It is gradually replacing conventional or traditional lighting technologies however, what will next step be for LED within the lighting industry? One possible answer focuses on high output lighting for which there are a number of applications: sports facilities, greenhouses and horticulture; large infrastructures that require optimal levels of lighting such as airports; and other applications that could be decorative or architectural.
The LED industry has needed to provide a sufficiently good level of technical development so that lighting fixtures can be designed that offer solutions to applications requiring more than 50,000 lumens. Its main disadvantages include the availability of competitive LEDs that offer the light data required for such conditions. Another critical point is the thermal behaviour of the entire system and the need to find a suitable and guaranteed power supply.
TITAN, the most powerful equipment
Within this context, ELT has been working for some time to develop solutions for this type of application, resulting in the launch of the TITAN driver. Several versions of this model are already available, set up for different currents, output voltages and numerous channels.
The power supply faces a highly technical challenge: ripple free; dimmable; efficiencies of over 95%; IP67; an extended operating range within the guarantees 50,000 hours (-40°C to +50°C); a stand-alone device; integrated 10 kV protection from lightning strikes and almost constant electrical behaviour throughout the entire operating and dimming range thereby guaranteeing a harmonic distortion value of less than 15% and power factors of over 0.95.
Below, we take a look at each of these points in more detail:
- Ripple free: with sports facilities firmly in mind, the absence of ripple is essential, ensuring that the lighting is compatible with the use of high definition cameras which that do not capture fluctuations in the light flow. In addition, different technical forums are aiming to demonstrate the possible adverse effects of ripple and flicker on living beings exposed to such light sources, for example the effects on people but also plants (horticulture), animals (on farms), and so on.
- Dimmable: For areas requiring huge levels of luminosity, dimming systems have to be incorporated so that energy can be saved and the light level adjusted to the real needs of the environment in which the system is installed.
- Efficiencies of over 95%: thanks to the most advanced optimisation in electronic design, simulation and the use of powerful tools, efficiency has been taken into account as a critical variable, achieving very high levels of performance by using resonant DC-DC converter stages.
- IP67 and autonomy: the power supply has many outdoor applications making it almost compulsory that the system is created to meet this requirement. In conjunction with the stand-alone device feature, its applications are multiplied. For example, it can be used in a greenhouse with no need for a lighting fixture per se, simply the power source and the modules, providing an efficient, adequate, safe and resilient system. To guarantee its status as a stand-alone driver, it has been necessary to double insulate every component.
- 50,000 hours @ 50°C guaranteed, however this does not mean it cannot operate at higher temperatures. It is in fact possible to modify the design to guarantee up to 80°C thanks to the gradual improvement in thermal dissipation of the power supply. However, the standard version is able to achieve 50,000 hours between -40°C to +50°C, which means that it can work in almost any environment.
- Integrated protection against lightning strikes and electrical disturbance. The driver is able to protect itself from electrical disturbances originating from the grid, such as lightning strikes, up to 10kV, both in differential mode (L-N) and in common mode (LN-PE).
- Constant electrical behaviour in harmonic distortion and the power factor: the system has been designed not only to comply with but also to guarantee optimal behaviour regardless of the operating status in question, and this is due to its excellent electrical behaviour.
The TITAN family of high output LED power supplies has been subjected to numerous resilience tests: electrical safety, dielectric strength, harmonics, starting cycles, false contacts, live open circuits or from start-up, live short circuits from start-up, abrupt changes in voltage, shock waves, different types of immunity, ESD, underwater tests, testing in high temperature environments (up to 120°C), etc. All these have one sole objective: to ensure that the transition of the world of high output devices to LED takes place safely and with transparency: from the end user to the electrical installer and the lighting fixture manufacturer.
Many possible combinations are available:
'Low' LED module power supply:
- DLC 400/700-TN-1…10V
- DLC 2,190/700-TN-1…10V
- DLC 2,225/625-TN-1…10V
'High' LED module power supply:
- DLC 385/1000-TN-1…10V
- DLC 440/1200-TN-1…10V
Single channel and two channel configurations are also available however, every parameter is has a clear focus on customisation. ELT is aware that this is an emerging industry in which sufficiently robust standardisation is still lacking. This is why ELT is making a huge effort to adapt the existing platform to the needs of our customers, resulting in customised designs on request.
Iván Cid, ingeniero I+D+i
Iván Cid, ingeniero I+D+i
