Reduction of power losses in measurement subsystem for tapped-inductor based LED driver

The shortage of energy resources as well as the increasing price of electrical power leads to new studies in the field of efficiency improvement for all kinds of electric devices. Lighting systems are not exception. Smart lighting systems are capable to reduce electrical power consumption significantly by the regulation of the illumination level in accordance with proper light regulation strategy. The main element of such a system is a lighting fixture with dimming possibilities. As the ballast of lighting fixture affects the overall efficacy of the device, it is important to evaluate ballast at all operation points (in the whole regulation range). Also the approach of the illumination level control should be taken into account. This paper considers tapped-inductor based driver (which is the key part of the ballast) for a dimmable LED luminaire. Brief description of tapped-inductor converters is given at the beginning of this article. The description of considered parameters is given in the following section. Next section of this paper presents search for the best configuration and topology among the family of tapped-inductor converters. Then the numerical calculations of the considered parameters as well as the results of experiments are summarized. Considerations on the construction of closed loop regulation also are given. Finally, the conclusions about the expediency of the use of tapped-inductor based LED drivers are given.