How to Distinguish the Quality of LED Line Lights?

With the dazzling array of LED line lights available today, many manufacturers boast about the high quality, low price, and long lifespan of their LED line lights. There are also expensive “brand name” products. How, then, can we distinguish between good and bad LED line lights? What aspects should we analyze? In response to this question, we have gathered a wealth of information for everyone.

How to distinguish the quality of LED line lights?

First trick: Check the glue: The severe yellowing of some LED line lights within a year is due to poor-quality glue. There are many low-quality, supposedly waterproof PU adhesives on the market that perform poorly in terms of waterproofing and are prone to yellowing and darkening. The price of these substandard adhesives is vastly lower than that of genuine waterproof PU glue, often by more than double.

Second trick: Check the aluminum: Ultra-thin aluminum is prone to deformation. When selecting aluminum for LED line lights, reputable manufacturers first consider whether it is good for heat dissipation. It is a misconception that thicker aluminum is always better. Just like makeup, is thicker foundation always more attractive? Certainly not. To prevent deformation and ensure good heat dissipation, aluminum must be of an appropriate thickness. Conversely, thinner aluminum does not equate to better heat dissipation and can easily deform when installed due to compression, so cutting corners is unacceptable. It’s also about cost-performance ratio; to achieve high cost-performance, manufacturers must control their materials well.

Third trick: Check the LED beads components: In the industry, there are only a few well-known encapsulation manufacturers, such as Cree, Philips Lumileds, Nichia, and Taiwan Epistar. However, can you identify whether the chips you receive are from these brands? Some unscrupulous LED line light manufacturers claim to use high-quality raw materials in their quotes, selling cheap chips as expensive brands. But the law of prices always applies; how could high-quality goods be cheap? Some customers delude themselves into accepting deceit. There are domestic LED bead brands that, after years of testing and improvement, offer very mature and stable performance. Based on your project budget, you can opt for some good domestic brands, such as San'an.

Fourth trick: Check the choice of circuit board: Are aluminum substrate boards always better than fiberglass boards? High-quality LED line lights often use aluminum substrate boards for the circuit board of the light source. Does this mean fiberglass boards are always inferior? Not necessarily. Previously, I also thought that products using fiberglass boards were not high-quality. However, after receiving explanations from technicians, I understand that fiberglass boards also vary in quality and can even surpass the quality of aluminum substrates. As long as they perform consistently, both aluminum and fiberglass boards can be considered good circuit boards.

Fifth trick: Check the waterproof plug: The LED market is vast, and at the beginning of each year, customers inquire: "Are there new prices for this year?" Some LED line light manufacturers, under such pressure, may reduce material quality slightly. However, some manufacturers choose to lower their profits to maintain their existing customers. There are cheaper waterproof plugs that conduct poorly and have weaker waterproofing, susceptible to water ingress and leakage. Generally, the square four-pin plug is excellent, albeit pricier, but its overall stability can reach 99% waterproof. The remaining 1% may be due to not being tightly connected.