Binning

LED chips that come out from mass production have some minor differences such as light color, light output, and operating voltage. The work of grouping LEDs and assembling those with similar properties in a group is called Binning.

Consumers pays attention the differences in the light color most. For example; when passing through a tunnel or underpass, it can be seen that some of the lighting on the ceiling emits a more yellow color and some more whiter.

In LEDs, not all white lights are the same color, some may appear closer to blue and some may appear closer to yellow. Although the color difference is noticeably small when LEDs are operated separately, this difference can be easily distinguished when they come side by side.

For example; The LED you receive as 4500 K can be in the color temperature range of 4250 K – 4750 K. When these LEDs are used in a luminaire, differences can be easily seen at the point where the light comes out. Even if LEDs of different colors are located in different luminaires, color differences can be understood when these fixtures come together.

LEDs which are in the same group and was made Binning, can be a narrow range such as 4400 K – 4500 K. The difference in color temperature may not be understood in such a narrow range. Apart from the white LEDs, the classification is made according to the color coordinates for the colored LEDs. Color Binning or CCT Binning is the process of classifying LEDs by light color.

Not all the LEDs that come our from mass production have the same amount of light output, i.e. lumen value. For example, a group of  LED that come out from the mass production may have same light output while other LED group may not have. To identify these differences, grouping by lumen values, namely Lumen Binning is made. Lumen classification is extremely important for calculating the light output of the luminaire.

LEDs begin to emit light under a certain voltage when electric current passes over it. However, this voltage value may differ between the LEDs. Since the operating voltage is an important parameter for the selection of the LED driver, Forward Voltage Binning has been made according to this value.

The grouping of the LEDs is done by the manufacturer and Color, Lumen, Forward Voltage bin tables are included in the datasheet of the LED. LED bins are extremely important for lighting manufacturers. These features have a direct impact on the performance of the LED lighting fixture.

It should be remembered that after a certain period of time, color deviations can be seen as LEDs are used. Therefore, there may be significant color differences between a new luminaire created with LEDs in the same bin and an luminaire that has been used for a while.