Review: SunLike18LD IP67 LED lamp (4200K, CRI98)

SunLikeLamp.com sent me their 18W LED bar light fixture for testing.
Manufacturer website: 16-54 ватт для аквариума

The main specs by the manufacturer:
–4200K color temperature (options ranging from 3000K to 5700K)
-Seoul Semiconductor SunLike 3030 LEDs (click for a previous test) with a ratio of 2:1 4000K and 5000K
-CRI (Ra) 95
–18W power rating
-AC voltage of 85-285V, also available as a 3-35V DC version
-lifetime estimate 20 years
-warranty 11-22 months depending on payment method

Power plug is an unearthed CEE 7/17. Input can be anything between 85 and 285 volts AC. The cord is 190cm in length.

The end caps are attached with hex screws. The position of the hanging loops can be changed.

The aluminum profile acts as a heatsink. Diffuser is held in place with some round silicon strips.

The LED bar fixture consists of three separate 100mm long LED MCPCBs in series each containing 12 SMD LEDs. They’re attached to the heatsink with two screws each.

AC-DC power supply is positioned in the lower compartment. Photo by Sunlikelamp.com

Included in the package are mounting hooks, carabiners and a chain totaling 90cm in length.

Measurements

Since the LED bar is too large to be measured reliably in my 50cm integrating sphere, I’ll approximate efficacy to estimate luminous flux.

I’ve tested the individual Seoul Semiconductor SunLike 3030 LEDs and 12xLED MCPCBs from Sunlike before. They achieved 92 lm/W on their own and 83 lm/W including a 90% efficient 19V AC-DC power brick. Since the 18W LED bar uses a dedicated constant current AC-DC power supply, it can be wired directly to the MCPCBs which are configured in series. Omitting the NSI45030 current regulators will probably result in a slightly better efficacy.

Due to the direct connection, better heatsink and lower power per emitter (~0.5W), the actual efficacy is probably higher, but on the other hand the recessed MCPCB position and milky diffuser will lower the output somewhat.

The SunLike8 E27 LED bulb also uses the same emitters and it achieved 80 lm/W at 0.65W per emitter vs. 0.5W on this LED bar. So 83 lm/W is a fair estimate.

I also crudely verified the lumen output using a ceiling bounce method, which resulted in 1425 lumens for the LED bar. That closely matches the efficacy estimation.

Measurements were made directly in front of the LED bar at 1 meter with an x-rite i1pro spectrometer after the light had warmed up for 1 hour.

The light was connected to mains power which at the time of testing was at 225V.

Approximate output at 1 hour is 1450 lumens at 17.8 watts. Manufacturer doesn’t specify output.

Maximum output is reached immediately. Light output in lumens was plotted over one hour. Output drops only a little during the first hour and doesn’t take long to plateau. Output is perfectly stable regardless of house AC voltage fluctuations. Heatsink only reached 48°C so there’s a lot of headroom for power.

Color rendering

The CRI data was measured after a 1 hour warm-up period in free air at one meter directly in front of the light.

Color rendering is practically sunlike in quality (hence the name) with a CRI Ra of 98 and R9 of 98. TM-30-18 fidelity index Rf of 98 and gamut index Rg of 100 are also excellent. TM30 Color sample fidelity values are very high across the board with no single sample dropping below 90. There’s three distinct but small humps in the spectrum at different wavelengths (450, 520 and 620 nm). There’s no cyan dip or near UV content.

Load IES TM-30-18 Color Rendition Reports by clicking the thumbnails:

CGATS CRI Data file: Sunlikelamp.com 18LD LED bar lamp - Pastebin.com

Color temperature and tint

Duv value of 0.0010 is practically on the BBL and will be visually identical to lights with duv between approximately 0.0000 to 0.0020. Compared to lights with a strong negative duv (pink tint) it will look greenish, but it will compliment natural light quite well even with the slightly warmer color temperature.

Visually the light is very neutral white with excellent saturation to all the colors it illuminates. There’s practically no tint shift from different angles due to domeless LEDs and the diffuser. Visually the light is perfectly consistent from every angle.

Flicker

Flicker is not an issue. Minimal ripple at ~90kHz and a snob index of 0% guarantees visually stable output.

AC power draw

Current is drawn in short pulses 100 times a second as the input voltage gets high. Power factor is low at 0.6.

Voltage: 228V
Current: 0.127A
Real power: 18W
Apparent power: 29VA
PF: 0.62

Power consumption will drop slightly after the light has warmed up (see table at the beginning). These values were measured after a couple of minutes.

Cyan line: mains line voltage
Yellow line: current draw of the bulb
Violet line: power draw (voltage * current)

Manufacturer says the light is dimmable, but due to the relatively short current draw period the usable range of a dimmer might be quite narrow. I didn’t test dimming.

Noise
There’s no audible buzz or whine from the bulb.

Verdict
The Sunlike 18 watt LED lamp is a compact (30cm) aluminum bar which offers excellent quality light for aquariums, general lighting or tasks requiring accurate colors and plenty of illumination. Mounting is easy with the included hardware. Great heatsinking ability means the light runs relatively cool at below 50°C for a contained unit.

Please note that the test was done when the light was brand new. I can’t guarantee that it will perform similarly after months or years of use.

That’s my baby :face_with_monocle:

With SOL 2835 (from Smart Eco Lighting co.) CCT will start from 2700k, but there not so big crystals

some more photos:










Also I designed E27 model with this body 20cm:


Maukka thanks for review again!

And thanks from Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd and thanks to them and for Georgy Korolev for free samples of smd 3030 SunLike TRI-R (3-R) STW9C2SB-S LEDs :+1:

This is great news! Excellent lamp and review.

I agree!

And the main thing for you and me is eazy delivery, because Mordor is next to us.

Hahahahahaha

You are right. I am about to finalize order. Had a lot of discussion with my wife and organizing apartment project.

Hopefully next week I'll pull the trigger on few items.

Maximum power of this type of lamps what I do is 54w, but now I have another type of aluminium profile








Because of Cow Id 19, MORDOR is everywhere :smiling_imp:

Some joke:

That is bonkers, I love it! :heart_eyes:

Full review eta when :innocent:

You mean you want to review this thing when it will be ready? With SunLike or RedBlueWhite LEDs?

I’m gonna need a bigger sphere…no, house.

There’s 3m diameter =) but some kind of expensive… You’ll have to take out a mortgage

Isn’t it just a big white sphere with a hole in it? Couldn’t be too hard to DIY, right?

[quote=SunLike]
Maximum power of this type of lamps what I do is 54w, but now I have another type of aluminium profile

What aluminium profile you used for this lamp?
Can you provide link on Ali / Ebay or other ?

Very nice lamp, I like it :slight_smile: There is only one thing that puzzles and worries me. You designed a lamp (IP67 rated I see) with a metal housing that additionally works close to water, and you provide a cheapest AC power cord without earth-grounding? After all, this is a basic safety rule :person_facepalming: . And please do not write to me that the power supply is well insulated because you are not able to predict all the events that may happen.

yes, without ground wire. If you really need it, just said about it in your order.

Just use 10mA RCD (residual current device, УЗО)