Making a 220 volt LED lamp with your own hands: instructions, diagrams, video

Advantages of LED lamps

LED lighting in the home is not just modern, but also stylish and bright. Conservative fans of incandescent lamps are left with weak “Ilyich light bulbs” - the Federal Law “On Energy Saving”, adopted in 2009, from January 1, 2011 prohibits the production, import and sale of incandescent lamps with a power of more than 100 W. Advanced users have long switched to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). But LEDs outperform all their predecessors:

• the energy consumption of an LED lamp is 10 times less than that of a corresponding incandescent lamp, and almost 35% less than that of a CFL;
• the luminous intensity of the LED lamp is greater by 8 and 36%, respectively;
• achieving full luminous flux power occurs instantly, unlike CFLs, which require about 2 minutes;
• the cost - provided that the lamp is manufactured independently - tends to zero;
• LED lamps are environmentally friendly because they do not contain mercury;
• LED service life is measured in tens of thousands of hours. Therefore, LED lamps are practically eternal.

Dry numbers confirm: LED is the future.

DIY alarm assembly

Having decided how flashing LEDs are designed, how they work, and why they flash, you can proceed directly to installation.

For assembly you will need 2 flexible stranded wires of small diameter. It is preferable to choose cables of different colors in order to be able to distinguish them when connecting to car wiring.

Next, you need to carefully insulate the solder joints when using regular or heat-shrinkable cambric.

Once the resistor and both wires are secured, you can place the circuit in a thick polymer tube. The final stage of installing the alarm yourself is connecting the wires to the “+” and “-” power circuits of the car. If everything flashes as it should, the LED flasher can be considered successful.

Assembling circuits with your own hands based on LEDs is very popular among car enthusiasts. Why? Diodes provide enormous opportunities for tuning. Replacement of any lighting, interior lighting and much more.

Design of a modern factory LED lamp

The LED here is initially assembled from many crystals. Therefore, in order to assemble such a lamp, you do not need to solder numerous contacts, you only need to connect one pair.

An LED lamp consists of a base, a driver, a heatsink, the LED itself and a diffuser

Types of LEDs

LED is a semiconductor multilayer crystal with an electron-hole junction. By passing direct current through it, we receive light radiation. An LED also differs from a conventional diode in that if it is connected incorrectly, it immediately burns out, since it has a low breakdown voltage (several volts). If an LED burns out, it must be completely replaced; repair is impossible.

There are four main types of LEDs:

• the most common in lighting decorations and displays is DIP (The Direct In-line Package - a crystal with a lens and two conductors);
• bright automobile “Piranha” (similar design, but there are four terminals, which is more reliable in installation and better for heat dissipation);
• Surface mounted diode SMD (Surface Mount Devices - smaller dimensions, better heat dissipation and more application options);
• COB (Chip-on-Board, soldered into the board - the contact oxidizes less and does not overheat, the glow intensity is much higher).

  LEDs manufactured using COB technology are a ready-made assembly of several open-frame elements connected into a single light source

A homemade and properly assembled LED lamp will serve for many years, and it can be repaired.

Before you begin self-assembly, you need to choose a power supply method for our future lamp. There are many options: from a battery to a 220-volt AC network - through a transformer or directly.

The easiest way is to assemble a 12-volt LED from a burnt-out halogen. But it will require a fairly massive external power supply. A lamp with a regular base, designed for a voltage of 220 volts, fits any socket in the house.

Therefore, in our guide we will not consider creating a 12-volt LED light source, but will show a couple of options for designing a 220-volt lamp.

Since we do not know the level of your electrical technical training, we cannot guarantee that you will end up with a properly functioning device. In addition, you will be working with life-threatening voltages and if things are not done accurately and incorrectly, damage and loss may occur, for which we will not be held responsible. Therefore, be careful and attentive. And you will succeed.

Drivers for LED lamps

The brightness of LEDs directly depends on the strength of the current passing through them. For stable operation, they need a constant voltage source and a stabilized current that does not exceed the maximum permissible value for them.

Resistors - current limiters - can only be used for low-power LEDs. You can simplify the simple calculation of the number and characteristics of resistors by finding an LED calculator on the Internet, which not only displays data, but also creates a ready-made electrical diagram of the design.

To power the lamp from the mains, you must use a special driver that converts the input alternating voltage into a working voltage for the LEDs. The simplest drivers consist of a minimum number of parts: an input capacitor, several resistors and a diode bridge.

In the simplest driver circuit, the supply voltage is supplied through a limiting capacitor to the rectifier bridge, and then to the lamp

Powerful LEDs are connected through electronic drivers that control and stabilize the current and have a high efficiency (90-95%). They provide stable current even with sudden changes in the supply voltage in the network. Resistors cannot do this.

Let's look at the simplest and most commonly used drivers for LED lamps:

• the linear driver is quite simple and is used for low (up to 100 mA) operating currents or in cases where the source voltage is equal to the voltage drop across the LED;
• The switching buck driver is more complex. It allows powerful LEDs to be powered by a source of much higher voltage than is necessary for their operation. Disadvantages: large size and electromagnetic interference generated by the inductor;
• A switching boost driver is used when the operating voltage of the LED is greater than the voltage received from the power supply. The disadvantages are the same as the previous driver.

An electronic driver is always built into any 220-volt LED lamp to ensure optimal operation.

Most often, several faulty LED lamps are disassembled, the burnt-out LEDs and radio components of the driver are removed, and one new structure is installed from the intact ones.

But you can make an LED lamp from a regular CFL. This is quite an attractive idea. We are sure that many zealous owners keep faulty “energy savers” in their drawers with parts and spare parts. It’s a shame to throw it away, there’s nowhere to use it. Now we will tell you how to create an LED lamp from an energy-saving lamp (E27 base, 220 V) in just a couple of hours.

A faulty CFL always gives us a high-quality base and housing for LEDs. In addition, it is usually the gas-discharge tube that fails, but not the electronic device for “igniting” it. We again put the working electronics into storage: they can be disassembled, and in capable hands these parts will still serve something good.

Types of modern lamp bases

The base is a threaded system for quickly connecting and fixing the light source and socket, supplying power to the source from the mains and ensuring the tightness of the vacuum flask. The marking of the socles is deciphered as follows:

1. The first letter of the marking indicates the type of base:
   B - with pin;
2. E - with thread (developed back in 1909 by Edison);
3. F - with one pin;
4. G - with two pins;
5. H - for xenon;
6. K and R - with cable and recessed contact, respectively;
7. P - focusing base (for spotlights and lanterns);
8. S - soffit;
9. T - telephone;
10. W - with contact inputs in the glass of the bulb.
11. The second letter U, A or V shows which lamps use the base: energy-saving, automotive or with a conical end.
12. The numbers following the letters indicate the diameter of the base in millimeters.

The most common base since Soviet times is considered to be E27 - a threaded base with a diameter of 27 mm for a voltage of 220 V.

Conventional LEDs

The standard non-blinking LED provides bright, uniform illumination and low power consumption. Along with such qualities as durability, compactness, energy efficiency and a wide range of glow temperatures, this makes it unrivaled among other artificial light sources. A circuit of flickering lamps is assembled on the basis of such LED elements. Let's look at the principle by which they are made.

How to make LEDs blink

An LED flasher can be assembled based on one of the above presented circuits. Accordingly, you will need to purchase the components described above. They are necessary for the functioning of one or another option. In this case, for assembly you will need a soldering iron, solder, flux and other necessary components for soldering.

The assembly of a chain of flashing LEDs is preceded by mandatory tinning of the output contacts of all connected elements. Also, we must not forget about observing polarity rules, especially when connecting capacitors. The finished lamp will flicker with a frequency of about 1.5 Hz or, which is the same, about 15 pulses every 10-second period of time.

Flasher circuits based on them

In order for elementary flashes of light to occur at a certain periodicity, a pair of C945 type transistors or analog elements is required. For the first option, the collector is placed in the center, and for the second, the base is located in the middle. One or a pair of flashing LEDs are manufactured according to the usual design. In this case, the frequency of flashes is set by the presence of capacitors C1 and C2 in the chain.

It is possible to simultaneously introduce several ice crystals into such a system when installing a sufficiently powerful PNP-type transistor. In this case, the LEDs are made to blink when their contacts are connected to multi-colored elements, the sequence of flashes is set by the generator module, and the frequency is set by the specified software settings.

Safety Notes

1. Although assembling an LED lamp yourself is not a very complicated process, you should not even start it if you do not have at least basic electrical knowledge. Otherwise, the lamp you assembled may damage the entire electrical network of your home, including expensive electrical appliances, if there is an internal short circuit. The specificity of LED technology is that if some elements of its circuit are connected incorrectly, then an explosion is even possible. So you have to be extremely careful.
2. Typically the luminaires are used at 220 VAC. But designs designed for a voltage of 12 V cannot be connected to a regular network under any circumstances, and you must always remember this.
3. In the process of making a homemade LED lamp, the components of the lamp often cannot be immediately completely isolated from the 220 V supply network. Therefore, you can be seriously shocked. Even if the structure is connected to the network via a power supply, it is quite possible that it has a simple circuit without a transformer and galvanic isolation. Therefore, you should not touch the structure with your hands until the capacitors are discharged.
4. If the lamp does not work, then in most cases poor-quality soldering of parts is to blame. You were inattentive or hurriedly used the soldering iron. But don't despair. Keep trying!

Project “Migalka”

Let's try to make the project more complicated. Let's add two LEDs that will blink alternately.

You will need:

• Arduino Uno or Nano board
• Bread board
• Two 220 Ohm resistors
• Two LEDs. If possible, it is better to take blue and red.
• Wires for connection.

Difficulty: simple project.

What we will learn:

• How to connect an LED to Arduino.
• How to change the default flasher program.
• Let's repeat the procedure for loading the sketch into the microcontroller.

The connection principle does not change. We use two pins of the controller board to connect to the LEDs - 13 and 12. You can use the following circuit:

LED connection diagram for the Flasher project

We connect the positive contacts of the LED to the digital pins, the negative ones to GND.

Flasher programming

We will need to make certain changes to the sketch with the blinking LED. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

• Turn on the blue LED
• We wait for some time (1 second)
• Turn off the blue LED and turn on the red one at the same time
• We wait for some time (1 second)
• We repeat again

Try writing a program yourself, based on the experience gained from a previous project. If difficulties arise, you can refer to the example below.

// This block of commands is executed once void setup() { pinMode(13, OUTPUT); // These lines are needed to ensure that both LEDs glow brightly pinMode(12, OUTPUT); } // This block of commands is executed continuously void loop() { digitalWrite(13, HIGH); // Turn on the blue LED digitalWrite(12, LOW); // Turn off the red LED delay(1000); // Delay digitalWrite(13, LOW); // Turn off the blue LED digitalWrite(12, HIGH); // Turn on the red LED delay(1000); // Delay }

In this program we again encounter the loop command block. In it we turn pins on and off using digitalWrite. This shouldn't cause any difficulties.

Let's talk in more detail about the setup block. We saw it in the previous example. Inside setup there are usually initialization commands that are run only once, when the controller is connected to power.

In the examples with flashing lights, we set the pins to the desired mode - OUTPUT. In this mode, we work with external devices that receive power from this Arduino pin. For example, our LED does not transmit anything to the board; it uses pin 13 to turn on. Therefore, we set the OUTPUT mode - “to the output”. By default, all pins are in INPUT mode, which is optimal for connecting sensors. More detailed information can be found in the description of the pinMode function.

We hope that the procedure for checking the sketch and controller firmware did not cause any difficulties. Run the program and you will see how the LEDs on the board blink merrily. Congratulations on writing your first Arduino projects!

How I mounted the tape and where I installed it

In fact, you can attach an LED strip to any place, from the ceiling to even the bottom of the cabinet. The backlight itself is attached to different materials. I attached mine using double-sided tape, but you can easily attach the diffuser even with sealant.

LED strip is an excellent home decor option. So I was able to enliven my bedroom, add an unusual glow to it even at night. There are plans for even more ribbons, and they are much cheaper than in stores!

Here is an interesting video with a similar backlight manufacturing process:

What is needed for production

You can buy a ready-made LED, which will start blinking when the supply voltage is applied. In such a device, in addition to the usual pn junction, there is a built-in electronic circuit made according to the following principle:

Flashing LED device.

The basis of the device is a master oscillator. It produces pulses with a relatively high frequency - several kilohertz or tens of kilohertz. The operating frequency is determined by the parameters of the RC chain. Capacitance and resistance are constructive - they are the elements of the LED device. In this way, it is not possible to obtain a larger capacity without significantly increasing the dimensions of the device. Therefore, the RC product is small, and operation at high frequencies is a necessary measure. At a frequency of several kilohertz, the human eye does not distinguish the blinking of the LED, and perceives it as a constant glow, so an additional element is introduced - a frequency divider. By sequential division it reduces the frequency to several hertz (depending on the supply voltage). In terms of weight and size, such a solution is more advantageous than using a capacitor with a large capacity. The lowest supply voltage for a finished flashing LED is about 3.5 volts.

Preparatory work

The first step is to find an area on the surface of the silicon carbide that is capable of emitting light. To do this, the source material will have to be crushed into several pieces 2-5 mm in size. Then each of them is placed in turn on a metal plate connected to the plus of a power source with a voltage of about 10V. The second electrode is a sharp probe or needle connected to the minus of the power source.

Then the piece under study must be pressed against the plate with tweezers, and its upper part must be probed with a sharp needle in search of a luminous area. Thus, the crystal with the highest brightness is selected. It is worth noting that silicon carbide can emit light in the spectrum from orange to green.

General characteristics of rectifier diodes.

Depending on the value of the maximum permissible forward current, rectifier diodes are divided into small

,
medium
and
high
power:

low power

designed for direct current rectification up to 300mA;
average power
– from 300mA to 10A;
high power
- more than 10A.

According to the type of material used, they are divided into germanium

and
silicon
, but today
silicon
rectifier diodes are most widely used due to their physical properties.

Silicon diodes, compared to germanium diodes, have many times lower reverse currents at the same voltage, which makes it possible to obtain diodes with a very high permissible reverse voltage, which can reach 1000 - 1500V, whereas for germanium diodes it is in the range of 100 - 400V .

The performance of silicon diodes remains at temperatures from -60 to +(125 - 150)º C, and germanium diodes - only from -60 to +(70 - 85)º C. This is due to the fact that at temperatures above 85º C the formation of electronic hole pairs becomes so significant that there is a sharp increase in the reverse current and the efficiency of the rectifier decreases.