James Jackson
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2007
- Messages
- 59
I just thought that I would pass this on to those who might be interested in using LED lighting on 110/120 VAC. Acriche (www.achriche.com) has released a few new LEDs that work on 120 VAC. (It's actually CREE) They have a couple of versions, the single LED version is about 2 watts and puts out about 80 Lumens of light. At 110 VAC, it uses about 20mA of current. There is also a 2-LED version, which is about 150 Lumens and uses about 40mA of current.
The great news is that Mouser (www.mouser.com) has these in stock, and they only cost about $23.00 (and some change). I have a couple of the 2-LED variety that I got from them to test and play with.
After I received the LEDs, I made my own LED 'bulb' with one of them. I used an old CFL lightbulb base, and a heatsink from a computer IC. I soldered the leads from the socket to the LED. I then screwed the LED 'bulb' into one of my ceiling fan light sockets. When I turned on the light... OMG!!! It's bright! - and white light!
Technical details -
The CFL base was salvaged from one of those that was 2.25" outside diameter. It has a vented cone that tapers down to the Edison base. I took off the fluorescent tube, and removed the PCB that was inside, leaving a 'shell'.
The heatsink used is just under 2" square with a ¼" raised 1.3" 'platform' that was attached directly to the integrated circuit. The topside of the heatsink has cooling fins. The heatsink is made out aluminum that is anodized.
I ground down (or rounded) the corners of the heatsink to allow it to fit inside the cone. The heatsink pretty much 'snapped' into place, and is a tight enough fit so that no epoxy to hold it in place is necessary.
The Acriche LED is composed of two SMT LEDs attached to an aluminum backed PCB. The size of the PCB is about 1.6" x .8". It has an adhesive backing that appears to have thermal properties.
I brought the two AC wires up from the base, carefully snaking the two wires through the fins of the heatsink, and soldered them to the two AC pads on the LED's PCB.
The LEDs are 110-degrees viewing angle. They are rated at 150 lumens (or 175 lux). Using lenses over the LEDs, gives them more focused light.
Measured power consumption using a 'kill-a-watt' meter. Current consumption is .03 Amps (30-milliamps), and 3-watts at 120VAC, which is below the datasheets value of .04 Amps.
Measured the temperature on the heatsink using an Infrared Thermometer, after it had been on for 15 or 20 minutes. The temperature is about 80-degrees Celsius (175-degrees F). The maximum operating temperature per their datasheet is 85-degrees Celsius.
Well, that's about it for now. I showed this to my boss at work. He is extremely interested in this type of LEDs, and gave me two LED lenses to install over them - that will focus the light in about a 10-degree beam. I 'cemented' the lenses, over the LEDs.
I hope that this is useful information for those who might be interested in using LEDs for lighting (like I am).
Regards,
James
The great news is that Mouser (www.mouser.com) has these in stock, and they only cost about $23.00 (and some change). I have a couple of the 2-LED variety that I got from them to test and play with.
After I received the LEDs, I made my own LED 'bulb' with one of them. I used an old CFL lightbulb base, and a heatsink from a computer IC. I soldered the leads from the socket to the LED. I then screwed the LED 'bulb' into one of my ceiling fan light sockets. When I turned on the light... OMG!!! It's bright! - and white light!
Technical details -
The CFL base was salvaged from one of those that was 2.25" outside diameter. It has a vented cone that tapers down to the Edison base. I took off the fluorescent tube, and removed the PCB that was inside, leaving a 'shell'.
The heatsink used is just under 2" square with a ¼" raised 1.3" 'platform' that was attached directly to the integrated circuit. The topside of the heatsink has cooling fins. The heatsink is made out aluminum that is anodized.
I ground down (or rounded) the corners of the heatsink to allow it to fit inside the cone. The heatsink pretty much 'snapped' into place, and is a tight enough fit so that no epoxy to hold it in place is necessary.
The Acriche LED is composed of two SMT LEDs attached to an aluminum backed PCB. The size of the PCB is about 1.6" x .8". It has an adhesive backing that appears to have thermal properties.
I brought the two AC wires up from the base, carefully snaking the two wires through the fins of the heatsink, and soldered them to the two AC pads on the LED's PCB.
The LEDs are 110-degrees viewing angle. They are rated at 150 lumens (or 175 lux). Using lenses over the LEDs, gives them more focused light.
Measured power consumption using a 'kill-a-watt' meter. Current consumption is .03 Amps (30-milliamps), and 3-watts at 120VAC, which is below the datasheets value of .04 Amps.
Measured the temperature on the heatsink using an Infrared Thermometer, after it had been on for 15 or 20 minutes. The temperature is about 80-degrees Celsius (175-degrees F). The maximum operating temperature per their datasheet is 85-degrees Celsius.
Well, that's about it for now. I showed this to my boss at work. He is extremely interested in this type of LEDs, and gave me two LED lenses to install over them - that will focus the light in about a 10-degree beam. I 'cemented' the lenses, over the LEDs.
I hope that this is useful information for those who might be interested in using LEDs for lighting (like I am).
Regards,
James
