In our last Tech Talk, we covered the difference between Class 2 and Class II power supplies. This week , we’re going to talk about the difference between Open and Closed Face LED Light Panels.
We’ve had a lot of questions recently asking what the visual difference between Open and Closed face panels and which was ideal for their project.
LED Light Panels are manufactured with an aluminum frame to act as a heat sink as well as provide stability for the acrylic. You have two options when choosing the frame type because of its construction.
The frame has a narrower and a wider edge that overlaps the acrylic. The frame can be flipped so the longer edge is on the back or front of the acrylic sheet.
An LED Light Panel is considered to be Closed Faced when the wider edge of the aluminum frame covers the face. This completely eliminates any hotspots that would be visible when the panel is in direct view, without diffusion.
An Open Faced panel is the opposite; when the narrower edge of the frame covers the face of the acrylic sheet. This allows more light to illuminate the edges around the frame. In this configuration, hotspots will be visible when viewed directly, and is designed for applications that will be diffusing the light.
Closed face panels are excellent in direct-view applications. With the wider frame edge, there are no visible hotspots. This allows for bright, non-diffused applications. Diffusers can still be applied with a closed face panel, however, the frame will show through if the diffuser is too close.
An open face panel allows slightly more light to be projected from its surface. For projects where light will be diffused, they are an excellent option, as shown below:
Closed face panels are not capable of creating the same seamless look at the same distances, so the Open face panel is ideal for these applications.
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