At ATS we’ve done a good deal of basic thermal analysis and thermal design for LED lighting. While the “bulb” of an LED light is generally cool, the electronics to drive that light, behind the LED, are quite hot. Our engineers have identified seven factors that affect LED operating temperature. Engineers developing heatsinks or other thermal management solutions need to consider these:
- Input Drive Current
- Binning Variations in forward voltage
- Steady state, pulsed or conditioned light output
- Operating ambient conditions
- The degree of solar irradiation
- Thermal path (that is, thermal resistance) from the LED junction to ambient
- Wattage Output of the LED(s) per dissipating surface area
All of these are key factors that engineers should consider when developing an LED lamp or LED light display thermal management solution.
For more information on how to design a solid cooling solution for LED, our readers are invited to our LED thermal management webinar being held on September 23rd, 2PM. Click to the following link to register, “LED Thermal Management in Commercial and Consumer Lighting Applications“.