Lighting driver PCBA

The lighting driver PCBA (printed circuit board assembly) is the core component for realizing the power conversion and control of lamps. It is mainly used to convert the input power (such as AC, DC) into a stable driving signal suitable for the light source (LED, fluorescent lamp, etc.), and realize dimming, color adjustment, intelligent control and other functions. The following is an introduction from the aspects of function, composition, technical characteristics, etc.:

Core function

• Power conversion and voltage stabilization:
The input power (such as 220V AC, 12V DC) is converted through AC-DC or DC-DC circuit to output a stable voltage/current suitable for the light source (such as LED requires constant current drive) to avoid voltage fluctuations causing damage to the light source or light decay.

• Dimming and color control:
Support PWM (pulse width modulation), 0-10V, DALI and other dimming protocols to achieve brightness adjustment; the PCBA of some RGB/cold and warm dual color temperature lamps can achieve color temperature or color change by controlling the current ratio of different color LEDs.

• Protection and efficiency optimization:
Integrated overcurrent, overvoltage, and short-circuit protection circuits to prevent abnormal current from damaging the light source; through efficient topology structures (such as flyback, Buck-Boost), the power conversion efficiency (≥85%) is improved to reduce heat generation and energy consumption.

• Intelligent function integration:
Intelligent lighting driver PCBA can be connected to wireless modules such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, etc. to achieve remote control, timed switch, human body sensing (with sensors) or linkage with smart home systems (such as voice control, scene mode switching).

Main components

• Main control chip/driver IC:
Core component, responsible for power conversion logic control (such as TI’s LM series, Jingfeng Mingyuan’s BP series), integrated PWM dimming and protection functions, some chips support multi-channel independent control (such as RGB three-color drive).

• Power devices and conversion circuits:

◦ Switching tube (MOSFET, IGBT): used for high-frequency chopping to achieve power conversion, the withstand voltage value needs to match the input voltage (such as AC-DC drive requires ≥600V withstand voltage).

◦ Inductor/transformer: energy storage element. Flyback drive requires high-frequency transformer to achieve isolated boost/step-down. Buck circuit uses inductor energy storage filtering.

◦ Electrolytic capacitor/ceramic capacitor: filtering, energy storage. Electrolytic capacitor on the input side needs to withstand high voltage (such as above 400V). Output side capacitor affects current ripple (excessive ripple will cause LED flicker).

• Dimming control module:
Analog dimming (resistance voltage division) or digital dimming (PWM signal input) interface. Some high-end PCBAs integrate MCU (such as STM32) and support custom dimming curves (such as linear dimming and logarithmic dimming).

• Sensor and communication interface:
Intelligent drive PCBA is equipped with photoresistor (ambient light sensor), human infrared sensor (PIR), or reserved RS485 and Bluetooth antenna interface to achieve linkage control.

• Protection circuit:
Current sampling resistor (overcurrent detection), TVS tube (lightning surge protection), thermistor (overtemperature protection). Some outdoor lighting drivers need to add waterproof glue packaging (IP65 or above protection level).

Technical features

• High efficiency and low harmonics:
Meet energy efficiency standards (such as EU ERP, US Energy Star), power factor (PF) ≥ 0.95, total harmonic distortion (THD) < 20%, reduce grid pollution.

• Miniaturization and heat dissipation design:
Indoor lighting driver PCBA often uses high-density patch technology (such as 0201 package components), combined with metal substrate (MCPCB) heat dissipation to avoid overheating of power devices and cause light efficiency attenuation.

• Dimming compatibility and no flicker:
The high-end driver supports ≥ 1% deep dimming, and there is no visible flicker during the dimming process (stroboscopic index < 1%), protecting eyesight (especially suitable for education and medical scenarios).

• Isolation and non-isolation design:

◦ Isolated driver: The input and output are electrically isolated through a transformer, which is highly safe and suitable for outdoor lamps powered by AC power (such as street lamps).

◦ Non-isolated driver: Simple structure, low cost, commonly used in low-voltage DC power supply scenarios (such as 12V/24V smart home lighting).

Application scenarios

• Home lighting:
The PCBA for ceiling lamp and downlight driver is mainly low-cost and highly reliable, supporting single-channel constant current driver. Some smart models integrate Bluetooth Mesh modules and are compatible with mobile phone APP control.

• Commercial and industrial lighting:

◦ The PCBA for mall spotlight and stage light driver focuses on high-precision dimming (such as 0.1% brightness adjustment) and multi-channel control (RGBW four-color independent drive).

◦ Industrial plant lighting driver needs to adapt to wide voltage input (85-265V AC), and have anti-electromagnetic interference (EMI) design, and meet industrial standards (-40℃~70℃ operating temperature).

• Outdoor and special scenarios:
The PCBA for street lamp driver needs to be resistant to high and low temperatures (-30℃~60℃), surge-proof (lightning protection level above 10kV), and some integrate solar charging management circuits; explosion-proof lamp drivers need to pass ATEX, IECEx and other explosion-proof certifications, and the circuit is potted with explosion-proof glue.

• Plant lighting:
The LED plant light driver PCBA for greenhouses supports constant current output of specific wavelengths (such as red light 660nm, blue light 450nm), and can set the light cycle (simulating day and night changes) through MCU programming to promote plant growth.

Differences from other PCBAs

The core difficulty of lighting driver PCBA lies in the balance between power conversion efficiency and reliability, especially in high-power scenarios (such as industrial lights above 100W), multi-phase parallel topology and heat sink fin design are required to reduce heat loss; while smart lighting drivers pay more attention to the compatibility of communication protocols (such as supporting Zigbee and Bluetooth at the same time), as well as low-power standby mode (standby power consumption <0.5W) to meet green energy-saving standards.