5 ways to reduce power without sacrificing LED brightness

19th July 2017

Alice Matthews

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When designing a custom lighting solution, there are many different goals to take into consideration. One of the most essential may be reducing the power supply needs of the system. Doing so can provide further benefits, such as improving reliability and expected shelf life, and reducing space and size constraints. Benefits often come with tradeoffs; traditionally, when you reduce power you may need to reduce brightness at the same time.

The good news is this doesn’t always have to be the case. GLOBAL LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES have compiled a list of five smart ways that you can reduce power without sacrificing LED brightness.

1. LED efficiency
How do you do more with less? It’s all about efficiency, and choosing more efficient LEDs can make a world of difference. Choosing a more efficient LED may seem like a more expensive option, but keep in mind that it’s not just about the cost of the LED - what you should really be considering is the cost per Lumen of output. A more efficient LED is actually more cost-effective, while simultaneously helping reduce power needs.

2. Lightguide extraction efficiency
Another area where efficiency can be improved is with extraction, and by doing so more light is able to reach the user’s target area. In turn, power can also be reduced. Our innovative extraction technology offers higher efficiency and overall improved extraction, helping to achieve this goal.

3. Lightguide material efficiency
Any light which is absorbed by the lightguide material is light that the actual display is losing. Therefore, switching to a material with a higher transmissivity to improve efficiency and it will aid in the retention of more light.

4. LED driver circuit
By utilising a highly efficient LED driver circuit, you can prevent power loss and improve the end result. This is often overlooked, as many engineers design circuits which use resistors to reduce voltage and match current to the LEDs. You can prevent those power losses from occurring by using custom designed LED driver chips and circuits with improved efficiency.

5. Lightguides
The job of a lightguide is to take the light from the LED and spread it out uniformly over the surface being illuminated. With the right design and technology, a custom lightguide can actually conserve most of the initial LED efficiency while greatly increasing uniformity of the display, offering the best of both worlds.