# Nichia 219 lumen sphere testing



## foxtrot824 (Nov 22, 2012)

The Nichia NVSL219AT-H1 otherwise known as the 219 92+ CRI emitter has been a treat to the flashlight community so I decided to do a quick test in the small sphere 


mAvwlmlm/wCCTxyCRI1002.8060.280635.09125.0745020.36090.364689.22002.9480.589568.27115.8045260.35990.363189.13003.0560.91799.31108.3045360.35930.361889.13503.0991.084114105.1045430.3590.361289.24003.141.256128.2102.0745500.35880.360489.25003.2161.608155.596.7045590.35830.359389.46003.281.968180.991.9245660.35790.35889.67003.3382.3366204.687.5645730.35740.356889.88003.3942.7152226.783.4945830.3570.3556909003.443.096247.479.9145880.35660.354390.410003.4863.486266.276.3645970.35620.353190.711003.5363.8896284.873.2246040.35570.35189112003.5784.2936300.469.9646130.35530.350691.413003.6174.7021314.366.8446220.35490.349291.814003.6565.1184326.363.7546310.35440.347992.215003.6945.541336.460.7146420.35390.346692.720003.8867.772360.246.3547180.35090.339594.9



I was curious to see how the emitter performed through out it's recommended current range. While it has a lovely tint and great CRI it's, however performance drops below 100 lumens per watt pretty fast.

Below is a chart of the CCT shift as current increases.


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## Illum (Nov 22, 2012)

The Nichia 219 safely operating at 2A is news to me. On their datasheet the maximum threshold for continuous operation is 1.5A. Huge dip on the 2A efficacy though. How are you cooling this little bugger?


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## foxtrot824 (Nov 22, 2012)

Illum said:


> The Nichia 219 safely operating at 2A is news to me. On their datasheet the maximum threshold for continuous operation is 1.5A. Huge dip on the 2A efficacy though. How are you cooling this little bugger?



Not sure about safely  If I remebered correctly the data sheet says it can be pulsed at 2A but not continuous. The jig that holds the LED on a star in the port of the sphere has some mass to it so the LED being tested stays cool for a short time. It doesn't stay cool for long so all of these numbers were pretty much just an instant on test.


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## THE_dAY (Nov 22, 2012)

Thank you for the tests, really great info there!

Have you done any burn-in on the 219. I was wondering if this LED can have the Vf drop a bit.


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## romteb (Nov 23, 2012)

Fantastic info, very usefull.

Thanks foxtrot824


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## jtr1962 (Nov 23, 2012)

Thank you for doing this! I've been curious about the Nichia 219's lumen output myself but haven't had the time to do a lumens test. Vf does seem a bit high although I suspect that will drop to 2.9V or so @ 350 mA after a few thousand hours. Yes, these aren't efficiency champs but then again no high-CRI LED is by its nature. In general illumination applications running the 219 at 350 to 500 mA seems to be the sweet spot which will deliver reasonable efficiency while still keeping the number of LEDs relatively small. It might be interesting to compare the efficiency of Nichia 219s versus a setup using standard whites plus red/cyan to deliver similar CRI. The latter might have a 10% or 15% edge in efficiency, but at the expense of circuitry to actively balance the output.


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## foxtrot824 (Nov 23, 2012)

THE_dAY said:


> Thank you for the tests, really great info there!
> 
> Have you done any burn-in on the 219. I was wondering if this LED can have the Vf drop a bit.



I have not, but if I remember I'll retest that LED after some use.


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## Hoop (Nov 25, 2012)

Perhaps you could run the led at a constant 1 amp for a while and see how the voltage fluctuates as the heatsink temp increases? I am not sure that instant on readings are an accurate reflection of the operating voltages?


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## neutralwhite (Nov 25, 2012)

thanks. by the way what is the Lumen output on the basic Eiger pocket torch neutral white/medium optic?.
they use the Nicha 219 LED right?. or am I lost ?.
thanks.


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## foxtrot824 (Nov 27, 2012)

tnfdy said:


> thanks. by the way what is the Lumen output on the basic Eiger pocket torch neutral white/medium optic?.
> they use the Nicha 219 LED right?. or am I lost ?.
> thanks.



I am not sure what their stock drive current is and or optic losses are. This was strictly an at the emitter test, sorry.



Hoop said:


> Perhaps you could run the led at a constant 1 amp for a while and see how the voltage fluctuates as the heatsink temp increases? I am not sure that instant on readings are an accurate reflection of the operating voltages?



Next chance I have I'll do some longer test. The LED is currently just running at low current to get some hours on it.


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## THE_dAY (Nov 27, 2012)

foxtrot824 said:


> The LED is currently just running at low current to get some hours on it.


Hi,

If thats for burn-in, I'd recommend high current and the Vf usually settles after about 24hrs.
There was also mention in a couple of threads that heat helps with the burn-in process.

Check out this thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?130622-burn-in-data-from-UX1L-after-24-hours

Thanks for all your work! :thumbsup:


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## gunga (Nov 27, 2012)

Any chance for lower current tests too?


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## foxtrot824 (Nov 27, 2012)

THE_dAY said:


> Hi,
> 
> If thats for burn-in, I'd recommend high current and the Vf usually settles after about 24hrs.
> There was also mention in a couple of threads that heat helps with the burn-in process.
> ...



Noted!



gunga said:


> Any chance for lower current tests too?



How low are you looking for?


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## gunga (Nov 27, 2012)

I'd find it useful to go as low as 5-10 mA. I am setting up levels for custom circuits (eg. gdup etc) and would like reasonably accurate estimates instead of trying to read very vague charts. This information is much appreciated!


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## Beacon of Light (Dec 8, 2012)

+1



gunga said:


> I'd find it useful to go as low as 5-10 mA. I am setting up levels for custom circuits (eg. gdup etc) and would like reasonably accurate estimates instead of trying to read very vague charts. This information is much appreciated!


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## BenChiew (Dec 8, 2012)

Thanks for publishing this.


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## PCC (Dec 8, 2012)

Nice that you publish the measurements at 100mA intervals. It's increasing by about 30 lumens per 100mA at the low end and it increased by 10 lumens from 1400mA to 1500mA. Looks like there's not much to gain after about 1300mA.


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## fnj (Jan 20, 2013)

gunga said:


> I'd find it useful to go as low as 5-10 mA. I am setting up levels for custom circuits (eg. gdup etc) and would like reasonably accurate estimates instead of trying to read very vague charts. This information is much appreciated!



I would be VERY grateful for testing down to at least as low as 5 mA. I would be ECSTATIC if you would go down to 0.5 mA or even 0.1 mA. At least intensity if not CCT and CRI down there. Don't need a whole lot of data points; just enough to see if trends continue, or perhaps some reverse. I suppose measurements might get dicey at extremely low levels, but the information is of great interest to me. I am a fan of extra low; I know you couldn't tell that.


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## netprince (Jan 20, 2013)

Great info. Thanks for doing this.


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## Hoop (Mar 13, 2013)

A belated: Thanks for the post! Very useful.


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## atlr (Mar 28, 2013)

What is the Forward Voltage and Luminous Flux Rank/bin of the tested Nichia NVSL219AT-H1 ?

The Forward Voltage vs Forward Current graph of the NVSL219AT-H1 datasheet suggest the forward voltage range could be about 2.6 to 4.1 V. Your test results of 2.806 to 3.886 V corresponds closely with that range.

Can anyone explain what Nichia's Forward Voltage Rank is describing or advising to an engineer ? Rank L, for example, is Min 2.7 V and Max 3.1 V. I am wondering if this means that the Forward Current at a Forward Voltage of 3.1 V will be 1500 mA. Or could it mean the Forward Voltage at a Forward Current of 350 mA will be in the range of 2.7 to 3.1 V ?

Illumination Supply is selling a Forward Voltage Rank L (2.7 V Min and 3.1 V Max) and Luminous Flux Rank B10 (the highest range of 100-110 lumens). 
https://illuminationsupply.com/nichia-nvsl219ath1-4500k-92-cri-b10-bin-10mm-p-158.html


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## fnj (Mar 29, 2013)

atlr said:


> Can anyone explain what Nichia's Forward Voltage Rank is describing or advising to an engineer ? Rank L, for example, is Min 2.7 V and Max 3.1 V. I am wondering if this means that the Forward Current at a Forward Voltage of 3.1 V will be 1500 mA. Or could it mean the Forward Voltage at a Forward Current of 350 mA will be in the range of 2.7 to 3.1 V ?



It means the latter. If examples from the bin are driven by a 350 mA current source, each one will exhibit a voltage drop of from 2.7 to 3.1 volts.


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## atlr (Mar 29, 2013)

Thank you. 

I was considering popping this Nichia MCPCB into a Spark SD6 but I measured 2.95 V at the maximum illumination of its Cree XM-L. 2.95 V which will keep the Nichia dimmer than I would like. I might try the XML-L2 90 CRI but I have never tried soldering an LED to an MCPCB before.


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## FRITZHID (Apr 8, 2016)

atlr said:


> Thank you.
> 
> I was considering popping this Nichia MCPCB into a Spark SD6 but I measured 2.95 V at the maximum illumination of its Cree XM-L. 2.95 V which will keep the Nichia dimmer than I would like. I might try the XML-L2 90 CRI but I have never tried soldering an LED to an MCPCB before.



If you have a heat gun, is fairly easy for most tech/mech inclined people.


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## foxtrot824 (Apr 11, 2016)

FRITZHID said:


> If you have a heat gun, is fairly easy for most tech/mech inclined people.



Even the side of a soldering iron works if you have enough heat


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