On Selection of Indoor LED Drivers
On Selection of Indoor LED Drivers
On Selection of Indoor LED Drivers
As LED lighting is an energy saving and environment friendly product, it has been accepted by more and more consumers. And the selection skills of LED lighting products are needed. The most important part of LED lighting is the LED driver. Lighting drivers can directly affect the function and performance of LED lights. Today we will focus on selection of indoor LED drivers. So what are the criteria to select them?
General requirements of LED drivers
¡¡¡¡ The arrangement of LED and LED light source determines the basic norms of led driver requirements. The main function of the LED driver is to limit the scope of the current flow through the LED under certain operating conditions regardless of how the input and output voltages change. There are two kinds of LED driver methods: isolated and non-isolated. The isolated means that there is no physical electrical connection between the AC line voltage and LED (input and output). The most common way is the use of the transformer to implement electrical isolation for the isolated while the non-isolated does not.
¡¡¡¡ In the design of LED lighting, AC-DC power conversion circuit and the constant current driving may employ different configurations:
¡¡¡¡ 1. Integral configuration. Two parts are combined together, located inside the light. The advantage of this configuration includes energy efficiency optimization and simple installation.
¡¡¡¡ 2. Distribute configuration. Two parts are separate. This configuration simplifies security, and increases flexibility.
How to choose LED driver mode
¡¡¡¡ Two typical kinds of LED drivers in the market: linear driver and switch driver. For current application larger than 500mA, switching drivers are desirable. As the limitation of linear drivers themselves, such large of current cannot be provided. While for current application less than 200mA, typically a linear driver or separate regulator device will be utilized; current application between i 200 to 500mA, both of linear drivers and switching drivers will be fine.
LED driver standards
¡¡¡¡ The LED drive itself has evolved all the time, with emphasis on higher energy efficiency, increasing the functionality and power density. U.S. "Energy Star" solid lighting norms are energy-efficient constraints of lighting devices, while the EU IEC 61347-2-13 (5/2006) standards for DC or AC powered LED module requirements including:
¡¡¡¡ 1. Maximum safety extra-low voltage (SELV) operating output voltage ¡Ü 25 Vrms (35.3 Vdc)
¡¡¡¡ 2. Under various fault conditions "appropriate" / safe working
¡¡¡¡ 3. No smoke upon breakdown
In addition, ANSI C82.xxx LED driver specifications are still being formulated. In terms of security, it needs to comply with standards of UL, CSA, such as UL1310 (Class 2), UL 60950, UL1012. Additionally, LED lighting design also involves the product life cycle and reliability issues.
The main products of indoor LED drivers are 12v LED drivers. LED manufacturers provide us a wide range of choices, and we can choose the most suitable and best quality one.