An LED lamp or LED lighting is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). More energy-efficient is its advantage. So, how about LED efficiency? The overall efficiency of an LED lamp includes all the components it contains. This is often referred to as wall-plug efficiency.
The temperature of the LED has another often underestimated influence on the efficiency. The lower the operating temperature of the LED, the better its efficacy and thus its efficiency. Good thermal management within the light source to dissipate the waste heat from the LED to the environment would be an advantage.
Now, let’s see where do the losses occur. An LED lamp contains various components where losses can occur. In most cases these are the following components:
Driver electronics; Light emitting diode(s); Optics.
The driver electronics or power supply unit converts the 110V mains voltage into the operating voltage required for the LED. These electronic circuits are constructed differently depending on the manufacturer and have efficiencies of 70 to 90%.
The LED’s installed in the light source have the greatest influence on the overall efficiency. The decisive factor here is how much light can be decoupled from the semiconductor into the environment. Commercially available warm-white LED luminaires are usually equipped with light-emitting diodes with an efficiency of around 25 to 35%.
The optics (lenses, color filters, etc.) within an LED light source also have an influence on the overall efficiency. For example, special diffusing lenses are used to achieve a certain beam angle of the lamp. However, the efficiency of the optics is very good compared to that of LED’s itself.
Then, how calculate LED Efficiency? The overall efficiency of an LED lamp is calculated by multiplying the individual efficiencies of all the components it contains.
Example: Calculation of overall efficiency
LED driver (90%) · LED (35%) · optics (95%) = 30% efficiency
