Has anyone done any tests on how hot the LED gets with a Infra-red Digital Thermometer?
I am assuming that it runs cooler when there is a good thermal path.
Is this the best way the determine if a light has got good thermal conductivity by shinning a infra-red laser thermometer when the light is on.
Can anyone recommend me one from here or here.
Thanks
how2
My PA40 gets about 150f (67c) through the glass which is not ‘real’ accurate. The head gets about 130f (55c). It depends on how hard the led is driven mainly. The first link you provide has some nice IR meters. I have a Lacrosse that cost $20. You do not have to spend a lot for a pretty accurate one. Hope this helps.
Keith
Led wont last if it hits 150C very often. If it does then you need to either lower the drive current or vastly improve the thermal conductivity from pill to host.
Crees new datasheets are all listed at 85°C, my guess would be that this would be a fairly good generalization of an LED running to full specs with a decent heat-sink.
It all depends on the current that the LED gets and the available heatsink.