WCOB LED Strips - The New Pioneer in Lighting Technology

For some time now, the leading products in the LED strip market have been dotless LED strips manufactured with COB technology. COB stands for "Chips On Board," meaning that in COB technology, blue light-emitting LED chips (diodes) are directly mounted onto a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) at high density. These chips are then covered with a phosphor-infused fluorescent yellow silicone casting layer, which converts the emitted light into the desired white shade. The high density of diodes and the casting layer allow for a completely dotless light pattern, meaning individual light sources are not visible on the strip, resulting in entirely uniform illumination. The color temperature of the light produced by a COB LED strip is adjusted by modifying the composition of the casting layer, which determines the amount of blue wavelengths passing through the silicone coating.

The new generation of WCOB (White COB) LED strips replaces the blue LED diodes with high-density, high-quality surface-mounted SMD LEDs, such as compact SMD 2216 LEDs, which are covered with a frosted white "opal" silicone casting layer. Like traditional COB LED strips, WCOB strips produce a fully dotless and uniform light pattern. However, using SMD LEDs offers significant advantages over the direct-mounted diodes found in conventional COB strips. 


Image: Comparison between traditional COB and WCOB strips

Advantages of WCOB LED Strips Over COB LED Strips

1. Energy Efficiency
   • The opal silicone casting used in WCOB strips is more translucent than the yellow phosphor coating in traditional COB strips. Additionally, the silicone layer in WCOB strips can be thinner since surface-mounted LEDs do not require color temperature adjustment via the silicone layer. As a result, WCOB strips achieve higher luminous efficacy, providing 30-50% greater energy efficiency than COB technology.

1. Improved Durability
   • The 2216 SMD LEDs used in WCOB strips are soldered onto the PCB of the strip, enhancing their resistance to bending and other mechanical stress. In contrast, the diodes in COB strips may detach from their connections when the strip is flexed during installation.

1. Better Heat Dissipation and Longer Lifespan
   • Another advantage of WCOB technology is improved heat dissipation. In COB strips, the heat generated by the diodes is dissipated solely through the PCB. In WCOB strips, however, heat dissipation is also supported by the structure of the SMD LEDs themselves. This reduces thermal stress on the components, directly enhancing the long-term performance and extending the lifespan of WCOB strips.

1. Visual Benefits
   • When the LED strip is turned off, the white silicone coating of WCOB strips is less noticeable than the yellow silicone of traditional COB strips. This allows WCOB strips to be installed in visible locations and with lower-profile mounting profiles without the silicone layer's color affecting the overall aesthetic.

The WCOB strips available in Finlight’s selection boast top-tier technical specifications. All strips in the FL-WCOB product line feature high-quality LEDs that maintain excellent luminous efficacy over an extended period. Their color rendering index (CRI) exceeds 90, and their color accuracy is always within a maximum of 3 MacAdam SDCM steps. Additionally, WCOB strips offer high energy efficiency, reaching up to 130 lm/W. These attributes make the WCOB product line an excellent choice for installations requiring long lifespan and superior light quality.

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