Samsung Electronics has announced that the LC series of chip-on-board (COB) LEDs now offer efficacy improvements in the range of 10% across the various color temperatures at which the components are available. The company has also added new 3500K versions of the LEDs and says that it will offer 90-CRI versions of the LEDs by mid-year.
The announcement covers the LC013B LEDs with an 11-mm light-emitting surface (LES) and the LC026B and LC040B LEDs with a 17-mm LES. As the model numbers imply, the LEDs are rated at 13W, 26W, and 40W, respectively. Samsung targets spotlights, downlights, and directional retrofit lamps including PAR and MR products with the LEDs.
Across all three product families, efficacy is now 130 lm/W at 3000K and 143 lm/W at 5000K. Those numbers are increased from 120 lm/W and 129 lm/W, respectively.
The efficacy specifications place the Samsung components in the performance neighborhood of other recent COB announcements such as the products we covered from Cree, Philips Lumileds, and Luminus Devices back in October. But based on a look at datasheets for Samsung's existing LC series of products, the touted efficacy is likely measured at a 25°C temperature. Samsung did not specify the operating temperature in the announcement. But many LED companies have begun characterizing components at higher temperatures that are more typical of operation in solid-state lighting (SSL) products.
The new models will be available in February with a CRI max of 80. The LED array technology used in the COB LEDs allows Samsung to offer components within a 3-step MacAdam ellipse. The LEDs are backed by LM-80 test data.
Samsung asserted that the LEDs are compatible with Zhaga specifications for modular light engines. In reality, Zhaga books don't specify LED technology, but the LES characteristics of the LC series allow the LEDs to be used with light engines that are based on Zhaga Books.
Samsung initially announced the LC series of products at a press conference held at the Lightfair International tradeshow in April 2013 that features both SSL end products and LED news from the company.
