A Unique Lighting Solution for Numerous Applications
There’s an unmistakable emotional shift that falls across a restaurant when the lights dim, suddenly creating a more intimate, comfortable setting. Lighting has the power to elicit immediate emotional responses, which are all the more important in high-end environments where the location is a major part of the overall experience – think luxury hotels, premium restaurants, and exclusive clubs. Chip-on-board lighting is emerging as a preferred choice for design professionals seeking refined performance point source luminaires in upscale environments.
Chip-on-board lighting can be an ideal choice for shaping the mood in a hotel lobby or highlighting textures in a minimalist retail concept, offering the precision and polish these modern spaces demand. What makes chip-on-board lighting a unique solution? Let’s break down what it is and why it’s perfect for embodying that high-end feel.
Chip-on-Board Lighting: Packing a Punch, Quietly
Chip-on-Board (CoB) is a type of LED technology in which multiple LED chips (in the form of bare dies) are directly mounted onto a single thermally efficient substrate or board. A phosphor coating is applied uniformly across the entire array of LED chips. When energized, the blue light from the chips is converted into white light of a specific color temperature, forming a compact, highly efficient light engine.
Unlike traditional surface-mounted arrays that space packaged LEDs (each with its own phosphor coating, lens, and lead frame) more widely across a circuit board, CoBs are able to cluster the LED chips much more densely, producing a uniform, high lumen output light source from a smaller footprint.
This concentrated architecture allows CoBs to deliver powerful light with minimal visual noise, making them ideal for architectural lighting where size, aesthetics, and performance are all equally important. Here are some architectural advantages to chip-on-board lighting:
1. High Lumen Output from a Compact Source
There are a number of constraints within which architects and lighting designers are constantly working, such as limited ceiling space, integrated fixtures, and precise visual directives. Chip-on-board technology delivers exceptionally high lumen output from a compact form factor, enabling specifiers to achieve dramatic, bright lighting effects without oversized fixtures or visible hardware, especially important in applications that include:
- Recessed lighting in areas with high ceilings
- Wall sconce lighting in atriums, lobbies, or hallways
- Smaller spaces that need task or accent lighting
2. Improved Color Rendering and Visual Comfort
Good lighting can add heightened value to a luxury residential, retail, or hospitality space and the experience of its visitors, and chip-on-board lighting typically offers superior color quality, bringing out the vibrancy of interior materials and finishes.
Because CoB lighting is made using a specially designed single phosphor coating applied over an entire array of tightly grouped chips (rather than a board containing packaged LEDs, each with its own phosphor coating), it minimizes shadows and color shifting and ensures a smooth, consistent light field. CoBs of various sizes can also be fitted with a variety of reflectors to create focused spot and flood optics.
Designers can therefore bring their vision to life with clarity, intention and comfort, whether illuminating furniture hues or product displays.
3. Clean Design and Seamless Integration
Architectural lighting should emphasize integration, not intrusion – making chip-on-board modules ideal for:
- Recessed fixtures that disappear into ceilings or walls
- Track lighting systems with minimal visual bulk
- Custom luminaires that blend into architectural features
With CoBs, lighting becomes an integral part of the structure rather than just something designers need to add to existing fixtures, which is helpful for projects focused on minimalism, human-centric design, or tailored architectural designs.
How to Apply Chip-on-Board Lighting in Your Designs
Hospitality Spaces
Ambiance is critical in luxury spaces like boutique hotels, restaurants, and upscale resorts. CoB lighting enables warm, inviting tones, seamless dimming, and precise spotlighting – all while maintaining discreet fixture profiles.
Retail and Showroom Environments
Place retail products in the right light with chip-on-board lighting, which offers excellent beam control and high CRI to spotlight merchandise with sharp detail and natural color, enhancing the shopper’s experience and elevating brand perception.
Corporate Interiors and Workspace
Architects and specifiers are leveraging CoB fixtures to deliver comfortable, glare-free task lighting in workspaces and aesthetic ambient lighting in shared areas, aligning with WELL Building and LEED certification goals.
Luxury Residential Design
CoB lighting can help homeowners and developers achieve a premium residential experience with subtle downlighting and dramatic wall grazers to support mood, style, and function.
Chip-on-Board Drivers and Other Options
While CoB technology offers clear advantages, its success in real-world applications depends on the performance of the LED driver behind it. ERP Power offers ultra-compact, high-efficiency drivers that are built to unlock the full potential of CoB light engines, delivering:
- Smooth, flicker-free dimming (including down to 1%)
- Compatibility with leading controls and protocols
- Thermal management and power reliability for longevity
- Sleek profiles that complement the CoB’s low-profile design
Together, ERP Power’s drivers and CoB-powered light engines help designers, architects, and developers achieve bold lighting goals without compromise.
However, because CoB lighting is predominantly used for point source applications, such as sconces, pendants, track lights, down lights, and accent lights, other projects involving cove, indirect, and long linear fixture lighting require a different solution.
For those projects, ERP manufactures linear tape products like the MLS driver, which is optimized for use with the ERP TWT Series tape light.
For lighting projects that demand performance-driven aesthetics, CoB — supported by precision LED drivers — will continue to set the tone for modern lighting design. Contact ERP Power to learn how our drivers and light engines can bring your next project to life.