Light Emitting Diodes (LED) have gained prominence in the world of lighting. Its tremendous rise to the helm of lighting affairs due to its efficiency has seen it beat the competition from traditional lighting systems. The outstanding feat of LED drivers triggers curiosity, and people are asking the question, “what is LED Driver Efficiency?”
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The efficiency of the Light Emitting Diode (LED) driver is the ratio of energy emitted by the driver to the power it consumes from the electric line.
Let’s express our definition in a simple formula;
LED Driver Efficiency =
The standard expression for efficiency is in percent. So now you see why experts make statements like “The LED driver has an efficiency of 90%.”
Do you know that lighting works on the principle of receiving and giving? Not to worry, I’ll explain. Your electric bulb will only light up the room after receiving power from the electric supply. Please note that the electric supply we are talking about could be as little as your wall sockets.
Input power is the amount of energy that gets into a device or system. In this case, the device or system is the LED driver.
Now let’s correlate the definition with our example above. The input power is the energy that comes into your electric bulb from the main supply. So what the LED driver will give out is highly dependent on the input power with the unit in watts.
Output power is the reverse of what we have seen in the previous section. So let’s reflect on this question, “what happens after the LED driver receives the energy (input power) from the electric line?” The best answer is that it supplies this power to the LED system.
Output power is the amount of energy delivered by a device, circuit, or system.
We can paint a better picture this way!! The LED driver receives energy from the main supply, regulates the power, then delivers it to the LED.
Do you remember when we established the definition of LED driver efficiency in the first section of this piece? A formula accompanied the description, and that’s our way out to calculate the LED driver efficiency.
Recall;
LED Driver Efficiency =
Before we proceed, please let’s remind ourselves of the following
Use the following steps to calculate the LED driver efficiency.
For example, you have an LED driver that receives 150 watts of power from the mains supply and then sends an output of 135 watts to the LED.
Using the model; LED Driver Efficiency =
LED Driver Efficiency =
From our analysis above, it is clear that your LED driver has an efficiency of 90%.
When we talk about efficiency, it will be an error not to consider its driving force. The efficiency of a LED driver hinges on the input voltage and load (output voltage).
Let’s take a look at the chart below;
There are different power grids in the world. For example, we have 120 Vac and 277Vac for the North America and 220 Vac for most of other areas.
Looking at the chart, we can see that efficiency is different with both input voltage and output voltage which is also load in terms of a constant current LED driver.
Energy losses occur in power supply; as a result, it’s impossible to have a 100% power supply. Yet, despite this reality, we can still achieve high efficiencies of up to 96%. How? With great component selection and exquisite design, this feat is achievable.
The energy loss occurs in resistors, capacitors, inductors, diode conjunction, and (MOSFET)
Active and passive component losses are the catalyst for energy loss in the power supply. So let’s check out what they entail.
Passive components are those part of the device that does not need the extra control signal to operate, including diodes, transformers, capacitors, inductors, and resistors.
So passive component loss refers to energy loss occurring in those passive components.
In contrast to the passive components, active components need power for their operation. Therefore, they can produce power gain and amplify signals. The active components include a transistor, integrated circuit, SCR, MOSFET, etc.
When we talk about active component loss, we refer to energy loss in part mentioned above of the device.
Due to the existence of parasitic resistance of the components like PCB, cable, there are power loss occurring on the path through which the current goes.
We have talked about crucial details on LED drivers, but you could be asking, is it worth it? Or why so much emphasis on high-efficiency drivers?
Not to worry, sit tight as we reveal the answers you seek.
The first reason why you should use a high-efficiency driver is to save cost. Remember when the lighting will pull out significant money from your pocket due to high energy consumption. That’s why the whole industry turned towards LED lighting.
It’s an opportunity to take full advantage of cost savings with high-efficiency drivers. They require lesser energy input to provide the needed luminous output. Hence results in a low cost of power. Utility bills become low!!
It’s valid that the power supply dissipates heat. However, the dissipated heat harms the lighting system and reduces its lifespan.
The higher the driver’s efficiency, the lesser the heat it dissipates, and the longer the system’s life.
uPowerTek makes it all easy; you can get top-quality LED drivers with an outstanding 96% efficiency. With up-to-date technology and practice, uPowerTek provides the following.
It’s been a worthwhile journey, you are enlightened and all triggered up. I trust you to make a great choice!!
As energy laws have gotten stricter, most people know that LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, last a long time and save energy. But few people understand that these high-tech light sources can’t work without an LED driver. LED drivers, sometimes called LED power supplies, are like ballasts for fluorescent lights or transformers for low-voltage bulbs. They give LEDs the electricity they need to run and work at their best.
An LED driver controls how much power an LED or a group of LEDs needs. Since light-emitting diodes are low-energy lighting devices with long life and low energy use, they need specialized power sources.
The main jobs of LED drivers are to provide low voltage and protect LEDs.
Each LED can use up to 30mA of current and work at voltages of about 1.5V to 3.5V. Multiple LEDs can be used in series and parallel to make home lighting, which may need a total voltage of 12 to 24 V DC. The LED driver turns the AC around to meet the needs and lowers the voltage. This means that the high AC mains voltage, which ranges from 120V to 230V, must be changed into the low DC voltage that is needed.
The LED drivers also protect the LEDs from changes in voltage and current. Even if the mains supply changes, the circuits ensure that the voltage and current going to the LEDs stay in the suitable range for them to work. The protection stops the LEDs from getting too much voltage and current, which would hurt them, or insufficient current, making them less bright.
When the temperature of an LED changes, so do its forward voltage needs. As it gets hotter, less voltage is needed to move current through the LED, so it uses more power. Thermal runaway is when the temperature goes up out of control and burns out an LED. The power output levels on LED drivers are made to meet the needs of LEDs. The driver’s constant current keeps the temperature stable by responding to changes in the forward voltage.
Transformers for low-voltage light bulbs do the same thing that LED drivers do for LEDs. LED lights are low-voltage devices that usually run on 4V, 12V, or 24V. To work, they need a source of direct current power. But because wall socket power supplies typically have a much higher Voltage (between 120V and 277V) and produce alternating current, they are not directly compatible. Since the average voltage of an LED is too low for a regular transformer, special LED drivers are used to convert high-voltage alternating current to low-voltage direct current.
The other thing that LED drivers do is protect against power surges, and changes, which can make temperatures rise and light output go down. LEDs are made to only work within a specific range of amps.
Some LED drivers can also change the brightness of the connected LED systems and the order in which the colors are shown. To do this, you must carefully turn each LED on and off. For example, white lights are usually made by turning on a bunch of different-colored LEDs at the same time. If you turn off some of the LEDs, the white color disappears.
Differences between external and internal LED drivers can be built into lamps (interior), put on the surfaces of light fixtures, or even put outside of them (External). Most low-power indoor lights, especially bulbs, have LED drivers built in. This makes the lights cheaper and more attractive. On the other hand, downlights and panel lights usually have LED drivers on the outside.
When using a lot of power, like street lights, floodlights, stadium lights, and grow lights, external LED drivers are used more and more. This is because the heat inside the lights gets worse as the power goes up. Another good thing about external LED drivers is they can be easily changed for maintenance.
Because linear LED drivers are so simple, a resistor, a controlled MOSFET, or an IC may be all needed to make an LED’s constant current. A lot of AC LED, sign, and strip applications use them. Because of this, power supplies can change very easily, and there are now a considerable number of constant voltage power sources, such as 12V and 24V LED drivers. A linear regulator wastes a lot of power, so the light can’t be as bright as it could be with a switching power supply.
High-efficiency switching supplies naturally lead to high light efficacy, which is the most important thing for most light applications. Also, switching power supplies flicker less, have a higher power factor, and can handle surges better than AC LEDs.
When we compare these two things, we call each of them a switching power supply. According to UL and CE regulations, the isolated design usually works at 4Vin+V and Vac, and the input and output voltages are well separated. Using a highly insulated transformer instead of an inductor as the part that transfers human power makes the system safer. Still, it also makes it less efficient (by 5%) and more expensive (by 50%). Insulation keeps the high voltage from going from the input to the output. On the other hand, low-power built-in designs usually use non-isolated designs.
Because LEDs have unique V-I characteristics, it goes without saying that a constant current source should power them. However, a constant voltage LED driver can be used if a linear regulator or resistor is connected in series with the LED to limit the current. Signs and strip lighting usually use constant voltage LED drivers with 12V, 24V, or even 48V because they are much more efficient than constant current LED drivers, which are the norm for general lighting like bulbs, linear lights, downlights, street lights, etc. As long as the total wattage doesn’t exceed the power supply’s limit, the constant voltage solution makes it easy for users to change the amount of light, giving it much flexibility for installation in the field.
Link to Eaglerise
In this case, I and II are written in Roman numerals instead of 1 and 2, which means something completely different, as you can see in the next item. IEC (International Electro-technical Commission) regulations use the terms Class I and Class II to describe how a power supply is built on the inside and how it is electrically insulated to keep users from getting an electric shock. IEC To keep people from getting shocked by electricity, Class I LED drivers must have protected earth connections and essential insulation. There is no need for a protected earth (ground) connection because IEC Class II input models have extra safety features like double or strengthened insulation. Class I LED drivers often have a ground connection at the input, while class II drivers don’t. However, class II drivers have higher insulation levels from the input to the enclosure or the output. And here are the most common symbols for classes I and II.
The Arabic numbers 1 and 2 stand for the NEC (National Electric Code) ideas of class 1 and 2, respectively. These ideas describe the output of a power supply with less than 60Vdc in a dry location and 30Vdc in a wet spot, less than 5A current, and less than 100W power, as well as the detailed requirements for the circuit design feature. Using class 2 LED drivers has a lot of benefits. Their output is considered to be a safe terminal, so no extra protection is needed at the LED modules or light fixtures. This saves money on insulation and safety tests. UL and UL set the rules for Class 2 LED drivers. But because of these limits, a Class 2 LED driver can only power a certain number of LEDs.
In this new time, every light is made to be dim. This is a big subject because there are many ways to dim lights. Let’s talk about each one in turn.
1) 0-10V/1-10V dimming LED Driver
2) PWM dimming LED Driver
3) Triac dimming LED Driver
4) DALI dimming LED Driver
5) DMX dimming LED Driver
6) Other Protocols of LED Driver
IEC uses the IP (ingress protection) certification as the only way to classify the degree to which LED drivers are waterproof. The IP code is made up of two numbers. The first number rates the protection against solid objects on a scale from 0 (no protection) to 6 (no entry of dust), and the second number rates the protection against liquids on a scale from 0 (no protection) to 7. (8 and 9) don’t come up very often in the lighting business. LED drivers with IP20 ratings or lower are used inside, while waterproof drivers are used outside. But this doesn’t always happen. For example, some indoor applications use waterproof LED drivers because they can put out much more power than low IP ones without needing an active cooling system, making them last less than IP-rated LED drivers.
When light bulbs were made for the first time, they had a mechanism inside them. The job of this thing was to slow down the flow of electricity through a circuit. Ballast is the name of this thing. If this wasn’t used in light bulbs and T8 light bulbs, there was still a chance that too much electricity could build up (tube lights). Ballast is still used in bulbs and tube lights to keep the current from getting too high. Ballasts are also often used with HID, metal halide, and mercury vapor lights.
Inductors, also called magnetic ballasts, give some lamps the right electrical conditions to start and run. Act as a transformer, giving out clean and accurate electricity. Even though it was made in the s, it was used from the s to the s. You can find them in High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps, Metal Halide lamps, mercury vapor lamps, fluorescent lamps, neon lamps, and so on. Before LEDs started to replace this technology around , it was used in almost all important parking lots and street lights for about 30 years.
In an electric ballast, a circuit is used to limit the load or amount of current. Electronic ballast tries to keep the flow of electricity more steady and accurate than magnetic ones. People started using these more in the s, and they are still used today.
A ballast controls how much electricity goes to the bulbs and gives them enough power to turn on. Since lamps don’t have control, they can use too much or too little electricity on their own. The ballast ensures that the amount of electricity going into the lamp doesn’t exceed what the light’s specifications allow. Without a ballast, a light or bulb will quickly draw more and more electricity, which could get out of hand.
When a ballast is put into a lamp, the power is stable, and the ballast controls the energy so that the current doesn’t go up even when the lights are connected to high-power sources.
LEDs don’t need a ballast for several reasons. First of all, LED lights don’t use much electricity. Also, you need an AC-to-DC converter since LEDs usually run on Direct Current (DC). The socket must be wired directly when switching to LED corn light bulbs. Lastly, because LEDs are much smaller than bulbs and tube lights, there is no extra space for ballast to fit. LED drivers can be made to take up much less space. Some experts also think that because LEDs don’t need a ballast, they use less energy and give off more light.
LED and fluorescent lights can’t work without a converter between the bulb and the power source. On one hand, standard incandescent lamps heat a filament with electricity to make light. LEDs, on the other hand, use led drivers instead of ballasts. Ballasts and lead drivers do many of the same things, so getting them mixed up is easy.
This is made possible by fluorescent ballasts, which send out a high-voltage spike at the start of the lamp’s life. Once the light is turned on, this spike acts as a current regulator. The led power driver changes the power source into a specific voltage and current, which then makes the LED light up. Both of them keep the light from being affected by the power source.
An LED driver is needed to change the alternating current into the direct current that LEDs need. LEDs can’t be powered directly by alternating current, so an LED driver is required to change it. Ballasts have changed a lot in how they are made and how complicated they are. Ballasts can run fluorescent lights but not LEDs or lights that use less energy. Several LED drivers seemed to have taken out the ballasts. Because it works better, the LED driver can do most of the things that the ballast does.
Instructions for setting up LED drivers
Would you like LEDs to be less bright? Or do you plan to change how bright it is? Then choose a dimmable driver or power supply. Why? The power sources are easy to tell apart because of how they work. The specifications table also has extra information, like what kinds of dimmer controls can be used with the drivers.
One of the first things to consider is how much voltage your lamp needs. So, if your LED needs 20 volts to work, you should buy a 20-volt driver.
In short, the goal is to ensure that your driver gets the right amount of power. The general rule is that you should do your job within the range of the light.
For a constant-voltage driver, you can also think about the voltage range. But you can measure both voltage and current ranges with a constant-current driver.
Pay attention to how much voltage the proposed LED light will use. So, ensure the LED driver can handle the voltage from the LED. In this way, it is easy to step down to the needed output voltage.
Also, you should think about watts. During this process, make sure to buy a driver with a higher maximum wattage than the light.
The power factor helps determine how much power the driver uses from the electrical network. And the range is usually from -1 to 1. Since this is the case, a power factor of 0.9 or more is the norm. In other words, as the number gets closer to one, the driver works better.
Your LED drivers should meet several different standards. For example, we have UL classes 1 and 2. Use the UL Class 1 for drivers that put out a lot of voltage. The fixture needs to be set up safely for drivers in this group. It can also hold more LEDs, which makes it work more efficiently.
At the level of LEDs, the UL Class 2 drivers don’t need a lot of safety features. It also meets the standards set by UL. Even though this class is safer, it can only run a certain number of LEDs at a time.
The IP rating is another way to measure how safe a driver’s cage is and what it can do. If you see IP67, for example, it means that the driver is safe from dust and brief immersion in water.
This part is crucial because it shows how much power the LED driver needs. The value is shown in terms of percentages. So, you could expect it to work between 80% and 85% of the time.
Low voltages of 12 to 24 volts power LEDs with direct current. So, even if your AC voltage is high, between 120 and 277 volts, an LED driver will change the direction of the current. In other words, stepping down from alternating to direct current is helpful. You can even find the right amount of high and low voltage.
LED drivers keep LEDs safe from changes in voltage or current. If the voltage of an LED changes, the current supply may change. Because of this, LED lights’ output is inversely related to how many they have. LEDs are also only supposed to work within a specific range. So, too little or too much current will change how much light comes out or cause the LED to break quickly because it gets too hot.
Overall, LED drivers have two main benefits:
Other light sources can be turned off quickly by changing the voltage, but LEDs can only be turned off by changing the ratio of voltage to current. Because of this, there are different ways to dim LEDs:
Most of the time, every LED light source needs a driver. But the main question should be, “Do I have to buy one separately?” The problem is that some LED light bulbs have a driver built right in. Also, LEDs made for home use often come with LED drivers. And a great example is 120-volt bulbs with bases that are either GU24/GU10 or E26/E27.
Low-voltage LEDs, such as tape lights, MR bulbs, outdoor-rated lights, panels, and other lighting fixtures, need an LED driver to work correctly.
When working with low-voltage LEDs, you need LED drivers. But you can’t say the same about 120-volt LED bulbs used in homes.
LEDs can be put in HighBay mounting and print mounting in several ways, depending on the project’s needs: For example, so-called SMD (surface-mounted device) LEDs can be used in tighter spaces. Because they can be soldered onto printed circuit boards, they don’t need wires. Still, check to make sure that all of the parts fit together.
In bigger rooms, there needs to be more light. Because of this, factory halls and department stores use HighBay spotlights, which are powerful ceiling lights. These have to be wired separately, but they are very strong. They can be wired to the standard mains voltage of 230V AC. To keep the LEDs from getting too hot, drivers like the XBG-160-A are connected in front of them. These have protection against overload that can actively limit how much current is sent.
This LED driver only needs a fixed amount of output current and a range of output voltages. Constant current is a specific output current measured in milliamps or amps and has a range of voltages that change depending on how much the LED is being used (its wattage or load).
Constant-voltage LED drivers have a constant output voltage and a maximum output current. The LED module also has a regulated current system that a simple resistor or an internal constant-current driver can power.
They only need a single steady voltage, usually 12 or 24 volts DC.
Theoretically, this LED driver could run halogen or incandescent lights with low voltage. But standard transformers can’t be used with AC LED drivers because they can’t tell when the voltage is low. So, they have transformers that don’t have a minimum load.
With these LED drivers, you can dim your LED lights. It also lets you control the brightness of LEDs with a constant voltage. And it does this by reducing the amount of current that goes to the LED light before it turns on.
With high-quality automotive LED drivers, you can tell the difference between your car’s inside and outside lighting systems in many ways:
LCD backlight LED drivers often use a specific dimming scheme to control the backlight’s brightness.
You can set up your devices with LED drivers to have infrared lighting. It can also be done with the help of a multi-topology constant-current controller.
With RGB LED drivers, you can add an animation or an indicator to your LED arrays with more than one color. Also, they often work with many standard interfaces.
With the help of LED display drivers, you can control which LED strings use the least and most power. So, these drivers can be used with either a large narrow pixel or a matrix solution for small or mini LED digital signage applications.
To figure out what size LED driver will meet your needs, you need to know the following:
If there are any other technical factors, like the need for precise color control or the possibility of water exposure, that can affect how the LED drivers work. The LED’s IP rating shows how resistant it is to water; a higher rating means it is more resistant. With an IP rating of 44, the product can be used in kitchens and other places where water might occasionally splash on it. A driver with a high IP rating, like 67, can be used outside. Drivers with an IP rating of 20 should only be used inside, where it’s dry.
More information, you can read How To Choose the Right LED Power Supply.
LED drivers are used in many different industries, just like LEDs. You can also light your space with the wide range of transformers, power supplies, and drivers available. Because LEDs are so flexible, adding smart features and changing the brightness is easy. In this way, LED drivers are essential to making modern, practical, and cost-effective lighting.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Isolated led drivers. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.