# Brightest White LED Strips (Warm white + cool white)



## Brenning (Mar 11, 2017)

Hi All,

Fairly new to the world of LEDs. First off, I already have some hardware consisting of a 24v 10a DC power supply and a 12/24v 6a RGBW led driver (wireless controlled).


I'm looking for the brightest LED strips, preferably 24v since that's the highest voltage my driver is capable of. I've already made the mistake of purchasing some really cheap Chinese RGB+W (4 in 1 chip) led strip tape from Aliexpress but it appears to be utter rubbish and a few of the white LEDs have already burned out after only a couple of days use, despite me running it at exactly 24v etc. I'm looking to re-create sunlight as closely as possibly but it needs to change as the day progresses, cool in the morning, warm at mid day / evening and red after sunset. I already have all the programming done in the background as well as my wireless driver so was thinking of using a CCT adjustable LED strip that has both warm white & cool white + a separate red strip (as I couldn't find a strip with WW + CW + Red) the red doesn't have to be too bright by the way. 

Reading around, it seems as though the 5630 SMDs are apparently brighter than the 5050's. Can anyone confirm this or if there is an even brighter SMD chip? Also, has anyone ever compared Samsung and Epistar chips, both 5630s?

I'm looking at the following (Samsung 5630s), but don't want to make the same mistake twice:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr..._1739207565.html?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.mIPQc5

That same seller also has the Epistar 5630 chips on a strip, which is half the price of the Samsung strip, so I'm unsure if the extra money is worth it for brightness (lumens) ?


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## idleprocess (Mar 11, 2017)

If you want REALLY bright, another option is "linear COB" LED.


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## Brenning (Mar 12, 2017)

idleprocess said:


> If you want REALLY bright, another option is "linear COB" LED.



Thanks for the heads up, I wasn't aware of the linear COBs. They appear to run quite hot from the reviews I'm looking at and I'd need quite a few to run the circumference of the room I'm lighting (about 13 metres total) so the LED tape is still the prime candidate at this point, hence the original questions still stand


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## Lithopsian (Mar 16, 2017)

5630s can and should be brighter than 5050s, but it isn't necessarily the case. Many of the cheaper strips have massively de-rated 5630s which may as well be an old 3528 for all the light they produce. You can't trust their light output specs, not even the rated power. If you can get a decent photo you can determine the design current and hence the power by looking at the current-limiting resisters on the strips - always assuming they send you what's in the picture  FWIW, 5050s are almost always run at the same power level on these strips but they do run hot so I don't think you should be looking at them unless you need the RGB capability.

Get a good quality 5630/5730 and it is about as bright a single SMD as you'll find on a flexible strip. There are dual-SMDs like the 7020 which you can get on strips but almost always mounted on a solid metal base due to their high power and fragility. As an alternative to the 5630, you could look at double-density 2835s or similar small SMDs like 3014s. With twice as many SMDs on the strip you can exceed the light intensity of a 5630 strip. Also the power and heat output, so watch out for cooling.

Of course depending on the application you may be able to run as many lengths of strip as you need. Presumably you're planning on at least two anyway? Are you going to PCM dim each one to achieve the white colour temperature changes?


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## Lithopsian (Mar 16, 2017)

Ah, I see. You want both white SMDs on the same strip. You can't trust the specs given on Ali and I can't see what the current is for the one pictured.The price is crazy enough to be a legitimate high power strip but that's no guarantee.


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## gino pi (Apr 22, 2017)

heraco lighting has their own brand strips, supposed to be great quality. they also have red and white strips, for boat lighthing!! check them out!


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## Benik3 (May 8, 2017)

What about 3456lm/m? But it's industrial grade, so the price is high...
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/led-flexible-arrays/9125079/

But it's not so more expensive then what you post, plus it is 24V and it has current control (not just resistors as cheap strips)


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