CSS-K1 Binning f6P7 This is the warm white version. The tint is more of a pinkish tone as opposed to the icky yellowish color that some WW LEDs produce. This bin produces 106 l/w typ and 116 l/w max
According to the spec sheet, the most efficient possible output is 164.5 l/w, but I doubt the availability of them. If they exist, it is probably in the coolest white bin.
They look like ordinary flux LEDs, but with a wide glob of phosphor. The warm white one looks more orange-ish when off. The little square at the 5 Oclock position near the edge of the phosphor is the ESD diode. I am glad to see Nichia using them as they can make the product a lot more reliable in real world use.
Beam shots with different color balance set on camera:
Flux LEDs are typically wide angle LEDs. These shots are reflections off a white wall. With the color balance on daylight, the WW LED shows pretty much what I'd expect. The neutral white one is a bit greenish. Color rendering on high brightness LEDs are usually not the greatest.
Color balance on tungsten. The WW LED is still a bit warm.
Color balance on fluorescent mode really corrects the neutral white LED well.
Fade tests. This is the main purpose of my reviews. Maximum rated continuous current of the product is 60ma. I am driving one warm white LED at 57ma with no heatsink and two others (warm and neutral white) at 90ma with heatsinking. I check them on my light meter at 20ma every so often. To find mcd value, multiply reading by 1,500.
Initial check: 336 hr. slight gain in brightness
Update 10-10-10: 1464 hrs. These are handling 90ma well with the special heatsinks. The WW has dropped a little while the white has dropped less. The non heatsinked WW one at 60ma has gained very slightly. The drop may mean nothing since past experience shows that LEDs will vary during the tests. Time will tell.
Output vs current. Comparing WW non heatsinked to the heatsinked one. As expected, the heatsinked one performs better at higher currents. I didn't push the non HS LED past 70ma since it is being tested in the fade test and I didn't want to risk damage.
Conclusions:
Positive
So far handling the 150% drive quite well
Neutral white LEDs can make over 20 lumens at only 50ma!
Integral ESD protection diode
Copper leadframe with (probably) silver plating. (most others use steel)
Negative
Typical Nichia. Hard to find
A bit pricey. I was quoted $1.50 in qty of 100
I think these LEDs are a great product that are ideal where high efficiency light is needed at a lower flux and cost as compared to a power LED. These would be great for automotive interior lighting, night lights, landscape lighting, ect. If only Nichia would let distributors like Digikey sell them...
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Looks like a good start. The third of your beamshots looks closest to my eyes. Thanks for doing this testing.
