What Are the Different Types of LED Downlights?

Struggling to pick the right LED downlight¹ from a sea of options? Choosing the wrong one can waste money, create a poor lighting effect, and ruin your project's design.

The main types of LED downlights are defined by their installation method (recessed, surface-mounted), light source (SMD, COB), and specific features like IP rating (IP20 for indoor, IP65 for wet areas) or adjustability. Understanding these key differences is crucial for selecting the perfect fixture for your specific needs.

Choosing the right downlight goes far beyond just picking a model from a catalog. As a manufacturer for over a decade, I've seen firsthand how a seemingly small detail can make or break an entire project. I remember a conversation with Shaz Mahamood, a seasoned purchasing manager from the UAE. He was sourcing for a new luxury hotel and needed to understand every nuance, from the type of LED chip used to the specific IP rating² required for the spa and pool areas. For him, getting it right meant a satisfied client, a stunning final result, and a long-term business relationship. Getting it wrong was simply not an option. This is why a deep dive into the details is not just helpful, it's essential. Let's break down the most common questions I hear every day.

What are the three types of LED lights?

Are you feeling overwhelmed by technical acronyms like SMD³ and COB⁴? This common confusion can easily lead you to choose a light source that looks cheap or fails to create the desired ambiance for your space.

The three main types of LED packages you'll encounter in downlights are SMD (Surface Mounted Device), COB (Chip on Board), and MCOB (Multi-Chip on Board). SMD uses many small, distinct LEDs, while COB groups them into one single, powerful, and uniform light source.

When I first entered the lighting industry, everything was built around SMD LEDs. They were revolutionary. But as designers and architects started using them more, a common complaint emerged. An SMD downlight uses a board peppered with many individual light-emitting diodes. When you look at the fixture, you see all these tiny points of light, which can create a busy, distracting look and produce multiple, sharp-edged shadows. The market demanded something cleaner. The evolution to COB technology wasn't just about a quest for more brightness; it was a response to this aesthetic demand⁵. We call the goal "Optical Quietness." A COB downlight integrates multiple LED chips onto a single substrate, covered by a uniform layer of phosphor. The result is a single, clean point of light that looks far more professional and soothing to the eye. This perfectly mimics the classic, single-beam appearance of the halogen bulbs that architects and designers have loved for decades. It was a true game-changer for high-end residential and commercial projects where the quality and feel of the light are just as important as the quantity.

What is the difference between IP20 and IP65 downlight?

Are you worried about which downlight to specify for a bathroom, kitchen, or a covered outdoor patio? Installing a fixture with an incorrect IP rating is not only a rookie mistake but a serious safety hazard that guarantees premature failure and potential liability.

IP20 downlights are designed exclusively for dry, indoor locations, offering basic protection against solid objects but none from water. In contrast, IP65 downlights are fully dust-tight and protected against water jets, making them safe and durable for bathrooms, kitchens, and covered outdoor areas.

Many specifiers see an IP65⁶ rating on a data sheet and just tick the box. As a manufacturer, I see it as a significant thermal challenge. To achieve an IP65 rating, you must completely seal the fixture with gaskets and adhesives to prevent any ingress of dust or water. But in doing so, you create an oven. You trap all the heat generated by the LED chip and the driver inside a small enclosure. Heat is the absolute number one enemy of LED performance and longevity. A poorly designed IP65 downlight will literally cook itself to death. The true mark of a superior IP65 fixture isn't just its seal, but its ability to efficiently manage heat despite being sealed. When my team at iPHD engineers an IP65 downlight, our primary focus is on advanced thermal management⁷. This involves using high-grade ADC12 die-cast aluminum for the heatsink, designing optimal fin structures to maximize surface area, and ensuring a direct thermal pathway from the LED chip to the outside of the fixture. I have dissected countless cheap IP65 lights that failed in under a year, and the culprit is always the same: an undersized heatsink and no thought given to thermal design.

What is the difference between LED downlight and recessed light?

Are you using the terms "downlight" and "recessed light⁸" interchangeably? While common, this can cause significant confusion when specifying products with suppliers or discussing project requirements with clients, leading to costly misunderstandings.

A "recessed light" is a broad category for any fixture installed into a hollow opening in a ceiling. A "downlight" is a specific type of recessed light that is designed to cast its light directly downwards. Therefore, while all downlights are recessed lights, not all recessed lights are downlights (e.g., wall washers, adjustable accent lights).

This distinction in terminology might seem minor, but it reveals a fundamental split in market philosophy and product design. When I hear a contractor ask for a basic "recessed light," they are often referring to the modern, ultra-thin "wafer" or "canless" style lights. These are all-in-one, disposable fixtures where the LED, driver, and housing are a single, sealed unit. Their main advantages are low cost and simple installation. The major disadvantage is that if any part fails, you must remove and discard the entire fixture. When a professional like Shaz, the UAE purchaser, specifies a "downlighting system," he has a completely different mindset. He's thinking about long-term value and serviceability. This system is modular, consisting of a separate housing (the "can" installed in the ceiling), a replaceable LED light engine, and an interchangeable trim. This architectural approach offers huge benefits for commercial projects. If an LED module fails five years from now, maintenance can swap it in minutes without damaging the ceiling. If the client wants to upgrade to a newer, more efficient technology in the future, it's a simple module swap. It's the difference between buying a disposable product versus investing in a lasting, flexible lighting infrastructure.

Which LED type is the brightest?

Are you still asking suppliers for the "brightest" LED downlight you can find? This is one of the most common mistakes I see. Focusing only on brightness is a flawed approach that often leads to poor light quality, visual discomfort, and unnecessarily high energy bills⁹.

Asking which LED is "brightest" is the wrong question. Professionals focus on Luminous Efficacy (measured in lumens per watt), which indicates efficiency. A high-quality LED produces a large amount of light (lumens) while consuming very little energy (watts), all while maintaining excellent light quality.

Inside a lighting factory, the contest for the "brightest" LED is an amateur's game. Any engineer can make an LED brighter by simply pushing more power (watts) through the chip. The problem is that this drastically increases heat, shortens the lifespan, and often ruins the quality of the light. The real battleground, where true engineering expertise and quality manufacturing shine, is in achieving the highest Luminous Efficacy (lm/W) at a specific Color Rendering Index¹⁰ (CRI) and with superior color consistency. It’s easy to find a very bright LED with a low CRI of 70. But under that light, colors will look dull, skin tones will look unnatural, and products will look lifeless. The true challenge is delivering over 100 lm/W while also maintaining a beautiful, accurate CRI of 90+ and guaranteeing tight color consistency across an entire batch. For a large project, consistency is critical. You cannot have one downlight in a hotel corridor appearing slightly yellow and the one next to it looking pinkish. This is where the MacAdam Ellipse¹¹ (or SDCM) rating comes in. A rating of <3 SDCM is invisible to the human eye, ensuring perfect uniformity. So the right question isn't "How bright is it?" but rather, "How efficient is it, how good is the color rendering, and how consistent is it?"

Conclusion

Ultimately, choosing the right LED downlight requires moving beyond surface-level questions. It's about understanding the nuances of technology, application-specific needs, and the key metrics of quality and performance for long-term success.