New Open LED Shunt Protection (LSP) Devices
Help Prevent High Reliability LED Lighting Application Failures
As LEDs continue to penetrate a wide range of diverse market sectors and become the preferred means of lighting, the requirement for circuit protection cannot be ignored. In many illumination applications, multiple LEDs are connected in series strings to achieve light output comparable to their incandescent or fluorescent counterparts. Some solid-state lighting luminaires are configured in series strings of twenty or more LEDs. In these configurations, one open-circuit LED can cause the entire LED string to go dark, resulting in reduced performance, possible maintenance calls, and costly warranty returns.
As an innovator in circuit protection technology, Bourns has a long history of developing reliable solutions for a broad range of markets and applications. In working with its customers, Bourns realized a critical need for circuit protection in LED designs that would help them to be more robust and could be integrated with the least amount of impact on the design. Adding Bourns
LSP Series shunt protectors to an LED design allows the healthy LEDs in the string to remain illuminated by shunting current around the inoperable open circuit LED. The new Bourns LSP Series of open LED shunt protectors is an effective solution for a variety of LED lighting applications including street lighting, high reliability lighting fixtures and backlight signage systems.
This paper was developed to help designers understand common threats to LED lighting systems, and provides the best design practices to implement Bourns LSP devices as an effective circuit protection solution in LED lighting applications.
