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Diode - LED Installation For Incandescent Bulb Replacement

This document explains how to replace an incandescent bulb with a Light Emitting Diode (LED) in a 11-15VDC circuit, emphasizing the need for a current limiting resistor to prevent damage to the LED. It details the importance of understanding the relationship between voltage and current in LEDs, which is non-linear, and recommends using a resistor value between 390 to 560 Ohms. Additionally, it advises that most LEDs operate best at a drive current of 20 mA to avoid overheating and potential failure.

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Tihomir Mihaylov
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20 views3 pages

Diode - LED Installation For Incandescent Bulb Replacement

This document explains how to replace an incandescent bulb with a Light Emitting Diode (LED) in a 11-15VDC circuit, emphasizing the need for a current limiting resistor to prevent damage to the LED. It details the importance of understanding the relationship between voltage and current in LEDs, which is non-linear, and recommends using a resistor value between 390 to 560 Ohms. Additionally, it advises that most LEDs operate best at a drive current of 20 mA to avoid overheating and potential failure.

Uploaded by

Tihomir Mihaylov
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Light Emitting Diode (LED) Installation For

Incandescent Bulb Replacement


1. A 11 ~ 15VDC circuit which used an incandescent light bulb that has burnt
out, may be replaced with a Light Emitting Diode (LED) of various color
choices.

2. Most LED’s have a low maximum current value, so a current limiting resistor
must be used to prevent their destruction.

3. Use a resistor with a value of 390 ~ 560 Ohms, soldered in series with the
Cathode (negative) lead (Shortest lead) of the LED.

120-Degree Viewing Angle LED


360-Degree Viewing Angle LED

Why do you need a resistor with an LED? The short answer: to limit the current in the LED to a
safe value.

The long answer: LEDs are semiconductors, diodes in particular. The current flowing in an
LED is an exponential function of voltage across the LED. The important part about that for
you is that a small change in voltage can produce a huge change in current. That is the most
important concept of this article. Resistors aren’t like that. The current and voltage in a resistor
are linearly related. That means that a change in voltage will produce a proportional change in
current. Current versus voltage is a straight line for a resistor, but not at all for an LED.

Because of this, you can’t say that LEDs have “resistance.” Resistance is defined as the
constant ratio of voltage to current in a resistive circuit element. Even worse, there’s no real
way to know exactly the relationship between current and voltage for any given LED across all
possible voltages other than direct measurement. The exact relationship varies among
different colors, different sizes, and even different batches from the same manufacturer. When
you buy an LED, it should come with a rating that looks like this: 3.3V @ 20 mA typical. That
gives you one point along the operating curve. Usually that’s a safe operating point. You may
get a maximum rating in addition. It may be in the form of either a voltage or current. For
example, a lot of people report buying “5V blue LEDs.” These are really not rated to operate
continuously at 5V in most cases.

The other thing I’d like you to take away from this article is the idea that it’s more useful to talk
about driving an LED with a current of a particular size, instead of a voltage. If you know the
voltage across an LED, you can not determine the current flowing in it, unless you are
operating it at the exact point along the curve that’s described in the specs. Worse, being “off
by a little” in the forward voltage can have a drastic effect in the current. So the approach I
prefer is to select a current-limiting resistor in order to achieve a target current in the LED.

Most 3mm and 5mm LEDs will operate close to their peak brightness at a drive current of 20
mA. This is a conservative current: it doesn’t exceed most ratings (your specs may vary, or you
may not have any specs–in this case 20 mA is a good default guess). In most cases, driving
the LED at a higher current will not produce substantial additional light. Instead, the junction
(the working parts of the LED) has to dissipate the excess power as heat. Heating the junction
will decrease its useful life, and can reduce the output of the LED substantially. Heating it
enough will cause catastrophic failure (producing a dark emitting diode).

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