LED bulb disassembly: what kind of LED driver is used?

The price of LED bulbs is falling. A year ago, you might have to spend $ 50 to buy a Philips dimmable LED lamp equivalent to 60W, but now go to Best Buy to buy an 8W, 800 lumen, equivalent to 60W own brand Insignia lamp, only $ 17. What are the changes in LED bulb design that are driving down prices? The disassembly allows us to glimpse into the design trends of LED lighting, such as how the LEDs are placed inside the bulb and what driver architecture is used.

The appearance of the Insignia spherical lamp is similar to the energy-saving lamp, adding three metal heat sinks, and replacing the glass lamp ball with a plastic lamp ball (Figure 1).

The dimming function of the bulb is a very important function for the US market. I have used the Lutron Maestro dimming switch, equipped with programmable dimming control, and made an item-by-item comparison with energy-saving lamps. Insignia dimming is consistent and smooth, and dimming is similar to energy-saving lamps.

The next step is to observe the internal structure of the lamp ball and see how the LED is installed inside. In Figure 2, the plastic lamp dome cover has been removed using the Dremmel tool. You can see the six Cree white LEDs inside, which illuminate the light mixing cavity of the bulb to ensure the uniformity of the lighting and prevent light pixelation. The LED is mounted on a metal sheet, which supports the LED on one side and the heat sink on the other.

The bottom of the light mixing cavity is a paper-thin aluminum reflector, which can reflect the light upward and out of the bulb.

All the electronic components of this bulb are independent and wrapped under the mirror surface of the lamp base.

After removing the sealant, you can see that the electronic components are installed on two separate pc boards and are close to each other. Figure 3 is two independent pc boards, next to the bulb and the base.