Power Flow Analysis and Critical Design Issues of Retrofit Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Light Bulb

For retrofit applications, some high-brightness light-emitting diode (LED) products have the same form factor restrictions as existing incandescent light bulbs. Such form factor constraints may restrict the design and optimal performance of the LED technology. In this paper, some critical design issues for commercial LED bulbs designed for replacing E27 incandescent lamps are quantitatively analyzed. The analysis involves power audits on such densely packed LED systems so that the amounts of power consumption in: 1) the LED wafer; 2) the phosphor coating; and 3) the lamp translucent cover are quantified. The outcomes of such audits enable R&D engineers to identify the critical areas that need further improvements in a compact LED bulb design. The strong dependence of the luminous output of the compact LED bulb on ambient temperature is also highlighted.