What are the benefits of regulation.
1. Constant voltage supplied to the load. Best with Incandecant
2. Constant current supplied to the load in spite of varied load resistance. Best with LED.
3. Increased runtime at full output power as long as battery can continue to supply the nessessary current.
4. More efficient than resistors if digital regulation is used. 85-90% efficiency possable with digital regulation as opposed to 80% best case senerio with resistors in direct drive mode(LED)
5. Being able to maintain voltage with incandecants improves the efficiency of the bulb itself because the internal resistance of the filiment is highest when the bulb is producing max lumens. This is opposite of LED. LEDs become less efficient as they approch max light output. Example Cree XR/E Q5 LEDs are over 100 lumens at 1 watt but require 2 extra watts to get to 180 lumens output.
6. The full potential of the batteries can be realized with full brightness over the coarse of time. Beneficial with all primary type batteries & NiMH as well as NiCad secondary cells.
7. Can be programmed to protect unprotected Li-Ion batteries to prevent over discharge. This will probaly only be done though with rechargable torches though. Otherwise it is best to use protected or regulated Li-Ion.
Drawbacks of regulation in torches.
1. Increaded complexity
2. Greater chance of failure due to #1.
3. Decreased total runtime possable in some situations. Not all situations truly benefit from regulation. This is especially true with LEDs when the battery voltage can be maintained just above the rated VF of LED untill the batteries are technically drained (.9 volts). This will for example require 4 NiMH or Nicad type batteries with most high powered LEDs. As the voltage of the batteries sag under load the LED becomes more efficient under these conditions & the slight drop in lumen output is not all that noticable until the batteries are technically dead. If regulation was used the currents would remain higher than where the LED is most efficient resulting in less usable total light output for the wattage used. This more than canceles the efficiency gained by using regulation as opposed to drop resistors in a direct drive light.
4. Regulation does contribute some extra heat but then again so do drop resistors used with LEDs. Drop resistors are not nessessary with incandecants though so no loss there.
As you can see Not having regulation on a LED torch is no great loss if designed properly to account for this. Interestingly though Incandecants stand to have the greatest benefit from regulation but are the least likely to be regulated in the end. It is just too easy to design & build them as direct drive torches.
1. Constant voltage supplied to the load. Best with Incandecant
2. Constant current supplied to the load in spite of varied load resistance. Best with LED.
3. Increased runtime at full output power as long as battery can continue to supply the nessessary current.
4. More efficient than resistors if digital regulation is used. 85-90% efficiency possable with digital regulation as opposed to 80% best case senerio with resistors in direct drive mode(LED)
5. Being able to maintain voltage with incandecants improves the efficiency of the bulb itself because the internal resistance of the filiment is highest when the bulb is producing max lumens. This is opposite of LED. LEDs become less efficient as they approch max light output. Example Cree XR/E Q5 LEDs are over 100 lumens at 1 watt but require 2 extra watts to get to 180 lumens output.
6. The full potential of the batteries can be realized with full brightness over the coarse of time. Beneficial with all primary type batteries & NiMH as well as NiCad secondary cells.
7. Can be programmed to protect unprotected Li-Ion batteries to prevent over discharge. This will probaly only be done though with rechargable torches though. Otherwise it is best to use protected or regulated Li-Ion.
Drawbacks of regulation in torches.
1. Increaded complexity
2. Greater chance of failure due to #1.
3. Decreased total runtime possable in some situations. Not all situations truly benefit from regulation. This is especially true with LEDs when the battery voltage can be maintained just above the rated VF of LED untill the batteries are technically drained (.9 volts). This will for example require 4 NiMH or Nicad type batteries with most high powered LEDs. As the voltage of the batteries sag under load the LED becomes more efficient under these conditions & the slight drop in lumen output is not all that noticable until the batteries are technically dead. If regulation was used the currents would remain higher than where the LED is most efficient resulting in less usable total light output for the wattage used. This more than canceles the efficiency gained by using regulation as opposed to drop resistors in a direct drive light.
4. Regulation does contribute some extra heat but then again so do drop resistors used with LEDs. Drop resistors are not nessessary with incandecants though so no loss there.
As you can see Not having regulation on a LED torch is no great loss if designed properly to account for this. Interestingly though Incandecants stand to have the greatest benefit from regulation but are the least likely to be regulated in the end. It is just too easy to design & build them as direct drive torches.
