SKV89's LED Strips and bulbs test results

Alright, I had to ask because there are 3 separate entries in the data. I figured #1 and #2 were the same LEDs. But #3 has a notable drop in it’s R9. It could be the LEDs perform better at higher power.

Good catch. That is possible. The SST20 R9 and CRI values changes significantly with different current levels also

And a big thanks for making this data available on BLF! I placed an order last night for some high-cri led strips. I chose the “Auxma 2700K 2835 DC 12V 120LED/m 9.6w/m” based on your data. I wouldn’t have ventured into the $32 LED strips without your guidance :slight_smile:

Glad you found it helpful. The 2700k has a 103 Rg too so colors will pop.

I guess

and

are related, doesn't it? Which basically means strip #3 uses different, higher value current limiting resistors.

Anyone did some efficiency estimations for led strips? I think it causes a @#$% drop. I would prefer to buy led strips meant to be powered by led drivers, not only efficiency wouldn't suffer but also there would be no distance dimming problems.

I haven’t noticed any distance dimming issues. If you are concerned about efficiency, I suggest you get the 24V strips.

Excellent work.

The Gree LEDs look great value but inconsistent. I have some of their single SMD LEDs and they seem better quality than all other LEDs I’ve ever bought from aliexpress, but I only ever buy cheap junk!

This is great help to me also thank you.
Considering a E27 LED Corn Light Bulb for two car garage light.

Any idea if these are the same Marwalls that were tested here? I just installed some smart dimmers and i’m anxious to get some dimmable LEDs. Don’t have the patience to wait on the slow boat. :stuck_out_tongue:

Nice list, you have been busy!

I might have to try one myself, got some old strips under the kitchen counters that could use some upgrading.

I didn’t know where to put my latest finding…so I put it in here:
5V FOB strip, available in 3000K and 6000K. CRI80.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32954872800.html

Wow, that’s a lot of research there.
Some amazing specs among those strips.

Indeed, the high power LED manufacturers could perhaps learn a thing or 2 from this.

Thanks for doing this. :+1:

Great list!

I wish I had access to this before redoing my kitchen. I used Flexfire LED Strips and the DUV is def positive.

Thank you for doing all the work and recommending Auxma strips. I have purchased 2400K 3000K and 5000K rolls. Awesome light quality.

For the 24V 3000K strip, resistors are 56 ohms.

At the beginning of the strip, close to the power supply connector, there is a 3.46V drop on the resistor so LED current is 62mA.

3.46V is 14.4% of 24V so resistors waste 14.4% of total power, and LEDs get 85.6% of total power. Not so bad.

At the end of the 5m strip, 2.7V on the resistor, so only 48mA LED current. Thus 5m is a bit too long for a single power connection.

Note efficiency depends on LED color. For 24V having six white LEDs in series is okay, it wastes only a few volts in the resistor. But manufacturers use the same PCBs for all colors! So RED strips, with much lower Vf LEDs like 1.8-2V, will waste like 50% of the total power in the resistors… Not good!

Thanks for the data bobflux.

The efficiency loss is a bit of a problem atop of the uneven brightness thing caused by the uneven distance to the power supply which each strip stage has. It is a cheap and simple way to have led lighting, but far from being the best. I'd rather prefer strips in series (without resistors) powered by standard (usually AC powered) led drivers; this requires good isolation and limits concerning minimum and maximum strip lenght, though.

I’d say “it depends”.

A 10W light (about 1000 lumen) which is on 4 hours a day will use 14 kWh per year or about €2.20 of electricity every year.

Replacing incandescent lights with LEDs really saves energy and money. But optimizing LED efficiency beyond 100 lm/W isn’t really interesting IMO, it gets into diminishing returns. I’m willing to trade some efficiency for better color rendering, better look and aesthetics… but modern LEDs, even the high CRI ones, are already very efficient, so the energy cost isn’t that much anyway.

Bottomline, lowering the heating thermostat by 0.1°C will probably be unnoticeable and save much more energy than optimizing LEDs…

Meh, bypass the resistors with solder blobs and use a real driver for the lengths you cut yourself.

not good with variations in led vf and drop due to length.
the ones closest to the feed will be overdriven.
the resistors relieve this.

SKV89,

I took the liberty of putting your data in a spreadsheet (google sheet).

High CRI LED light strips (and a few bulbs)

Maybe you can add the link to your OP?

If you want to be an owner of the spreadsheet to make edits, PM me.

There is also a spreadsheet of SKV89’s stuff in the OP here: Light Bulb CRI_Grades