Innovative PFC-driven, high-voltage, high-brightness LED lighting solutions

The development of environmentally-friendly, cost-effective lighting solutions is becoming increasingly important as governments around the world introduce legislation to phase out or ban the use of incandescent light bulbs and encourage the use of more energy-efficient alternatives such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

The implementation of LED solutions has been slow compared to CFLs, due to the higher costs; however, the availability of new, cost-effective LED-driver components--as well as high-brightness LEDs with increased luminous efficiency which require less power--has made them a more viable option. This has led to innovations such as high-voltage, high-brightness (HVHB) LEDs (also known sometimes just as HB LEDs), which present new lighting-solution opportunities as well as challenges, such as the much-higher voltage required to initiate light emission.

This article looks at topologies, attributes, and pros and cons of AC-driven HVHB LEDs, PFC-driven HVHB LEDs, the power factor correction supply, and the use of existing dimming solutions. To read the entire article, which originally appeared at EETimes Europe, click here.

About the author

Dave Priscak is a System Applications Manager with the Worldwide End-Equipment Solutions Marketing Team at Texas instruments. He received his BSET degree from ETI Technical College, Cleveland, Ohio/USA

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