Experimental evaluation and classification of LED lamps for typical residential applications

This paper presents the results of the experimental evaluation of electrical characteristics of 28 LED lamps from 13 different manufacturers. The tested LED lamps are with rated powers in range 3 W-25 W and are available on the EU market for use in typical residential lighting applications. Presented results confirm significant differences in electrical characteristics of different LED lamps, e.g. in terms of their current waveform shapes, harmonic emissions and operational power factors. This makes LED lamps significantly different from other residential light sources (e.g. CFLs), which typically have similar electrical characteristics, suggesting that different models should be used for the analysis and standardization of a variety of LED lamps currently available on the market. Based on the general operating principles and typical circuit topologies, as well as analysed electrical characteristics, all tested LED lamps are classified into four types. The paper also considers impact of different supply conditions, i.e. ideally sinusoidal and typically distorted voltage waveforms with five different magnitudes, as well as two source impedance values, on the changes of electrical characteristics and presented classification of tested LED lamps.