Heat dissipation performance is as important to lighting as health is to the human body, and it is the key secret to ensuring the longevity and efficient work of lighting.

With the continuous development of lighting technology, especially the widespread application of LED lights, the problem of heat dissipation has become more and more prominent. LED lights generate a lot of heat when working, and if this heat cannot be dissipated in time, it will cause the temperature inside the lamp to rise. When the temperature is too high, the luminous efficiency of LED lights will decrease, which is what we often call light decay, and the light will become darker and darker; At the same time, high temperatures can also accelerate the aging of the internal components of the lamp, shorten the service life of the lamp, and may even cause safety issues.

To improve the heat dissipation performance of lighting, luminaire manufacturers employ a variety of methods and materials. The aluminum alloy shell mentioned earlier is a good heat dissipation material, which has a high thermal conductivity and can quickly conduct the heat generated by the LED chip to the surface of the shell, and then dissipate the heat through air convection. Some high-end LED lamps will also design special heat dissipation fins on the aluminum alloy shell to increase the heat dissipation area and further improve the heat dissipation efficiency. These heat fins act like the heat sinks of a car engine, allowing heat to dissipate faster into the surrounding air.

In addition to aluminum alloys, thermally conductive plastics are also gradually used in the field of heat dissipation in lighting. Thermally conductive plastics are ordinary plastics with thermal conductive fillers added to make them have certain thermal conductivity. Its advantages are light weight, low cost, good insulation, and can be made into various complex shapes through injection molding process to meet the design needs of different lamps. However, the thermal conductivity of thermally conductive plastics is still worse than that of aluminum alloys, and is generally suitable for lamps with lower power.

Another way to dissipate heat is to use the principle of air fluid mechanics to rationally design the shape of the lamp, so that the air flows naturally inside the lamp, forming convection, so as to take away the heat. This heat dissipation method is less expensive and does not increase the weight and volume of the lamp, but the heat dissipation effect is relatively limited and is usually used in combination with other heat dissipation methods.

When choosing lighting, we can judge its heat dissipation performance through some methods. For example, if the shell is made of metal and has obvious heat dissipation fins or heat dissipation holes, then its heat dissipation performance will generally be better; You can also touch the shell with your hands after using the lamp for a period of time, if the temperature of the shell is not very high, it means that the heat dissipation effect is better. In addition, some brands of lamps will indicate parameters related to heat dissipation performance in the product manual, and we can refer to these parameters for comparison and selection.

Heat dissipation performance is an important factor affecting the quality of lighting. Choosing lighting with good heat dissipation performance can not only allow us to enjoy more stable and brighter light, but also save the cost and time of replacing lamps, bringing more convenience and comfort to our lives. When choosing lighting, we must take heat dissipation performance as an important consideration to keep our lamps in a “healthy” working state.