The LED chip and driver are installed together, usually in small spaces and poor heat dissipation conditions. How to ensure the quality and life of the LED driver must be thought about before the design, so as to avoid the rapid failure of the LED driver. It can be said that the life of the LED driver is the key to LED development. This is a comprehensive problem that requires system design and consideration. We believe that the performance that affects the life of the LED driver includes environmental characteristics, components, and power characteristics, which are integrated into the following aspects:
The impact of the actual application environment
High humidity environment, high-temperature environment, dusty environment, strong magnetic environment, vibration environment
The influence of light fixture temperature ambient
The internal temperature of the lamp is less than 65 degrees, and the housing of the lamp is less than 75 degrees. The driver’s temperature is less than 60 degrees.
The impact of the power grid
The voltage input of the unstable power grid will cause an impact on the components of the LED driver, thereby affecting the service life of the LED driver.
Influence of insulation and installation
The correct installation and good insulation of the product will enhance the application of the LED driver.
The influence of electrolytic capacitors
Vaporized electrolyte leaks from the sealing part of an electrolytic capacitor. This phenomenon will accelerate with the increase in temperature. It is generally believed that the leakage rate will increase to twice as long as the temperature rises by 10°C. Therefore, it can be said that the electrolytic capacitor determines the life of the LED driver. If you choose a 105-degree high-temperature electrolytic capacitor with a life of 10,000 hours, according to the current electrolytic capacitor life estimate, the company “every 10 degrees decrease, the life will be doubled”, then it will have a working life of 20,000 hours under a 95-degree environment, at 85 degrees. The working life in the environment is 40,000 hours. For example, when the working temperature of uPowerTek’s LED drive is 60 degrees, the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor is roughly controlled at about 85 degrees, and the lifespan can reach 100,000 hours. With 12 hours of work, the life span is nearly twenty-two years.
The normal working life of the LED driver depends on the life of the electrolytic capacitor used in the driver, and the life of the electrolytic capacitor depends on the life of the capacitor itself and the operating temperature.
The lifetime of the capacitor at 65°C can only be guaranteed for about 80,000 hours: the lifetime of the capacitor at 75°C can only be guaranteed for about 40,000 hours: the lifetime of the capacitor at 85°C can only be guaranteed for about 20,000 hours: when the capacitor temperature is 95°C The life span can only be guaranteed about 10,000 hours:
From the above calculation: every time the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor rises by 10°C, the lifetime will be halved.
The influence of switching times
Most LED drivers are equipped with a capacitor input rectifier circuit. When the LED driver is connected, inrush current will be generated, which will cause fatigue of the switch contacts, and cause problems such as increased contact resistance and adsorption. Theoretically, during the expected life of the LED driver, the number of on and off of the switch is about 10,000 times.
