Do you know the most common causes of flashing or afterglow in LED lamps and LED luminaires? What many don’t know – but should definitely know: Most problems with LED lights do not occur because of poor quality or poor grade. Rather, in most cases, a malfunction has to do with certain conditions in the LED lighting environment. There are various causes which can lead to faults in LED components, LED lamps or LED luminaires:
Possible cause 1 – Residual voltage
Residual currents occur in upstream devices with electronic switches that switch LED illuminants, such as impulse switches, motion detectors, timers, twilight switches, etc.!
Explanation: The built-in electronic components do not break the circuit cleanly, because there is no 100% galvanic isolation. In spite of an open switch contact, a residual current flows which residual current flows, which can cause afterglow or flashing of the LED illuminant.
Possible cause 2 – Induction voltage
Induction voltages can cause afterglow and flashing of LED illuminants in the respective circuit.
Explanation: In installations using cables with longer conductor lengths, where the live wire (L) is directly adjacent to the neutral wire (N), inductive voltages may be applied to the neutral wire even if the installation is correct.
Explanation: The same problem can occur if several LED lamps are installed in one circuit. The internal electronics can induce voltages and feed them into the supply network.
sible cause 3 – Glow and indication lamps
Glow lamps in switches or pushbuttons of the respective circuit can cause LED illuminants to glow.
Explanation: Glow lamps are connected in parallel to pushbuttons or switches and thus bridge the switch. The circuit is thus not cleanly interrupted and a constant current flow occurs. This current excites the electronics of the LED bulbs and causes them to light up.
Solution:
RC suppressors (capacitors 0.1μF with resistance 100 Ohm) dissipate induction voltages and residual currents and thus clean up the network in the respective circuit. Our experience in recent years shows that the majority of all system-related faults in LED lamps can be avoided by using RC suppressors!We therefore advise to use RC suppressors as a preventive measure already during the initial installation of LED lighting to be able to guarantee a perfect and permanent function of your LED lighting. When using dimmable LED lighting fixtures, the RC suppressor must be connected before the dimmer.
A guest article from the GreenLED team
