Corn COB (Chip On Board) LED Lights: The Best High Output LED Bulbs

What is a corn cob light? Well, as you can see from the video above, a COB LED is a light shaped surprisingly like an ear of corn. What is it? COB stands for “chip on board” and is simply that: a light emitting diode (LED) embedded into a substrate (board) that has an electric current passed through it so it will light up. That means the acronym COB matches the actual shape of the light itself. The COB LED light we are talking about in this article, and the one you see above, is the GT-Lite High Lumen LED Bulb we stock at North 40 Outfitters.

If this is the first time you’ve seen a bulb like this, then you probably have a few questions. Is this light as bright as traditional halogen or CFL lights? Absolutely it is. Does this COB LED use less energy or more energy? Less… up to 80 percent less actually. Does the corn cob light get hotter than other lights since the diodes are sometimes exposed? No… this light gives off less heat than traditional lights. Can you replace any bulbs with the cob light? And here it gets a little technical, you can replace any light bulb with the GT-Lite COB LED if that light uses an E26 fixture, is unballasted and is uncovered. This light is great to replace older, inefficient bulbs in barns, outdoor settings and other places where large amounts of omni-directional lighting is needed.

GT-Lite 5000 Lumen Bulb || GT-Lite 10000 Lumen Bulb: What Bulbs to Replace

GT manufactured its line of high lumen LEDs to be the most cost-effective replacement option for traditional E26 bulbs. Some prime candidates for LED replacement are barn lights, garage lights, shop lights, factory lights, lights on driveways and many other situations where we need high output lights that operate cheaper, longer and are more cost-effective.

The two most popular COB lights that GT-Lite produces are the 5,000-lumen and the 10,000-lumen options. Each of these are easily interchangeable with traditional bulbs. They can only replace bulbs within unballasted E26 fixtures that are uncovered. The 5,000-lumen light replaces 300-Watt CFL/Halogen Models and produces the same light output with 100-Watt energy usage. The 10,000-lumen light replaces 500-watt halogen/CFLs with 100-Watt (50 percent less) energy usage.

At North 40 Outfitters, these GT-Lite products retail at $39.99 for the 5,000-lumen unit and $59.99 for the 10,000-lumen unit. That’s a hefty price tag if you are used to paying around $7/11 dollars for traditional bulbs, so why switch? Lifetime savings. These bulbs last for 25,000 hours or about 14 years.

If you switch to COB LED Lights, how much will you save?

The traditional savings breakdown is based on the following: three hours of bulb use per day multiplied by 365 days in the year with an average utility rate of $0.11 kWh per bulb. Using 80 percent less energy than traditional bulbs, it makes sense to switch if you use your lights for at least three hours a night. If you purchase a GT-Lite LED light to replace traditional bulbs, you would save an annual $48.18 per year. This light basically pays for itself inside 18 months. And when we look at the life of these LED lights, around 14 years on average before failure, that means less time and energy spent replacing bulbs!

It’s an easy choice for the savvy consumer to move to more efficient, and more resilient LEDs to save time and money. Plus, with a one year warranty, the risk involved with replacing your CFLs or Halogens with LED COB bulbs becomes even less of a worry. 

GT-Lite COB LED light Versus Other Corn Cob Bulbs

When GT manufactured these high output LEDs, they made them with the price-conscious consumer in mind. These COB lights are cheaper than other models on the market for a couple reasons, one of those being the acrylic substrate. Recall from earlier that COB stands for “chip on board”, well that “board” is simply a substrate. In the case of the GT-Lite High Lumen LED, that board is acrylic (as is the case in most COBs) and does away with the reflective coating that increases the manufacturing cost. By leaving the board a simple, green acrylic, GT lowers the initial cost while leaving the longevity and energy efficiency intact.

So, this COB LED is cheaper initially, but does that mean it’s less effective as a light source? No. GT enhanced the traditional COB design by adding a bottom panel of diodes. In traditional COB LEDs, this bottom panel is absent, so most of the light is projected in a radial arc, leaving the area below the LED darker. The GT-Lite model fixes this and casts light directly below, resulting in truly “omnidirectional lighting”.

The 5,000- and 10,000-lumen GT models replace older bulbs in E26 fixtures; other COB lights at this lumen rating are normally for E30 outlets traditionally only seen in commercial settings. This makes these lights perfect for residential, barns or ranch outdoor lighting usage where the fixtures are typically E26.

Some Common Questions People Ask About Cob Lights

Why can’t the light be enclosed?

LED lights dissipate waste heat more efficiently than older CFL models which can operate effectively even in temperatures over 300°F. So, COB LEDs get rid of excess heat better… why can’t they be enclosed? These lights are more sensitive to ambient temperature, and if they are enclosed and get too hot, it shortens their life-span and can damage the diodes on the board.

What is “damp rated”? Can I use this COB LED outdoors?

Damp rated means these lights cannot be exposed directly to rain or snow. “If you are going to be using these lights outside, you need to make sure the fixture’s hood is big enough to protect the board and the LEDs from rain or snow,” said Chris Yang, the representative I spoke with from GT. “These lights are incredibly efficient and even operate more reliably in extremely cold temperatures than CFLs or Halogen bulbs, so they are perfect for barns and indoor arenas in your area, and you can use them outside, you just have to make sure they're protected.”

How hard are they to install?

With an E26 light fixture, to install either the 5,000-lumen or the 10,000-lumen model of COB LEDs you simply remove the old bulb, and screw in your new LED bulb. It’s that easy.