These aren’t 219’s, but from the data sheet I can’t tell much of a difference besides the voltage and current are nearly opposite.
These 183’s are 21v and 150ma while the 219’s are 3v and 1500ma. According to the data sheets the color temperature has the same distribution between these NS6W183RT and the NVSW219AT (common 219 variant?)
There’s not much out there to drive to that voltage but this from FastTech could work: link
I’m very new here but I’d appreciate any feedback on these.
It seems many times cheaper than a 219 and can be mounted on a cheap star from FastTech.
Aha, that makes much more sense. These would not be destined to a torch but to home use in an articulating desk light and in in-ceiling cans. I have tried using Cree XM-L T6 LEDs for that purpose but the color rendering was poor and the light felt quite harsh. I am looking into the Nischia LEDs as a way to improve the quality of lighting while still saving power and reaping the other benefits of LEDs (fast turn on time, no mercury, etc).
Is the benefit of a Nichia 219 over 183 then just the lower forward voltage?
I also just found that FastTech has an assortment of Nichia LEDs available too, and not just the odd 21v versions. I ordered a couple NS6W183T (P/N 1325117) to see how well they work. They have a more typical 3.5v voltage so they’ll play nicely with the drivers I already have. I don’t have any means of taking measurements other than building an assembly up and seeing how it looks.
Nichia 219 4500K 90+CRI is ok for desk or task light, but for ceiling can lights, general interior, use something 2800-3500K Hi CRI, maybe like halogen around 3000K, or after a few hours you will begin to cringe.
I bought a 12w 5000k ‘corn’ type e27 bulb some time ago because it was cheap and when installed in the bathroom light fixture it made it look “like an operating room” as my girlfriend put it. I completely understand the issue with too high a color temperature. I like the appearance of halogen but want to get away from the high heat output and energy usage. The desk light for example will be ‘upgraded’ from halogen to LED. I’ll make sure it can be switched back if I don’t like the output.
I’d like to know more about this too… I’m hoping to make some indoor lights, like for under-cabinet use in the kitchen and for lighting a drafting table for painting, so I want the highest CRI available (and probably around 4000K to 5000K tint). I don’t have much background in electrical engineering though, so I’ve got a lot to learn before I can make it work.
In a pinch, I guess I could always do the old trick with alternating warm and cool bulbs to achieve better color rendering… but I’d prefer not to do that if possible. That’s fine for a makeup mirror in the bathroom (two 2700K/3000K bulbs, two 5000K/6500K bulbs), but I’d like something nicer for the art table.
I would suggest to get some of the Nichia 219 90+ CRI from Illumination Supply. That’s a good reference point to experiment with. I found them to be good for task, desk or reading light, but still too cool for me to use in general interior like your kitchen, dining table or living room.
I was ready to barge ahead with a kitchen lighting project using them, but glad I put the brakes on after testing them out on a small scale.
Now that project is still on hold, but I will revisit sometime with hi CRI somewhere in the 3000-3500K range.
…That was why I referred the Halogen above; as example of a 3000K perfect CRI reference rather than actually using them. (too hot and use too much energy)
There are different types of the Nichia 219/119 series.
The 219 linked in the first post is for the NVSW 219 which is the coolwhite non-HCRI version.
Here is the datasheet for the NVSL 219 H1 which is the HCRI version we all know and love.
Side note, while at the Nichia site I see now they have the datasheets for the 219B/119B series which is the next gen spec’d at 700mA instead of 350mA.
The 219B LED is bigger, below are the dimensions, the new 219B is on top and the 219A which we now use is on the bottom.
