Dimming LED lamps can save energy and changes the visual appearance and mood of your space. You can use a dimmable LED lamp in a non-dimmable circuit. You should NOT use a non-dimmable lamp in a dimmable circuit as it may cause damage to the lamp and or circuit. Integral lamps are clearly marked as dimmable or non-dimmable on the packaging and on the lamp.
Some of the issues that may occur when a dimmer is incompatible with an LED lamp are:
- Flickering – Lamps will flicker (can also occur if a non-dimmable lamp is used)
- Drop-out – No light output at the end of the scale
- Dead travel – When the dimmer is adjusted there is no matching change in light output (light may not dim to acceptable level)
- Not smooth – Light output may not go from dim to bright linearly
- Multiple lamps – issues may become apparent when multiple lamps are added
- Damage or failure – LED driver, circuit or LED is damaged or fails.
- Load below minimum – The power load of the LED lamp is below the minimum required by the dimmer
- Mixed models- Different models of LED will likely have different drivers – since drivers behave differently this could result in dimming issues.
ROHM Semiconductor LED Lighting Solutions
ROHM has developed LEDs for lighting utilizing a well-established in-house production system, along with extensive expertise gleaned from fifty years as a market leader in semiconductor products. ROHM has been developing LEDs since 1973 and are actively implementing research and development from the element composition stage. The production volume of 5 billion units annually is among the largest in the industry.
Features of Rohm’s LED Lighting
①For High Power LED
・Built-in PFC Function ⇒Improvement on Power Factor (PF)
・Various Dimming Functions ⇒TRIAC/PWM/Linear Dimming
・Isolation/Non-isolation Type
⇒Buck/Fly-back Circuit Selectable
②For Low Power LED (LED Bulb)
・Built-in bootstrap circuit and MOSFET
⇒Lower cost
・Compact package
⇒Smallest area
・Isolation/Non-isolation Type
⇒Buck/Flyback Circuit Selectable
BD555BKFV AC/DC controller IC for dimmable LED lighting
The BD555BKFV controller AC/DC controller IC can be used in a wide range of dimmable LED lighting driver applications. The main target application is dimmable retro-fit LED lighting, replacing existing incandescent light bulbs, halogen spot lights, CFL tubes etc.
Key questions for low-power dimmable LED lamps
- High efficiency: >85% ‘dimmer detect’
- Dimmer compatibility: Trailing + leading edge & electronic feature dimmers
- Accurate dimming: Equally deep dimming of LED lamps on single dimmer
- Low cost controller: Allows flexible application
- Non-retro fit lighting: PWM / linear dimming support
BD555BKFV Features
• LED light application
– AC voltage range 80…270VAC
– LED output power 2…10W
– Average and/or peak current regulation in buck / fly-back topology
– Fixed frequency DC/DC 40…400kHz
• Dimming compatibility
– Accurate ‘true phase-cut’ detector allows wide dimming range (<5%)
– Dynamic Load Current Controller (DLCC) function for stable operation with leading/trailing edge dimmers
– False LED activation prevention for mains-powered dimmers that require standby current
– Natural ‘linear’ dimming through logarithmic compensation
– Dimmer detector improves efficiency by turning off DLCC current if dimmer is not present
– Supports PWM and linear dimming (for non retro-fit LED lighting)
• Internal IC supply voltage regulator
– Wide input supply voltage range 15~40V
– Low current consumption <2mA
• Safety & Protection
– Over Current Protection (OCP)
– Thermal Shut Down Protection (TSD)
– Under Voltage Lock Out detection (UVLO)
• Package
Small & thin package (SSOP14) 5.0×4.5×1.15mm
Application
For optimal performance with TRIAC / electronic dimmers, the BD555BKFV has three main individual functions:
1) ‘True’ phase-cut detector
2) Dynamic Load Current Controller (DLCC)
3) DC/DC controller for average current and/or peak current feedback
BD555BKFV – ‘True’ phase cut detection (1)
Natural dimming of LED light intensity is achieved by detection of ‘true’ phase-cut (VDET), low-pass averaging and conversion of linear (VDIM) to logarithmic (VREF) reference for LED current.
BD555BKFV – Dynamic load current controller (2)
The dynamic load current controller ‘DLCC’ (or ‘bleeder’) has two functions:
1) Application load current will be matched to the required TRIAC ‘ON’ hold current (stabilizing)
2) For (electronic) dimmers requiring a standby current (<10mA), the DLCC prevents false LED activation
BD555BKFV – Buck controller (3)
Accurate LED current regulation by controlling PWM duty-cycle (VSW) based on average LED current feedback (IFB) & ‘over-current’ protection (Icoil<Isat,coil)
Example 1 – GU10 socket 4W
• Accurate ACC (average current control)
• Efficiency >85%
• Excellent line regulation
• Equal dimming among multiple LED spot lights
• Configurable ‘dynamic load current controller’ supports wide range of dimmers (leading/trailing edge & electronic feature dimmers)
Example 2 – E27 socket retrofit 5W
• Low-cost buck or fly-back topology
• Fully configurable dimmer stabilization circuit
• Fits in existing E27 form-factor
• Supports HB-LED and multi-junction (high Vf) LED arrays