Groups Tech Debuts Best-in-Class AC-Driven LED Light Engines
Groups Tech Co., Ltd., a pioneer in the development of advanced AC-driven LED light engines and luminaires, today announced a significant breakthrough in solid-state lighting (SSL) with the launch of best-in-class AC-driven LED light engines featuring unparalleled functions and robust protections to facilitate LED-based lighting fixture design while achieving tons of advantages: high driver efficiency, high power factor (PF), high product manufacturability, high product reliability, low bill of materials (BOM) cost, low maintenance cost, low parts count, low total harmonic distortion (THD), no conducted and radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI), no axial-leaded components, no electrolytic capacitors, no magnetic components, and tight line regulation - to mention is just a few.
Comparisons in performance and cost between traditional and Groups Tech’s novel LED drivers:
Cons of traditional drivers include:
• Bulky and heavy components such as transformers, chokes, EMI filters, electrolytic capacitors
• Short lifetime of the electrolytic capacitors
• Lack of space inside the low-power retrofit bulbs
• Conducted and radiated EMI from high-frequency switching
• Higher cost per unit
Pros of Groups Tech’s novel drivers include:
• No bulky and heavy components so as to save space and cost
• No electrolytic capacitors so as to prolong product lifetime
• Suitability for space-sensitive design
• No conducted and radiated EMI so as to enable a more eco-friendly design
• Lower cost per unit
As compared to traditional DC-driven LED drivers with a relatively low driver efficiency, Groups Tech’s optimized AC-driven LED drivers have the upper hand with a relatively high driver efficiency due to the minimization of driver loss.
Presenting a near-pure resistive load to all the AC voltages sources, Groups Tech’s proprietary AC-driven LED light engines could easily walk away with a high PF, kept above 0.95 with a typical design and above 0.99 with an exquisite design, as well as a low THD, kept below 15% with a typical design and below 5% with an exquisite design, without the use of the fast-switching current-shaping operation in traditional power factor correctors (PFC), eliminating the need for electrolytic capacitors and magnetic components as well as getting rid of conducted and radiated EMI, where no electrolytic capacitors ensures a long lifespan and a low maintenance cost as well as no magnetic components enables a compact size and a light weight.
On account of the low parts count, the BOM cost for an AC-driven LED light engine, built with the adoption of Groups Tech’s technologies, is estimated to be at least 20-50% cheaper than that for a DC-driven LED light engine, built with the utilization of traditional topologies.
It goes without saying no axial-leaded components in combination with all the aforementioned advantages usher in high product manufacturability and high product reliability for LED-based lighting product design, ending up with the benefit of a low return merchandise authorization (RMA) rate.
Robust protections such as over-voltage protection (OVP), over-current protection (OCP), over-temperature protection (OTP), and short-circuit protection (SCP) against unexpected faults have been built in Groups Tech’s AC-driven LED light engines.
Below are unrivaled functions, perhaps setting a new benchmark for future AC-driven LED light engines.
Prevailing over other competitors’ AC-driven LED light engines only for either 110V or 220V operation, not only does Groups Tech’s AC-driven LED light engines portfolio include basic 110V-only or 220V-only models but it also includes advanced 110V/220V-selectable models, adaptable to both 110V and 220V operations thanks to Groups Tech’s proprietary technologies and thus suitable for a wide range of AC input voltage.
In addition to the phase-cut dimming via traditional triac dimmers, some models of Groups Tech’s proprietary AC-driven LED light engines are also DALI/DMX/Zigbee/Bluetooth-dimmable with the aid of some DALI/DMX/Zigbee/Bluetooth-to-PWM/analog converters.
Under the control of analog dimming schemes, Groups Tech’s AC-driven LED light engines could even keep almost the same high PF and almost the same low THD over the entire dimming range because the LED/line current is proportionally dimmed/scaled up or down with almost no waveform distortion.
Last but not least, tight line regulation, little change in average LED current over a specified AC input voltage range, could be kept below ±5% to make the brightness of the LED luminaire less susceptible to the AC input voltage variation.
“The allure of Groups Tech’s proprietary AC-driven LED light engines would be their versatility to implement desirable functions at low cost,” said J. S. Yu with pride, CEO of Groups Tech in Taipei. “Groups Tech’s AC-driven LED light engines have been in a good position to provide customers or designers with cost-effective solutions to LED-based lighting.”
For more information, please contact Groups Tech Co., Ltd or contact the Groups Tech sales department.
About Groups Tech:
Groups Tech Co., Ltd. is a Taiwan-based corporation, established in 2013 by a group of highly experienced executives with abundant technologies of power supply, LED driver, LED lighting, optics, cooling, and all that jazz.
Groups Tech is now specializing in the LED lighting market and generating innovative ideas and inventive technologies, leading to higher-performance, lower-cost, higher-quality, and longer-lifetime solutions for LED lighting products.
