LED Lights Are Great!
They Last Around 20x Longer... And Consume Up To 90% Less Energy... Compared To Halogen
Or Incandescent Lighting Which Helps You Save Money On Your Energy Bills... ...Whilst Still
Maintaining Similar Levels Of Light Quality.
And they also come in a wide variety of unique colours, meaning you can achieve a great look
to your rooms.
But Did You Know? Most LED Lights Require An LED Driver In Order To Operate
Many retrofit LED Lights, such as GU10 LED Bulbs... have drivers built into them to help
make your transition from traditional lighting to LED lighting much easier.
Other types of LED lights, such as LED strip lights, require an external LED Driver in
order to operate.
Why?
Because, unlike traditional lighting such as incandescent or halogen lights LED Lights
operate on lower, more precise voltages such as 12 volts or 24 volts.
They also operate on DC (which stands for DIRECT CURRENT)... rather than AC (which stands
for ALTERNATING CURRENT).
There are two main types of LED Driver...
1. Constant Voltage LED Drivers which convert the incoming mains voltage of 230 volts AC
into a lower DC voltage, such as 12 volts or 24 volts. Constant Voltage LED drivers
are ideal for powering LED tape and other low powered LED lighting setups.
The output voltage from this type of driver always remains the same and doesn’t fluctuate.
The other type of LED driver is... 2. Constant Current Whilst these types of LED Drivers
also convert 230 volts AC into lower DC voltages, they also maintain a constant current output.
This ensures that the sensitive LED chip achieves full brightness whilst also preventing it
from being overpowered, which would damage the chip.
Electrical Current is measured in milliamps and amps.
Common milliamp ratings for Constant Current LED Drivers include 350ma and 700ma.
Whilst less common milliamp ratings are 500ma, 1050ma and 1500ma.
Constant Current LED drivers are usually required for more high performance LED lighting setups
such as Ground Lights... & decking lights. Most of the integrated LED downlights we offer
such as the Halers H2 Pro are fitted with a constant current 700ma driver.
This driver is part of the fitting and is non replaceable, meaning that in the very
unlikely event that the LED driver fails, you have to replace the entire fitting.
So How Do You Know What LED Driver You Need?
Here are "Four Golden Rules" to follow when choosing your LED driver
1. First and foremost, you need to know if your LED lights require a constant voltage
or constant current supply.
If your lights need to be wired in a series, like some LED ground lights, then you will
need a Constant Current LED driver.
If your LED lights need to be wired in a parallel circuit like LED strip lights... they will
require a Constant Voltage LED Driver. 2. Secondly, make sure the milliamp rating on
your LED light matches your LED driver.
Although there are many different milliamp ratings, the most common ratings are 350ma
and 700ma.
If you have established that you require a constant voltage LED Driver, you can skip
this step and move onto Step 3.
3. Thirdly, make sure the wattage of the LED driver is higher than the total number of
lights.
This means if you require 4 three watt LED ground lights, the LED driver you require
will be 12 watts or higher, because 4 times 3 watts equals 12 watts.
If you’re specifying an LED driver for LED tape, you need to multiply the wattage per
metre of the LED tape by the length of your run (or runs). So, If the LED tape is 14.4W
per metre and you have 3 metres, You would require an LED driver rated at over 43.2W
which could be a 60W LED driver such as the Mean Well LPV-60-12 or LPV-60-24 depending
on the voltage of the LED tape.
4. Finally, make sure the output voltage of your LED driver is compatible with the input
voltage of your LED lights.
Some Constant current LED drivers have a very wide output voltage of 6-26 volts, meaning
they are more universal and compatible with more LED lights.
However, there are many constant current LED Drivers that output a very specific voltage,
which may not be compatible with your LED Lights.
And if the incorrect voltage is used... it can cause irreparable damage to them.
It’s very important that you check.
If you remember these Four Golden Rules on choosing your LED drivers... you will have
no problem installing the desired LED lighting in your home.
We have also detailed a few of the most commonly asked questions below this video to help you
see how other customers are using LED drivers.
Should you need further advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Our team of experienced lighting experts can be reached by emailing sales@downlightsdirect.co.uk
or calling 01706 521188.