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ABSTRACT
Over 20% of all electric power generated in the
United States is used in artificial lighting. In order to
reduce environmental impact and operating costs,
and to maximize durability and longevity, we must
explore the effects that new technologies can bring to
existing designs. New LED technologies aim to
improve luminous efficacy. This allows for greater
light outputs from smaller, cheaper, and cooler dies.
New power converter designs aim to increase the
efficiency in converting high voltage AC to low
voltage DC. They also wish to increase lifespan by
reducing heat and eliminating notoriously unreliable
components. Improving upon these elements
consequently reduces product cost, which will make
the future of lighting more economically feasible and
marketable.

KEYWORDS: LED lighting, phosphors, power
factor correction, thermal management, switch-mode
power supply

1.) INTRODUCTION

1.1 Timeline of Artificial Lighting

Long ago, humans identified the need to
provide light after the sun went down.
Artificial lighting allows for humans to be
productive for more hours of the day.
Artificial lighting is instant, reliable, and
abundant. Lighting is available wherever
and whenever we need it.
Our early ancestors used fire as a light
source hundreds of thousands of years ago.
It was crude, required constant attention, and
produced a ton of heat. Yet, it was the best
option available at the time.
A few thousand years later, humans began
burning oils, specifically from animal fats to
produce light. Oil lamps burned for long
periods of time, with little maintenance, but
they still created a lot of heat and werent
terribly bright.
In more recent times, humans started to
mine and drill fossil fuels. Fossil fuels
opened up a door of opportunities on the
lighting front. Kerosene lamps were
invented in the mid-1800s and had the
advantage of being brighter, producing less
heat, and without the production of dirty
smoke.
At around the same time, the first electric
lamp was proposed and created. In 1809,
Humphry Davy created the first electric light
by connecting a high voltage battery across
two carbon electrodes which struck a bright
arc between them.
In 1820, Warren De la Rue created the
first vacuum tube light by enclosing a
platinum filament in an evacuated tube.
Electric current was passed through the
platinum wire, heating it up, and creating
light. However, platinums high cost made
wide-scale implantation impossible.
In the 1850s through 1870s, Joseph Swan
demonstrated the use of a filament lightbulb
in a vacuum tube which was more cost
effective and had a longer running life.
Thomas Edison, who is widely perceived
as the inventor of the modern lightbulb,
actually used many of Swans British
patents as well as designs he bought from
other inventors to create his practical
incandescent lamp. Swan agreed to let
Edison sell his lightbulbs in America, as
long as Swan retained rights to the design.
Designing Efficient, Low-Cost, and High Performance LED Lightbulbs
Tim Laux, Dan Sarnelli, Scott Myers, Bryan Criscitelli

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The College of New Jersey
2000 Pennington Rd
Ewing, NJ 08628-0718
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Over the years, incandescent bulbs
underwent many advances, mainly in
improving their lifespan and reducing cost.
In more recent history, we have witnessed
the rise and widespread use of fluorescent
lighting which uses considerably less power
than incandescent lights and makes
illuminating large spaces more feasible. In
the 1970s, the compact fluorescent lightbulb
was invented which used significantly less
power than traditional incandescents. [1]

1.2 The Future of Lighting

Though fluorescent lights have served us
well, and will continue to serve us, the
future lies in LED lighting. New research
and advancements in LED technology are
extremely promising. Today, there are many
improvements being made in the electronics,
chemistry, and physics arenas. Together,
they will help to produce cost effective, high
performing and high efficiency lighting
systems.

1.3 Comparison of Lighting Technologies

LED lighting exists today but has very
little marketshare compared to fluorescent
and incandescent lighting. Why is this the
case? For one, LED bulbs have a fairly high
initial cost, with typical 60W replacement
bulbs costing on average 500% more than
compact fluorescent bulbs and 1500% more
than incandescent bulbs. Using LED bulbs
in a home will cost more upfront than
fluorescents or incandescents.
Figure 1. shows the cost to purchase and
operate incandescent, fluorescent, and LED
bulbs, based on average energy costs.
Incandescents get hugely expensive to
operate rather quickly. However, fluorescent
and LED bulbs run a close race, with
fluorescent leading most of the time, but
with LED close behind. However, in many
areas including performance, LED lighting
dominates fluorescent lighting. This makes
LED lighting a better value than fluorescent
lighting.
Figure 1. Lighting Technology Cost
Comparison

A $0.75 incandescent lightbulb can be
tempting when compared to a $13 LED
bulb. Many times, people will buy an
incandescent bulb over an LED or
fluorescent bulb because they do not expect
the bulb to get much use. It takes around
20,000 hours of runtime for an LED bulb to
become more cost effective than a
fluorescent bulb, judging by Figure 1. The
goal for the future must be to make LED
bulbs practical and economical even for low
use applications.
In order to satisfy the demands of
consumers, LED bulbs must be made
economical in the short term and also in the
long run. A low initial cost will help to
improve immediate market acceptance,
while improving the bulbs efficiency will
keep operating costs low. A high reliability
bulb will build consumer confidence in LED
lighting.

2.) UNDERSTANDING LEDS

2.1 What is an LED?

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An LED is a light emitting diode. A diode
is an electronic device that acts as a one way
valve, by allowing flow of charge in one
direction, but not the other. An LED works
like any other diode in a circuit, except an
LED produces visible light when current is
passed through it. Additionally, LEDs have
higher forward voltages than typical diodes
because they are constructed with materials
other than silicon. While a silicon diode
usually requires 0.7V across it to turn it on,
an LED might require 2 to 4V.
It is also important to understand that
LEDs are current driven devices. While they
require a certain voltage to activate them,
increasing voltage beyond that point will not
significantly alter their brightness.
Therefore, it always best practice to drive
LEDs from a current source, not a voltage
source.

2.2 Small LEDs vs. Power LEDs

Traditional LEDs that come in small 5mm
plastic packages are good for low power
indication. However, because the LED dice
are small and are encapsulated in plastic
resin, the LEDs have poor thermal
performance and cannot dissipate much
heat. Most small LEDs are driven with less
than 50mA.
Figure 2. Small LEDs (left) and Power
LED (right)

On the other hand, power LEDs are
specifically designed for lighting
applications. They have substantially bigger
dice and are driven with currents between
500-1000mA. Additionally, power LEDs do
not typically come in plastic packages,
which greatly increases their power handling
abilities. Usually their dice are mounted
onto ceramic substrates. Figure 2. Shows the
difference in physical construction of small
LEDs and Power LEDs. [2]

2.3 Creating White Light

White light cannot currently be generated
from a single material because it is derived
from a mixture of all colors. The most
obvious method to produce white light using
LEDs would be to use multiple LEDs of
different colors, notably red, green, and
blue. However, this is not the most efficient
method. Instead, it is better to use a blue
LED and convert its blue light to a mixture
of different color lights using a phosphor.
Figure 3. The yellow coating on this
Philips bulb is a remote phosphor. [9]

Essentially, a blue LED emits energy in
the form of visible blue light. This energy is
absorbed by the phosphor, which becomes
excited. Upon returning to its ground state,
the phosphor releases light energy, but this
time a variety of colors are produced, and
thus white light is emitted. Figure 3. shows
an example of a bulb that uses a phosphor to
produce white light. This type of
implementation is often called a remote
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phosphor because it is relatively far away
from the LEDs. [6]



3.) FACTORS OF A GOOD
LIGHT SOURCE

3.1 Light Quality

It has been agreed upon that incandescent
bulbs emit the highest quality light with
excellent color reproduction across the
spectrum and a warm white color.
Color quality can be quantized using two
scales: Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)
and Color Rendering Index (CRI). CCT
describes the temperature of the light, as a
cool or warm color. CRI describes how well
the individual colors that make up white
light are reproduced.
Incandescent bulbs have CCTs of around
2700K and CRIs of around 100. LED bulb
manufacturers strive to mimic the light
quality of incandescent bulbs.
Figure 3. Comparison of low and high
color rendering index (top) and the
correlated color temperature scale
(bottom)

3.2 Turn-on Time

It is important for lights to turn on quickly
after flicking the switch. Turn-on time is a
major issue with fluorescent lighting.
Fluorescent tubes can take a second or more
to turn on because the filament inside needs
to be preheated. Additionally, fluorescent
tubes can take several minutes to come to
full brightness.
Luckily, LED bulbs do not suffer with
these problems. They can be turned on to
full intensity almost instantly.

3.3 Flicker

Since the AC line voltage is constantly
changing in a sinusoidal fashion, the voltage
constantly approaches and passes through 0.
At these points in time, the lamp
momentarily shuts off.
With incandescent bulbs, the filament
never has time to cool off so the light always
appears to be continuous. However, with
fluorescent lights, the plasma arc formed can
be extinguished almost instantly, and thus
the flicker is obvious. The flicker is
detectable by the human eye because the
frequency of the AC is usually between 50-
60Hz, just at the threshold of being detected
by human eyes.
Theoretically this can happen with LEDs
as well, but LEDs are not driven using
mains frequency. The driver circuit will
output a frequency higher than what human
eyes can see, and the problem is avoided.

3.4 Dimming

One of the major downfalls of fluorescent
lighting is their inability to be dimmed. In
fact, even attempting to dim fluorescent
lights will decrease their lifespan.
Though it is somewhat complicated, since
traditional dimmers were meant to be used
with incandescent bulbs, dimming LEDs is
possible. There are two main ways in which
dimming can be achieved: Analog and Pulse
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Width Modulation (PWM). Analog
dimming varies the current applied to the
LEDs. PWM applies full power to the LEDs
but quickly switches the output at a high
frequency, so fast that the human eyes
perceive the brightness as the ratio of the
LEDs being on to them being off. [7]

3.5 Efficacy

Efficacy describes how efficiently electric
power is converted into light. At this point,
there seem to be few improvements that can
be made to incandescent and fluorescent
technologies to make them considerably
more efficient. However, LEDs are expected
to become increasingly more efficient in the
coming years. Some estimates say that white
LEDs will exceed 200Lm/W in the next 10
years, an 80% increase. [6]

4.) THERMAL MANAGEMENT
OF LED BULBS

4.1 LED Thermal Management

All electrical devices are affected by
temperature in some way. LEDs are no
exception. Their performance degrades with
increase in temperature. As an LED heats up
with use, its forward voltage decreases, and
therefore power in the LED is decreased,
and subsequently light output.
A solution to this problem is to drive the
LEDs with constant power, by monitoring
the voltage across the LED and adjusting the
current appropriately.
Over time, LEDs degrade and will emit
less light for a given power. In order to slow
this degradation process, it is necessary to
keep the LEDs within their safe operating
temperature range, usually by using a
heatsink. A heatsink reduces the thermal
resistance of a heat producing object and
allows it to be cooled more effectively. They
are almost always made from metals since
metals conduct and dissipate heat well. Most
LED bulbs will use an aluminum heatsink
because aluminum performs well and is
relatively cheap. [4]
Figure 4. Power LEDs are affixed to an
aluminum column which acts as a
heatsink in combination with the white
fins. [8]

4.2 Drive Circuitry Thermal Management

The power supply that drives the LEDs
will also make heat, and since the
conversion will likely be around 85%
efficient, there will be some lost power in
the form of heat. This heat is not necessarily
negligible. Power components on the circuit
board such as transistors, voltage regulators,
and diodes will produce heat. Because these
circuit boards are usually squeezed into a
tight space, it is usually not feasible to fit a
heatsink on the board.
To help relieve heat stress on these
components, it is a good idea to evenly
distribute the heat to the other components
by using a ground plane and by pouring a
thermally conductive potting compound
over the board.
However, attention must be paid to the
placement of electrolytic capacitors since
their lifespan is significantly limited by heat.
Electrolytic capacitors use a liquid dielectric
which dries up when exposed to heat. A
failed capacitor will cause the bulb to
malfunction or not function at all. [4]


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5.) DRIVE CIRCUITRY FOR
LEDS

5.1 Switch-mode power supply

LEDs require considerably lower voltages
to operate them than the line voltage
provided from a lighting fixture. Also, LEDs
should not be driven using an alternating
current, so the alternating current must be
converted to direct current.
There are several ways to accomplish this.
A simple linear power supply could be used,
but they are large, expensive, and
inefficient.
A better solution is to use a switch-mode
power supply which can be made small,
cheaply, and much more efficient. Usually a
buck or flyback converter is used because
they can convert a higher voltage to a lower
voltage. One of the major differences
between the two topologies is that a flyback
converter is electrically isolated from the
line. Precaution must be taken when using a
buck converter to make sure the user will
never come in contact with dangerous line
voltage.
Recently, there has been a push to create a
switching converter that eliminates the need
for notoriously unreliable electrolytic
capacitors. Several designs have been
created that are based on the Single Ended
Primary Inductor Converter, or SEPIC for
short. This basically replaces the need for a
large decoupling capacitor on the bridge
rectifier and instead uses MOSFETs,
inductors, and small film or ceramic
capacitors. This should help prolong the life
of the entire bulb. [3]

5.2 Power Factor Correction

In general, a power supply with a bulk
capacitor across its bridge rectifier will
cause large current spikes when the input
voltage peaks, causing voltage and current
to go out of phase. This causes the power
company to provide additional power that
goes unrecorded, putting a strain on the
power plant.
In order to meet federal regulation put on
lighting devices, all bulbs must have a
power factor of at least 0.7 in residential
settings, and 0.9 in commercial settings. In
the near future, it is likely that 0.9 will be
required in all settings.
New active power factor correction (PFC)
circuits are small, fairly inexpensive, and
very effective.

6.) THE FUTURE OF LED
LIGHTING

There are several areas of active research
producing work that will contribute to
making better LED lightbulbs. Currently,
LEDs are about 20-30% efficient in
converting electrical energy to light energy.
While this figure might seem low,
incandescent bulbs are only 2% efficient.
Predictions expect efficiencies of new
diodes to exceed 70% in the near future. [5]
This is remarkable improvement,
considering the current figures.
Improvements made in the electronics
spectrum will improve conversion efficiency
and reliability. All of these improvements
together will contribute to lower prices and
will indisputably make LED lighting the
standard for the future.

REFERENCES

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2. Lenk, Ron and Carol , Lenk. Practical
Lighting Design with LEDs. s.l. : Wiley,
2011.
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da Silva, F. Bisogno, J.M. Alonso, R.N. do
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