LED Drivers: The Engines Behind LED Lighting Systems
Electronics Bazaar|November 2016

LED lighting is getting popular in India because of its energy efficiency, growing consumer awareness and the country’s focus on green energy. Hence, the efficiency of the LED is important, and is defined by the components used in its production, especially the LED drivers

Baishakhi Dutta
LED Drivers: The Engines Behind LED Lighting Systems

The LED ballast or driver plays a key role in deter-mining the life of a product. The constant pressure to reduce chip sizes and increase lumens per watt has forced manufacturers to come up with modified drivers equipped with the latest technologies. Drivers account for nearly 20 per cent of the total cost of the components used in an LED light. With LEDs moving into various application areas, their drivers need to be more efficient and cost-effective.

The Indian LED lighting market generated a revenue of US$ 168.6 million in the last few years and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 38 per cent in the upcoming years. Currently, the LED driver market comprises both imports and locally manufactured products. Domestic companies, however, are setting up plants to manufacture drivers. But the missing link in the Indian ecosystem is local IP capabilities, though design registrations are being encouraged.

Types of LED drivers

The three types of LED drivers are:

Constant current (350mA, 700mA or 1A) drivers

Constant voltage (10V, 12V or 24V) drivers

AC LED drivers

Constant current drivers fix the current, and can vary the voltage. However, this depends on the load of the LED. Constant voltage drivers, on the other hand, require a fixed voltage. The LED loads are added in parallel across the output of the driver until maximum output currents are reached. AC LED drivers are actually no-minimum load transformers, which means that they could technically operate low-voltage halogen or incandescent bulbs as well.

The purpose of LED drivers

LEDs require drivers for two purposes:

LEDs are designed to run on low voltage (12-24V),direct current electricity. However, most places supply a higher voltage (120V-277V), AC electricity. An LED driver rectifies higher voltage, alternating current to low voltage, direct current.

This story is from the November 2016 edition of Electronics Bazaar.

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This story is from the November 2016 edition of Electronics Bazaar.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.