Advantages and Disadvantages of Mainstream Led Drivers

Share:

 

Over the past five years, LED lamps that have attempted to replace fluorescent lamps have seen tremendous performance improvements. In fact, efficiency, lumen output, and consistency have all improved, while costs have dropped significantly. However, there are many types of LED lights, with large selectivity, and the application scene has been changing, which has led many lighting professionals and buyers to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. The diversity of technologies, costs and services is at the root of this complexity. Fortunately, as long as you have a clear understanding of this diversity, you can successfully implement small and large-scale deployments.

The source of lamp complexity is largely related to heat dissipation. "Heat" is the enemy of LEDs and commonly called drivers. Both the driver and the LED generate heat. In addition, the specific implementation of CE LED drivers is likely to be a major difference between products from different manufacturers. In this article, the constant current led driver supplier will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of six LED drivers to provide customers with the correct lighting solutions in application scenarios.

First, install the drive in parallel

The most commonly used architecture is to install the built-in driver in a manner parallel to the length of the lamp. Its advantages include high market awareness and significant price declines.

Commonly Called Driver

But this solution also has many disadvantages. Parallel assembly with the LED printed circuit board (PCB) allows the heat generated by the driver to damage the LED device in some cases. The result is a reduction in performance indicators such as color, efficiency, and / or service life. In fact, the product may not completely fail, but it is also unacceptable. In areas overlapped with the driver, the parallel driver can adversely affect the phosphor coating of the LED. The change of luminous color will lead to inconsistencies between the lamps and the aesthetic inconsistency of the overall ceiling lighting. So far, this has made many buyers dispel the idea of buying.

In addition, there are other disadvantages. When the integrated parallel driver fails, the lamp itself is scrapped, with the result that the entire product must be discarded and replaced. Moreover, this design does not always support dimming. In addition, electricians are required to bypass existing ballasts during installation. Light output quality problems often occur. With the advent of the latest advances in tube insulation technology, these first-generation lamp designs have become largely obsolete.

Second, the end insulation driver

One way to achieve thermal isolation is to place the driver on the cover of one end of the tube, away from the LED device. This design has significantly better thermal performance than lamps with parallel drivers, and its price has also dropped.

Although the heat generated by the drive is isolated, since the integrated drive is not removable, the actual effect of the drive will still lead to catastrophic failure of the entire product. In addition, like parallel products, the dimming function is not always available, and the electrician must still bypass the ballast when the product is installed.

 Third, the heat-insulated replaceable driver

Compared with the previous two schemes, this driver has the advantage that the user can repair the failed lamp tube without the need to replace it entirely. In fact, when the driver fails, it can be easily replaced—sometimes, for some products, it is not even necessary to perform a secant operation instead of the entire lamp including the LED. The disadvantages are the same as the first two scenarios.

Fourth, the ballast-compatible driver

So far, the most commonly mentioned disadvantage of LED lamps is the need to bypass the original ballast. Ballast-compatible drivers, also known as "plug and play" drivers, solve this problem. This kind of lamp just fits into the "steel" type connector of the fluorescent lamp, and no electrician is required to install it.

However, again, disadvantages remain. If the original fluorescent lamp ballast is broken, the user has to buy a new one, which generally requires an electrician to install it. The wattage of the lamp tube is usually higher than other types of LED lamps due to the load carried by the ballast.

 ETL LED driver

V. Insulation and the driver directly powers the pins

Advantages include the best cooling advantages of custom LED driver China, the driver is not limited by space, and manufacturers can add dimming and other control-only functions in a variety of ways. If the driver is broken, it can be replaced; the user does not need to discard the entire tube containing the LED device.

The disadvantage is that the ballast needs to be replaced with an LED driver by an electrician. In addition, the external lamps of the driver are usually more expensive than the built-in lamps. If the lamp socket connector is damaged, it needs to be replaced, just like the built-in lamp tubes of various drivers.

Six, heat insulation and the driver directly supplies power to the lamp

Again, the benefits are the best heat dissipation benefits, as well as possible dimming and other controllable functions. The driver can still be replaced without the user having to discard the entire tube containing the LED device.

Since the power supply is directly connected to the lamp tube without going through the lamp socket connector twenty, the installation position of the lamp tube in the lamp is very flexible when disassembling and disassembling work. In addition, if the connector is damaged, it does not need to be replaced. In order to obtain subsidies, some utilities also like this method of connecting the driver to the LED lamp or module, and are unwilling to use the built-in driver of the ballast that requires the voltage to be introduced into the existing lamp socket connector. tube.

Its disadvantage is mainly reflected in the cost, the ballast needs to be replaced by an ETL LED driver by an electrician. Usually, the installer needs to assemble some kind of bracket in the luminaire to fix the tube. At the same time, this kind of product is generally more expensive than the lamp tube built into the driver.

With the improvement of all these technologies and the decline of prices, 2020 has become the flashpoint of LED lights. However, the use of LED lights in the US market is not as good as in Europe and Asia, partly due to the confusion of driver solutions.