Looking for the big future behind the "pain points" of LED downlight heat dissipation
After the LED light source is powered on, about 30% of the electrical energy is converted into light energy, and the rest is converted into heat energy. Therefore, to export so much heat energy as soon as possible is a key technology in the structural design of LED lamps. The heat energy needs to be dissipated through heat conduction, heat convection, and heat radiation.
At present, LED lighting technology is facing three breakthroughs in the application field that has entered the homogenization of products: increasing its utilization rate, reducing the warranty rate, and extending the use effect. The heat dissipation cost problem still plagues brand manufacturers.
After the LED light source is powered on, about 30% of the electrical energy is converted into light energy, and the rest is converted into heat energy. Therefore, to export so much heat energy as soon as possible is a key technology in the structural design of LED lamps. The heat energy needs to be dissipated through heat conduction, heat convection, and heat radiation.
According to the data, LED downlights have gained greater room for growth in the domestic market. They have entered major supermarkets, home improvement markets and engineering fields, and have won consumer recognition with more prominent lighting effects and higher product quality. , Downlights can be said to be the most popular category.
Early LED downlights were not acceptable to customers due to the high overall cost of LED lamp beads. With the decrease in the price of LED downlight chips and the improvement of heat dissipation technology, the technology continues to mature, and its market scale is showing geometric development. Faced with the huge market space, major manufacturers have also launched fierce competition, and the heat dissipation problem can be said to be the first.
How to break the "pain points" of LED downlight heat dissipation?
With the rapid development of LED downlight technology, manufacturers have gradually realized the importance of quality. Only accurate quality products can impress customers to replace traditional light sources and relieve their worries. The quality of LED downlights determines the development of downlights in the future. To effectively remove the shackles of the development of LED downlights, we must work hard on quality and truly use high-quality impeccable products to light up the future of LED downlights. The improvement of the heat dissipation problem of downlights has also begun to be put on the agenda.
Talking about the current pain points of LED downlight heat dissipation, Li Tingshuai, technical director of Shenzhen Ansen Lighting Technology Co., Ltd. said, "We believe that the pain point of downlight heat dissipation is the contradiction between heat dissipation effect and cost. To have a good heat dissipation effect, at the same time With good appearance and texture, how to effectively control costs is a problem that needs to be challenged."
Li Biwei, chairman of Guangdong Xiangxin Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters, “The current pain point of LED downlight heat dissipation is that the heat is concentrated at the bottom of the light source, forming a high temperature in the middle of the radiator and low temperature at the edge; there is also a middle copper core radiator. ,higher cost."
Yuan Kaisun, the sales manager of Zhongshan Bojing Lighting Electric Co., Ltd., said that the company currently mainly uses die-cast aluminum in the production process of downlights. This material is easy to die-cast and is convenient for designing optical accessories. The material is easy to purchase and the cost is not high. Regarding the problem of heat dissipation of downlights, Yuan Kaisun believes that “when making high power, the downlight has a large body, but the chip substrate is small, which requires rapid heat conduction. The current die-cast aluminum material for downlights has the problem of too long heat conduction distance. At the same time, die-casting Aluminum has many impurities, cracks, hollows and other problems that seriously reduce the heat dissipation effect."
Most LED downlights must use aluminum alloy with high thermal conductivity due to the high heat during operation. Usually there are die-cast aluminum radiators, extruded aluminum radiators, and stamped aluminum radiators. According to feedback, die-cast aluminum radiators are currently the most commonly used method in LED downlights. However, although the production cost is controllable, the heat dissipation fins cannot be made thin and it is difficult to maximize the heat dissipation area. The commonly used die-casting materials for LED lamp radiators are ADC10 and ADC12.
With the widespread application of LED downlights in various fields, how to increase its utilization rate, reduce the warranty rate, and extend the use effect has become a hot topic for a while, but it still has a slightly higher cost due to heat dissipation problems. In order to seize the market, major material companies continue to introduce new research and development projects for heat dissipation kits, from the first metal aluminum housing to ceramic products, and now very hot plastic heat dissipation materials, all of which are to better conduct heat. go out.
Is "plastic-coated aluminum" a new redemption for LED downlights?
We all know that aluminum is a good heat dissipation material, but aluminum products are expensive and less frequently used. The process itself is greatly restricted, so there are few styles, which has limited the speed of its development and update for a long time. Plastic itself is an insulator with better heat dissipation performance and low price. However, compared with metal, heat dissipation performance is worse. After combining the advantages and disadvantages of plastic and aluminum heat dissipation performance, LED plastic-clad aluminum heat dissipation kits have been developed and launched on the market. Received unanimous praise from the outside world. This kind of heat dissipation material is wrapped with plastic material on the outside, and aluminum is used for heat conduction inside. In this way, after combining the advantages and disadvantages of the two, the product performance is better, the thermal conductivity is strong, and its cost is also controlled. In addition, the plastic itself is easier to process and shape, so the shapes and styles of plastic-clad aluminum are relatively rich, which also meets the application needs of different places.
Jin Tao, general manager of Dongguan Puwan Optoelectronics Thermal Technology Co., Ltd. mentioned that using thermally conductive plastic as a carrier, coupled with aluminum metal inner wall, can greatly improve the thermal conductivity of thermally conductive plastic. "Plastic-clad aluminum will be the inevitable direction of downlight heat dissipation, and it will become the mainstream material for downlight heat dissipation."
Since last year, the national environmental protection storm has become normal, and the hardware commonly used in lamp radiators is the first to bear the brunt of environmental protection. On the other hand, the cost is higher. To make a die-cast downlight, the material may not be too expensive, but the cost of die-casting, including post-processing, is a high proportion of comprehensive considerations.
A reporter from Aladdin Lighting Network learned during the visit that if a plastic-clad aluminum radiator is used in the downlight, these two problems can be completely avoided. The production does not require oxidation and other processes, which can greatly reduce pollution problems. In addition, no die casting is required. , The economic benefits are more obvious.
In addition, due to the large size of the downlight, the diameter ranges from 2.5 inches to 10 inches or even larger. Lamps have strict requirements for heat dissipation materials. In addition to the heat dissipation itself, in terms of product stretching, it is necessary to ensure that a large area will not be deformed. Jin Tao of Puwan Optoelectronics is talking about the use of plastic-clad aluminum materials. He believes, "The heat dissipation material must be combined with the heat dissipation solution. What kind of solution is the best solution, you should choose according to the positioning of your product* *Appropriate materials and solutions."
According to data, in 2016, China's LED commercial lighting market accounted for about 10% of the overall scale of the LED lighting application market. In 2017, it will be in a period of steady growth with broad market prospects. At this stage, the commercial lighting industry has entered a new stage of development. In addition to strengthening the research and development of their own technology, LED downlight companies need to explore innovative development. As a new type of heat dissipation material, "plastic-clad aluminum" is currently used by some manufacturers. Regarding the use of "plastic-coated aluminum" materials in LED downlights, we believe that the market will naturally accelerate the future of industrialization.
