LED bulb dismantling: What kind of LED driver is used?

The price of LED bulbs is falling. A year ago, you might have to pay $50 for a 60W Philips dimmable LED light, and now go to Best Buy to buy an 8W, 800 lumens, equivalent to 60W of its own brand Insignia, for only $17. What changes in LED bulb design have driven down prices? Disassembly allows us to get a glimpse of LED lighting design trends, such as how LEDs are placed in the bulb and what drive architecture is used.

The Insignia spherical lamp has a similar appearance to the energy-saving lamp, adding three metal heat sinks and replacing the glass ball with a plastic ball (Figure 1).

The dimming function of the bulb is a very important function for the US market. I have used the Lutron Maestro dimmer switch with programmable dimming control and a case-by-case comparison with the energy saving lamp. Insignia dimming is consistent and smooth, and dimming is similar to energy saving lamps.

The next step is to observe the internal structure of the lamp ball and see how the LED is mounted inside. In Figure 2, the plastic lamp dome has been removed with the Dremmel tool. You can see the six Cree white LEDs inside, illuminating the light mixing cavity of the bulb to ensure uniformity of illumination and prevent pixelation. The LED is mounted on a metal sheet that supports the LED on one side and the heat sink on the other.

The bottom of the light mixing chamber is a paper-thin aluminum reflector that reflects the light up and out of the bulb.

All of the electronic components of the bulb are under the mirror of the base of the lamp and are separate and wrapped parts.

By removing the sealant, you can see that the electronic components are mounted on two separate pc boards that fit snugly against each other. Figure 3 shows two separate pc boards, next to the bulb and the base.