LED Tube Lighting
LED tube lighting is suitable in a variety of general and specific custom LED lighting designs. Recently, many of our customers have felt a strong need to replace their traditional fluorescent lighting fixtures with something more reliable. Fluorescent lights can provide sufficient illumination over a three hundred and sixty degree radius, but require frequent maintenance and bulb replacement. In addition, fluorescent bulbs can produce a faint but noticeable, audible tone. LED tube lighting can effectively replace dated fluorescent lighting when properly configured for a specific use. White LEDs produce up to a one hundred and twenty degree flood-beam, or as narrow as fifteen degrees for spot-illumination. The client may also choose between various color temperatures ranging from cool white (6500 degrees Kelvin) to warm white (2600 degrees Kelvin).
Custom LED Bars Wiring
The default wire configuration contains two 22-gauge wires hidden within a grey PVC jacket. LED tube lighting with more than one LED light set, and jumpers to tie power circuits, contain a single power and ground wire within the PVC jacket to provide power to all three LED circuits. However, if each power circuit is isolated to provide individual circuit control, a technician will substitute the standard wire configuration with individual 22-gauge wires. This enables individual circuits to function as desired. However, the conductions are not contained within an external PVC jacket for this configuration.
Wire Dimensions
Wire leads contain a PVC insulated 22-gauge conductor, with a length tolerance of +/- 1 inch. Some configurations will feature an exterior PVC jacket. The external PVC jacket has outer diameter is 0.17 inch and contains no absolute tolerance value due to the possibility of twisting, which could cause the outer diameter to vary somewhat dramatically.
Wire Termination Pads
Custom LED bars feature printed circuit boards with exposed termination pads on both ends. By standard configuration, all power and ground wires interface with termination pads on one end of the LED circuit board. Unused termination pads found on the opposite end of the printed circuit board can support wiring additions. Applying continuous stress or motion to the power termination wire leads could result in damage to the wire leads.
Strain Relief
LED tube lighting containing a tube casing also feature a rubber grommet in one end cap. This grommet allows power termination leads to pass through the end cap while maintaining a barrier between the interior and exterior of the tube casing. This feature also serves as a stress relief mechanism, to reduce physical stress on the wire leads at the point in which they interface with the LED printed circuit board.
Series and Parallel Circuit Configurations
Power terminals located on both ends of the circuit board within custom LED bars, enable a series configuration when interconnecting multiple units. Each power trace contains a maximum current rating of five amps. The overall maximum current rating per circuit board is equal to nine amps. If the LED tube lighting contains a tube casing, removing the end caps will expose power terminals permitting wire lead additions. Custom LED bars connected in parallel configurations provide the most effective method of scalable architecture. A series configuration would induce an unnecessary load on all circuit boards supplying power to subsequent LED circuit boards. Excessive numbers of LED tube lighting connected in a series configuration can lead to overheating and potential failure. Units located at the opposing end of the series configuration can appear much dimmer due to resistance imposed by preceding light bars.
LED Lighting and Design Electrical Specifications
Unlike many other custom LED products, our LED tube lighting does not limit operating voltage to a specific value, such as twelve volts. Instead, the product is custom configurable over a wide range of operating voltages. This feature helps promote application matching. Drive current is also variable. At maximum drive current, the LED lights will appear brightest. For lighting applications that require less than full power, revising resistor values can restrict current values as required. Our engineering department will help each client determine the most suitable voltage and current values for their specific custom LED lighting design.
Voltage Ratings
In most cases, the LED tube lighting can be factory configured to operate from 6 volts DC to 24 volts DC. It is important to use a calibrated voltmeter to measure your power supply's voltage output before specifying a voltage configuration.
LED Current Draw
To calculate for the typical current requirement, measured in amperes, multiply 0.01 by the total number of light emitting diodes in the custom LED bars. This applies to all InGaN technologies (blue, white, green, yellow, and purple). Calculate typical current requirements for AlInGaP technologies (red, amber, and orange), measured in amperes, by multiplying 0.0075 by the total number of light emitting diodes within the LED tube lighting. All calculations are suitable for operation conditions of approximately 25 degrees Celsius. Several factors can affect the actual current draw including ambient temperature and voltage variations. Voltage variations may result from external devices inducing a load on the LED circuit. It is important to use a calibrated ammeter placed in series with the LED tube lighting in order to determine actual current draw. When the custom LED bars are initially powered-on, the total current and luminous flux will progressively increase before stabilizing. However, this variation is normally unapparent to the human eye. The time the circuits require to stabilize can vary, but typically do so within twenty minutes to one hour.
Constant Current Source
The standard LED driver consists of a constant current source. The constant current source will establish a continuous forward current as the source voltage varies. Increasing temperatures and varying LED lots will also cause the component forward voltage drops to vary. The constant current source compensates for any voltage fluctuations. For simplicity, our standard LED light bars utilize a resistor to limit the current. For high volume production runs, a constant current IC will normally replace the simple resistor circuitry.
Power Supplies
For applications with a closely regulated power supply, the current regulating resistors configured to drop minimal voltage offer higher system efficiently. Non-regulated power supplies will result in a varying voltage. To compensate, the resistor configurations must drop a much higher voltage to prevent considerable current fluctuations. A voltage regulated power supply is highly recommended. If your power supply does not feature voltage regulation, the output voltage can vary in accordance to the load. This may cause the LED tube lighting to operate below or beyond normal operating limits. A stand-alone step down transformer does not always feature the ability to regulate output voltage. For safety, total current should not exceed 75% of the power supply's maximum current rating. For example, an LED array that draws 120 mA requires a power supply rated for at least 160 mA. We offer a variety of approved, regulated power supplies. The power supplies can operate from a standard 120-volt AC power outlet. The terminating end can feature a female RCA adaptor offering compatibility with a male RCA adaptor, optional on any LED tube lighting. Refer to the LED power supply selection-guide for details and pricing.