COB or regular LED lights?

I'm brand new to LED lighting and want to try one, I'm seeing a bunch of terms and differing opinions thrown around. Originally I was going to get a standard looking Bestva 1500w LED, but then I read some people talking about COBS, so I looked those up.

The original light I was looking at is this: https://www.amazon.ca/BESTVA-Spectrum-Indoor-Plants-Flower/dp/B071YXHWVD/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=bestva&qid=1553861430&s=gateway&sr=8-3
But now I'm wondering if I should be getting a COB light like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Spectrum-Reflector-Hydroponic-Greenhouse-Indoor/dp/B07F7TW9VY/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=cob&qid=1553861477&s=gateway&sr=8-5&th=1

What is the big difference between COB lights and the regular-looking LED's? Which is better? Thanks.

johnnynice said:

I'm brand new to LED lighting and want to try one, I'm seeing a bunch of terms and differing opinions thrown around. Originally I was going to get a standard looking Bestva 1500w LED, but then I read some people talking about COBS, so I looked those up.

The original light I was looking at is this: https://www.amazon.ca/BESTVA-Spectrum-Indoor-Plants-Flower/dp/B071YXHWVD/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=bestva&qid=1553861430&s=gateway&sr=8-3
But now I'm wondering if I should be getting a COB light like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Spectrum-Reflector-Hydroponic-Greenhouse-Indoor/dp/B07F7TW9VY/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=cob&qid=1553861477&s=gateway&sr=8-5&th=1

What is the big difference between COB lights and the regular-looking LED's? Which is better? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Don't buy any of the above lights. They're old school, obsolete.
What area are you looking to cover?
Can you diy, build a light yourself ?
Quantum boards or Samsung strips, bridgelux strips or white cobs is what you want to look at.
Here's a link to give you an example
https://diyleduk.com

Or closer to home
https://www.horticulturelightinggroup.ca

https://cobkits.com

Hope this helps

johnnynice said:

I'm brand new to LED lighting and want to try one, I'm seeing a bunch of terms and differing opinions thrown around. Originally I was going to get a standard looking Bestva 1500w LED, but then I read some people talking about COBS, so I looked those up.

The original light I was looking at is this: https://www.amazon.ca/BESTVA-Spectrum-Indoor-Plants-Flower/dp/B071YXHWVD/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=bestva&qid=1553861430&s=gateway&sr=8-3
But now I'm wondering if I should be getting a COB light like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Spectrum-Reflector-Hydroponic-Greenhouse-Indoor/dp/B07F7TW9VY/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=cob&qid=1553861477&s=gateway&sr=8-5&th=1

What is the big difference between COB lights and the regular-looking LED's? Which is better? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Dude no !!!!....both those lights are trash....if u want a cob get bloom beast and ditch that bestva for viparspectra

If u want a really good top notch led i suggest looking at lights from hlg , optic led , kind led , nextlight . if u want a great budget buy check the viparspectra or bloom beast

johnnynice said:

I'm brand new to LED lighting and want to try one, I'm seeing a bunch of terms and differing opinions thrown around. Originally I was going to get a standard looking Bestva 1500w LED, but then I read some people talking about COBS, so I looked those up.

The original light I was looking at is this: https://www.amazon.ca/BESTVA-Spectrum-Indoor-Plants-Flower/dp/B071YXHWVD/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=bestva&qid=1553861430&s=gateway&sr=8-3
But now I'm wondering if I should be getting a COB light like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Spectrum-Reflector-Hydroponic-Greenhouse-Indoor/dp/B07F7TW9VY/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=cob&qid=1553861477&s=gateway&sr=8-5&th=1

What is the big difference between COB lights and the regular-looking LED's? Which is better? Thanks.

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And to answer ur question the difference i notice between the newer tech vs blurple is in the spectrum. New tech has much more green light if u look at the spectrum. Green light does much more to help growth than we thought it did. I have a blurple light but I'm adding cobs

Bcblondes trade from canada, their gamechanger range is legit.

Either hlg!! Or contact rapid led. They will help you figure out what to do. Give them your gro space dimensions, done!!

You want a quality white light LED be it cobs or SMD. Look for lights that use Samsung, Bridgelux,Cree, Citizen or Luminus cobs/diodes.

Edit: Now these lights can get expensive but theirs a company advertising on this site called hortibloom. It's chinesium but honestly an incredible value and the build is too notch. Meanwell drivers and cree or citizen cobs is very nice.

DangerDavez said:

You want a quality white light LED be it cobs or SMD. Look for lights that use Samsung, Bridgelux,Cree, Citizen or Luminus cobs/diodes.

Edit: Now these lights can get expensive but theirs a company advertising on this site called hortibloom. It's chinesium but honestly an incredible value and the build is too notch. Meanwell drivers and cree or citizen cobs is very nice.

Click to expand...

So the common LED's, like the first link I posted, are called SMD's? And you are saying that COB or SMD doesn't matter so long as it's a high quality light?

There are tons of LED brands and makers. Just like cars. Some models are better than others.

The lower you drive the individual chips the more effecient, or brighter per watt, they'll be.

So you want high effecient chips first and foremost, but then you want enough of them so you don't have to drive them super hard.

SMD = surface mount device
SMD is a type of electrical component. It's different than a through-hole component because it's mounted on the surface of the board instead of sticking the terminals through a hole in a board.

LEDs can range from 100lm/watt - 200lm/watt so that's why the emphasis on chip brand and model, as there is such a wide variance in the industry.

Here's some more highly effecient chips to add to @DangerDavez list...
- Lm561c
- LM301b
- Nichia 757

There's even differnces between the same model chips. They are organized/ranked into "bins" of quality. You'll hear people refer to chips as "top bin" meaning the "best of the best" in that specific model.

COBs are designed to be hung at a greater distance minimizing leaf shade, but mid-power LED are capable of lowering very close to the canopy. There are pros and cons to each. Nether is better than the other imo. Mid-power are more effecient.

Edit:
When I say mid-power LED I'm refererring to the 3mm x 3mm LEDs you typically see around.