3 ms·
The power supply is definitely the critical limiting factor in LED light bulbs. The thing is that to make it rugged for uneven power situations - as you say -
by weeny 15y ago
The power supply is definitely the critical limiting factor in LED light bulbs. The thing is that to make it rugged for uneven power situations - as you say - you have to use large electrolytic capacitors, which then have a reduced lifetime of their own (and sometimes contain Polychlorinated biphenyls). These limit the lifespan to ~25000 or so hours and burn out while the LED array is still in good shape.
Compared to CFL's, the circuitry is less extreme - LEDs are low voltage devices unlike mercury arcs - and so the driver can definitely last much longer and be more reliable than a comparable CFL ballast.
- ianterrell 15y agoBut then you have a bunch of LEDs to play with in your hardware hacking! Clear win over CFL and incandescent bulbs.
- rektide 15y agoLED & CFL are very much opposite situations for powering: LED uses very low voltage DC at high currents, and CFL uses high frequency high voltage low current. LED's have to be current limited. I recently picked up a 2V 100A power supply off ebay for some LED projects. :)