Recent LED Strip Comparisons?

alpg88 · Jan 17, 2017

ssanasisredna said:
I expect they are listing the lowest lm\w which would be the blue and/or listing the lm/w of a single small length of strip powered by a driver designed for much larger loads hence high quiescent power and driving the lm\w down.

sorry but no, the number is just wrong either way you look at it, regardless of driver\color\load leds do a lot more than 13lm/w. actually the lower the current the higher lm\w ratio

idleprocess · Jan 18, 2017

alpg88 said:
again i know exactly what is on those strips. i also know that mounting on metal does not really do much, that i've also learned from multiple spools of burned out leds after running for months mounted on aluminum profile, at rated voltage.

Thermal conductivity of the tape that garden-variety strips are built on is so poor that it's apt not to matter much what you mount it to - copper, aluminum, pot metal, glass, wood, sheetrock, the paper backer on rolls of fiberglass insulation. While one of my more recent projects does noticeably warm the Al channel it's mounted to, I don't expect it to last more than a few thousand hours at ~33% duty cycle without dimming since I used cheap-ish strips that doubtlessly overdrive the LED die at faceplate voltage. All my other LED tape projects are even lower utilization such as cabinet, closet, and shed lighting.

ssanasisredna · Jan 18, 2017

alpg88 said:
sorry but no, the number is just wrong either way you look at it, regardless of driver\color\load leds do a lot more than 13lm/w. actually the lower the current the higher lm\w ratio

I don't think you understand my post.

alpg88 · Jan 18, 2017

idleprocess said:
Thermal conductivity of the tape that garden-variety strips are built on is so poor that it's apt not to matter much what you mount it to - copper, aluminum, pot metal, glass, wood, sheetrock, the paper backer on rolls of fiberglass insulation. While one of my more recent projects does noticeably warm the Al channel it's mounted to, I don't expect it to last more than a few thousand hours at ~33% duty cycle without dimming since I used cheap-ish strips that doubtlessly overdrive the LED die at faceplate voltage. All my other LED tape projects are even lower utilization such as cabinet, closet, and shed lighting.

they all warm aluminum profile, but it is a little too late. there is so much heat trapped in those strips it really does not make any difference.
what i did find out, that if you drive them at 9-10v they are do not heat up at all, thou you need to double the amount to get same light, compared to driving them at 12v. it is only 2-3v less, but current drops almost to half. i used many different strips, with 5050 2835, and few other kinds of leds, i'm not sure of the name, all seem to have same base, and same heat problem, those that are in silicone sleeve, as opposed to polymer encapsulation, are cooking themselves inside.