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ST 4)⫹(I ⫻
AM F
DUTYCY
CLE ⫻24)
Design challenges
for solar-powered HB-LED lighting
By H ea ther R o b er tso n , Av n et
SOLAR-POWERED HB-LED LIGHTING SYSTEMS COMBINE A CLEAN ENERGY SOURCE
WITH THE ADVANTAGE OF AN EFFICIENT FORM OF LIGHTING. DESIGNING SUCH SYSTEMS
REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A SOLAR-POWERED HB-LED
LIGHTING SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE DESIGN CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING SUCH A SYSTEM.
EFFICIENT POWER CONVERSION is an important fac- teries and solar panels by estimating current consumption,
tor in typical HB-LED (high-brightness-light-emitting-diode) usually in ampere-hours. A design’s current consumption in-
lighting applications—and especially in solar-powered appli- cludes standby and active power. “Standby power” refers to
cations. Designers of systems for these applications must not the times when the HB LEDs are off, such as in the daytime.
only maximize power from the solar panel but also condition In standby mode, the design minimizes current use, and only
it for maximum energy storage in the battery array and con- a small amount of sense/control circuitry is active; only leak-
vert it for use in powering the HB LEDs (Figure 1). age currents remain. “Active power” refers to power consump-
tion when the system is operating—in this case, when the HB
FUNDAMENTALS OF DRIVING HB LEDS LEDs are on. Designs can have one or multiple active and
As diodes, LEDs exhibit a steep VI (voltage/current) curve, standby modes. Active modes usually have a well-understood
which means that even a small change in voltage results in a duty cycle—a percentage of time in a day during which the
large change in current and brightness. It follows, then, that system is active, as the following equation describes: IL⫽(IST
the most convenient method of regulating their output is to ⫻24)⫹(IAM⫻FDUTYCYCLE⫻24), where IL is the current load in
control current and not voltage. When you use multiple HB ampere-hours, IST is the standby current in amps, IAM is the
LEDs in a current-controlled configuration, you often must active-mode current in amps, and FDUTYCYCLE is the duty-cycle
wire them in series to ensure uniform brightness. factor in percentage points.
Depending on the application, many highly efficient, highly
integrated HB-LED drivers are available. Common power- SIZING AND CHOOSING SOLAR PANELS
conversion topologies for constant-current HB-LED drivers A number of technologies are available for solar panels, and
are boost, buck, SEPIC (single-ended primary-inductance each has its own characteristics. Table 1 provides an over-
converter), and flyback. LEDs are not capacitive loads, and view of technologies and their notable features. Most solar
most integrated HB-LED-driver circuits have soft-start-up lighting applications use crystalline-silicon panels because of
protection, so HB-LED drivers typically appear as well-be- their general availability and high efficiencies. Most HB-LED
haved loads on the battery. lighting systems require panels with less than 100W of power.
When designing a system, you must establish the size of bat- Crystalline-silicon panels are available in the form factors and
BUCK LED
DIODE DRIVER
POWERPSoC
BOOST LED
(a) DRIVER
MAXIMUM-POWER- BATTERY
POINT-TRACKING CHARGE
ALGORITHM CONTROL