Heat sinks for LED light --
Commercial or domestic, they are absolutely vital for reliable high powered operation

Review and tips for heat sinks for domestic and commercial output bright LEDs and high voltage LED light bulbs.

It is not just the super and ultra bright LEDs that need them. A good quality flood light would also have a proper sink for reliable operation.

So how big the it should be?

According to Lumiled application guide "each watt of LED power needs about 9 square inches of surface area open to free air for cooling." That's a lot of cooling surface.

Why LEDs need a sink to dissipate heat?

There is a good third party explanation here:
http://patmullins.com/ledlightmyths.html#toc2

Types of sinks

flat
finned
forced air (fan)

Application brief for thermal design
http://www.lumileds.com/pdfs/AB05.PDF

Tips for custom or standard sinks

We know that heat is a problem. -- Every light fixture is a heater, the brighter the light the more the heat. That includes LEDs too.

Modular heat sinks for Lamina super bright LED

Lamina LED modular
heat sinks

The question is: where the heat goes? Conventional sockets are just bad sinks, period. They are designed for bulbs that release heat at the armature, not the base.

Dont try a LED bulb without a proper sink - it will fail!

A high output high voltage light fixture is the worst heater of all light sources. In the domestic LED field, they are the so called super bright LEDs.

Here the best design has the finned shape (like a radiator) as it allows for the biggest surface to dissipate heat.

And for both domestic and residential applications I like modular designs the most.

standard heat sinks for commercial LEDs

And for the commercial grade bright LED market there are standard designs for added cooling devices.

From the size of these babies you can see the amount of metal and air volume you need for these very high output LED lights.

And if you need something tailor-made, custom solutions are also available, often from same companies that offer standard designs. Of course - as always - consider the added costs involved.

Remember, the any decent bright LED light source together with engines, circuits and what not are still a bit pricey as an outlay.

But an integrated modular sink design works on so many levels -- and that WILL multiply both your energy savings and the profit you make on your LED investment.

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Heat sinks for LED light -- Commercial or domestic, they are absolutely vital for reliable high powered operation

Heat sinks for LED light --
Commercial or domestic, they are absolutely vital for reliable high powered operation