Another homemade LED lamp. We assemble an LED lamp at home How the circuit works

In this article, we will look at examples of making homemade LED lamps for various needs.

1. The simplest lamp for domestic needs.

To begin with, it is worth deciding which LEDs are best to use. If you choose between powerful and low-power - the first is better in terms of labor intensity. To replace one powerful 1W LED, you need 15-20 low power 5mm or smd LEDs. Accordingly, soldering with low-power is much larger. Let's focus on the powerful ones. Usually they are divided into two types - output and surface mount. To make life easier, it is better to use output. The power of the LED is better to choose no more than 1 watt.

We also need a current driver so that the LEDs receive the necessary voltage and serve for a long time.
In addition, a heatsink is needed for long-term operation of the LED (especially for a powerful one). Aluminum is best suited for its manufacture. For each one-watt LED, you need a piece of aluminum 50x50 mm, about 1 mm thick. The piece may be smaller if bent. If you take a piece of 25x25 mm and 5 mm thick, you will not get the desired effect. To dissipate heat, you need area, not thickness.

Consider the model of the simplest lamp. We will need: three 1 W LEDs, a 3x1 W driver, double-sided heat-conducting tape, a radiator (for example, a piece of a U-shaped profile 1 mm thick and 6-8 cm long).

Thermally conductive tape can conduct heat. Therefore, the usual double-sided tape from will not work. Cut off a strip of adhesive tape 6-7 mm wide.

We degrease the radiator and the bottoms of the LEDs. It is undesirable to use acetone for this - the plastic lens of the LED may become cloudy.

Stick tape on the radiator. Then we mark the radiator to install the LEDs evenly.

We install the LEDs on the adhesive tape. At the same time, we observe the polarity - all LEDs must be deployed in the same way so that the "plus" of one LED looks at the "minus" of the neighboring one. Lightly press them for better contact. After that, we apply tin to the leads of the LEDs to facilitate further soldering. If you have a fear that the adhesive tape may burn out, just lift the LED leads so that they do not touch the adhesive tape. In this case, the LED housing must be held with a finger so that it does not come off the adhesive tape. However, you can bend the conclusions in advance.

We connect the LEDs together. For this, a vein from any stranded wire is quite enough.

Solder the driver.

The simplest lamp model is ready. Now you can insert it into any suitable case. Of course, you can make a more powerful lamp, only you need more diodes and a more powerful driver, but the principle remains the same. This technique is suitable both for the manufacture of a single lamp, and for small-scale production.

2. Chandelier based on LEDs.

We will need:
1. Base from a burned-out energy-saving lamp.
2. Two grips (to connect to the LED);
3. Powerful ten-watt LED, color of your choice;
4. Two small screws;
5. One ten watt LED driver;
6. Thermal paste;
7. Radiator;
8. Heat shrink tube (or insulating tape);
9. wires with a cross section of 2 mm.

First you need to disassemble the old or burned out energy-saving lamp. It is important to be careful not to damage the glass bulb. Otherwise, mercury gas, which is very harmful to health, will come out of it.

We only need a part of the body with a plinth. We cut off the leads from the board going to the base and solder our own leads from the LED driver, insulating them with heat shrink tubes.

With a soldering iron, we will make a couple of holes for the wire, which will hold the entire structure.

Next, use the terminals, crimp, connect to the LED, observing the polarity. We check. It is not recommended to look at the on LED. The intensity of the light is very strong and can harm your eyes. If everything works, we assemble the lamp into a single whole.

The LED is very bright and casts harsh shadows. You can make the light smoother and softer by using a DIY diffuser. Many different materials can be used as a diffuser. The simplest one is to cut the bottom out of a two-liter plastic bottle, sand it on all sides to give full opacity to direct light. We make four holes and attach it to the radiator with wire.

3. Home LED lamp.

We use Cree MX6 Q5 LEDs with a power of 3 W and a light output of 278 lm as a light source. The LED will be placed on a 5x5 cm heatsink removed from the processor of an old motherboard.

For simplicity, we will use a switching source along with an electronic adapter, which will provide the necessary voltage and current to power the LEDs. For this purpose, in our case, a charger of a non-working mobile phone was chosen, which, according to the manufacturer, has an output voltage of 5 V and a current of 420 mA.

To protect against external influences, the entire electronic part will be placed in a socket from an old lamp.

According to the manufacturer's instructions, the Cree MX6 Q5 LEDs can operate at a maximum current of 1A at a voltage of 4.1V. Logically, for normal operation, we need a 1 ohm resistor to reduce the voltage by about one volt of the five that the charger gives to get the desired 4.1 V, and this is only if the charging produces a maximum current of 1 A. However, as it turned out later, a charger with a design current limit of 0.6 A works without problems. Testing in the same way charging for other mobile phones, it was found that they all have a current supply limit that is 20-50% higher than that indicated by the manufacturer. The meaning of this is that any manufacturer will strive to develop a power supply so that it does not overheat even if the powered device is damaged or a short circuit occurs, and the easiest way in this case is to limit the current.

Thus, we have a direct current source limited to 0.6 A, powered by alternating current 230 V, made by a factory method and having a small size. At the same time, during operation, it only slightly heats up.

Let's move on to assembly. First you need to open the power supply in order to remove the parts that will be inserted into the body of the new lamp. Since most power supplies are connected by soldering, we open the unit with a hacksaw.

In order to fix the board in the lamp housing, in our case, sanitary silicone was used. Silicone was chosen for its resistance to high temperatures.

Before closing the lamp, we fasten the radiator to the cover (using bolts), to which the LED was attached.

The lamp is ready. The power consumption is just under 2.5 W and the luminous flux is 190 lm, which is ideal for an economical, durable and strong table lamp.

4. Lamp in the corridor.

To illuminate the hallway with LED lights, we used two Cree MX6 Q5 LEDs, each with a power of 3W and a light output of 278lm, and powered by an old power supply from a Samsung mobile phone. And although the manufacturer in the specification indicates a current strength of 0.7 A, after measurements it was found that it is limited to 0.75 A.

The scheme for manufacturing the base of the lamp is similar to the previous version. The entire external structure is assembled using textile Velcro, glue and plastic washers from motherboards.

The total consumption of this design is about 6 W with a luminous flux of 460 lm.

5. Light fixture in the bathroom.

For the bathroom, I used a Cree XM-L T6 LED powered by two LG phone chargers.

Each of the chargers claims to deliver 0.9A, but I found that the actual current is 1A. Both power supplies are connected in parallel to produce 2A.

With such indicators, the LED lamp will produce a luminous flux of 700 lm at a power consumption of 6 watts.

6. Lamp for the kitchen.
If for the hallway and bathroom there was no need to provide a certain minimum of illumination, then in the kitchen this is not the case. Therefore, it was decided to use for the kitchen not one, but two series-connected Cree XM-L T6 LEDs, each of which has a maximum power consumption of 9 W and a maximum luminous flux of 910 lumens.

For effective cooling, in our case, we used a heatsink removed from Slot 1 of the Pentium 3 processor, to which both LEDs were attached using ArcticAlumina hot melt adhesive. Although Cree XM-L T6 LEDs can draw up to 3 A, the manufacturer recommends using 2 A for reliability, at which they produce a luminous flux of about 700 lm. A generating 12V at a current of 1.5A was used as a power source. After testing it with resistors, it was found that the current was limited to a value of 1.8 A, which is very close to the desired value of 2 A.

To protect the heatsink and two LEDs, we used two plastic washers from the motherboard and two neodymium magnets removed from a damaged DVD drive, securing them with superglue and textile Velcro.

I expected this LED fixture to deliver 1200 lumens, which is comparable to the lumen output of a replacement 23W fluorescent lamp, but it was found that the actual light emitted is even more intense, with a power consumption of around 12W - almost half the amount of the old light bulb. .

7. Office lamp
We will need:

1. LED rulers 4 pcs (on powerful American CREE diodes)
2. Suitable driver (power supply) 1pc
3. The metal case of the future lamp.
4. Wiring, soldering iron, hand tools and fasteners.th lamp.

Can be used to make the body of an old lamp

Or use a special aluminum profile with glass. In this case, the driver is installed inside the profile.

We install diode lines 4 pcs.

We make a ceiling mount (on cables) + put frosted glass.

Version of the LED lamp in the housing (from fluorescent 2x36W)

with glass

Or you can put everything in an office lamp 600x600 mm.

Well, as a bonus, consider a few examples of decorative lamps based on LEDs.

For a decorative lamp we need:
- 4 wooden planks of the same size;
- drill with a drill 15 mm;
- glue for wood;
- wood stain;
- a brush with a pencil;
- sandpaper;
- LED candles.
First of all, it is necessary to make several holes in each plank with a drill, having previously made markings with a pencil - this is how we get a kind of pattern from circles.

We put stain on the tree.

Using glue, we connect 4 planks into a lamp.

We pass sandpaper over the lamp to give it a vintage look.

We put LED candles inside the lamp.

The nightlight is ready.

9. Lamp in oriental style.
As ceiling lamps for lamps, we use cans of pva glue.

We will need:
- 2-3 cans of PVA glue
- cartridges, wire
- scissors, sharp knife
- hot glue gun
- bamboo placemats or straw ceiling tiles

First you need to cut the napkins into pieces of the desired size.

On the base of the can, circle the cartridge with a 1-watt LED with a marker and cut out a circle with a knife.

Then, using a hot glue gun, glue the napkins to the jars.

We glue the braid to the empty places.

At this stage, you can already see how it will glow.

It remains to decorate the braid with wooden beads at the joints.

For safety reasons, holes must be drilled for ventilation. Maybe more, they still won't be visible.

That's all, the lamp is ready.

10. Unusual decorative lamp.

Making a lamp with your own hands began with drawing preliminary sketches on paper. There was a desire that the lamp not only be curved in a plane, but also in space, and have a bizarre 3d wave shape.

After the sketch on paper is ready, we proceed to the manufacture of the lamp. Each pipe in the figure was measured and the pipes were cut to those dimensions. To get the necessary angles, templates were cut out of paper and fastened with tape on the pipe.

All tubes have been laid out on the table and adjustments have been made to the waveform.

The cuts were made on a stationary circular saw. Thus, smooth cuts without burrs with a width of 2 mm are obtained.

Now you need to connect all the pipes into one. The main task is to make smooth bends, for this it does not hurt to apply a template (fiberboard sheet) on the table.

Since the pipes are cardboard, they can be connected accordingly with PVA glue, but I would recommend using adhesives that are stronger and harden faster (moment, superglue).

On the reverse side, wooden planks were screwed onto the screws so that the homemade lamp could be hung on the wall. And holes were drilled in each pipe for the output of wires from the LED strips.

The pipes were painted with ordinary paint in a spray can. Red was used, since the wall on which the lamp should be located was white, I wanted to get some contrast.

The paint dries very quickly, so you can proceed with the installation of LEDs. The main thing to remember is that you can cut the LED strip only in specially marked places. The tape must be marked in advance so that it is enough for all 12 pipes.

We solder red wires to the “+” contact, and black wires to the “-” contact, so as not to confuse the polarity later.

We place the LED strips inside the pipes and fix them with the adhesive side to the pipe wall, and we bring the wires out through the holes made in advance. It remains only to connect all the wires in parallel (connect red to red, and black to black) and connect to the power supply.

Now it's time to hang the homemade lamp on the wall.
The lamp is ready.

In any work, as well as during leisure, good light is needed. You can buy a lamp, but sometimes it is not cheap. In the store, instead of a finished lamp, you can purchase an LED strip. It is relatively inexpensive and cut into pieces of any length. If you put it in a case or fix it in another way, you get a homemade lamp with an LED strip. You can take such a lamp with you to a fishing tent. In field conditions, the LED lamp is connected to a car battery.

Scope of homemade LED lamps

Homemade LED lamps for LED strip can be used instead of the usual ones:

• illumination of the workplace when performing minor work in the workshop or garage;
• backlighting from above the aquarium (if the tape is waterproof or in a sealed case, then the lamp can be lowered into the water);
• illumination of seedlings or indoor plants in winter;
• night light or table lamp;
• illumination of switches and sockets;
• computer keyboard lighting;
• to replace fluorescent lamps.

On the Internet, you can find many other types of floor lamps and ceiling chandeliers made of LED strip with photos and videos, as well as reviews of people who collected and used such lamps.

Types and parameters of LED strips

LED strips are produced in different designs according to the type of security. They can be of different brightness and different colors, which is determined by the color temperature - from warm white (2700K) to cold (6800K), as well as colored or capable of changing their color - RGB tapes. This makes it possible to choose the type of device for specific purposes.

LED strip device

An LED strip is a flexible plastic strip with conductive strips applied to it. Two are located at the edges and are connected to them. The rest connect the LEDs and resistors to each other. They are arranged in groups - three LEDs connected in series, and a resistor that serves to limit the current flowing through them.

The strip itself can be cut into sections that are multiples of three LEDs. In these places there are marks indicating the place of the cut and the pads to which the wires are soldered or connected using connectors.

LEDs can be coated with silicone on one or both sides. This determines the degree of protection from external influences. On the reverse side, an adhesive layer is applied to the strip, like on a double-sided tape. With it, the LEDs are attached to the base.

The most common supply voltage is DC, 12V. There are designs designed for connection to a voltage of 24V and higher, but these are not common designs.

Types of LEDs used

The LEDs and resistors in the tape are used in the SMD series, without leads. LEDs in production are used in various sizes, which determines the marking of the tape - 5050 and 3528. These numbers show the size of the LED in tenths of a millimeter

Expert opinion

Alexey Bartosh

The larger the size, the higher the brightness and the current and power consumption. It also depends on the number of LEDs per meter of length.

Accordingly, the marking of the SMD 5050 tape with a density of 60 LEDs means that 60 SMD 5050 LEDs are installed per meter of length.

Controllers, power supplies for LED strips

Since the LED strip is designed for a constant voltage of 12V, a power supply or controller is required for connection.

Important! When you turn on the LED strip in a 220 volt network, it will instantly burn out!

Power supplies are produced in different capacities and shapes. From low-power, tablet-like chargers to powerful metal-cased designs with built-in coolers.

Some power supplies are equipped with dimmers and remote controls. RGB ribbons require an RGB controller to control the color.

There are models with WiFi control, with color and music effects, for example, ARILUX® AL-LC01.

If there is no special block available, then you can use:

• Any transformer with an output voltage of 12V. A diode bridge and a smoothing capacitor must be connected to the output.
• The power supply of the computer, both in the computer itself and separately.
• If 3-6 LEDs are needed, then a capacitor can be used to limit the current, as well as a diode bridge and a capacitor that smooths out the glow pulsations. This scheme is used in LED lamps installed instead of incandescent lamps. The capacitance of a capacitor can be calculated using an online calculator.
• Make a faulty energy-saving lamp out of the board.
• Connect 20 pieces of LED strip in series and connect through a diode bridge and a smoothing capacitor to a 220V network.

Preparation of materials and parts

Before starting work, you need to determine the required number and brightness of the LED strip, as well as the power of the power supply.

First of all, you need to determine the length. For lamps used in different places you need:

• night light and illumination of switches and sockets - a segment of three LEDs;
• aquarium lighting - along the length of the wall;
• illumination of beds with seedlings - several pieces, equal in length to the length of the beds;
• computer keyboard - along the length of the keyboard;
• to replace a fluorescent lamp, several pieces are needed, the length is equal to the length of the lamp.

The brightness of the tape, the size and density of the LEDs is determined based on specific conditions.

The power of the power supply should not be less than the power of the LED lamp, and preferably 20% more. This is necessary for more reliable operation of the unit.

In addition, you will need wires, heat shrink tubing to isolate the connection point, a soldering iron with tin and rosin, or a connector for connection.

Expert opinion

Alexey Bartosh

Specialist in the repair, maintenance of electrical equipment and industrial electronics.

Attention! Do not solder the tape with acid! Acid fumes oxidize and destroy wires, and can also lead to a short circuit.

If the luminaire is to be used in an aquarium for interior lighting, a transparent tube and silicone sealant will be needed to ensure the tightness of the structure.

Lamp Assembly

After developing the design of the future lamp and preparing all the tools and materials, the lamp itself is assembled.

Sometimes the whole assembly process consists of gluing tape to the base, for example, when backlighting a keyboard located on a drawer under a table.

In other cases, it is necessary to make a lamp or remake an existing one.

Features and stages of installation work

Installation and connection of a lamp from an LED strip has a number of features:

• The power supply should be located as close as possible to the LEDs. The longer the wires, the greater the voltage loss in them, which leads to losses in the brightness of the lamp.
• It is advisable to isolate the LEDs from the base if it is metal.
• When connecting the device directly from the 220V network (through a capacitor), use only a tape coated with silicone on both sides.

Carefully! There is a high voltage on such a tape, so all manipulations with it are performed in the off state.

What to do if there is no finished LED strip

If there is no ready-made LED strip, then you can make it yourself.

To do this, the required number of LEDs must be connected in series, and a current-limiting resistance must be connected to them. You can assemble such a design on a strip of getinax or textolite, where holes are drilled for mounting LEDs. Such a device can be assembled for any required voltage and number of LEDs.

If you are interested in how to make an LED lamp with your own hands at home, then we will provide several step-by-step instructions with photo and video examples that will allow you to assemble an LED lamp in no more than an hour. All the ideas provided below will be listed from easiest to most difficult, allowing you to choose the one that suits you best based on your soldering iron skills and electrical schematics.

Idea number 1 - Upgrading the halogen light bulb

The easiest way is to make an LED lamp yourself from a burned-out halogen bulb with - GU4. In this case, you will need the following materials and tools:

• LEDs. Choose the number of them yourself, depending on how bright the LED lighting should be. We immediately draw your attention to the fact that you should not choose more than 22 diodes (this will complicate the assembly process and also make the light bulb too bright).
• Super glue (ordinary glue is also suitable, but it will harden longer, which will not allow you to make an LED lamp quickly).
• A small piece of copper wire.
• Resistors. Their number and power will be calculated by an online calculator.
• A small piece of sheet aluminum (an alternative is a regular beer or soda can).
• Internet access. You will need to open a special online calculator to calculate the LED lamp circuit.
• Hammer, soldering iron and hole punch.

Having prepared all the materials, you can proceed directly to the assembly of the diode light bulb. We will provide instructions for creating a home-made one step by step, with photo examples of each stage, so that you can clearly see the installation process.

So, to make a 12 volt LED lamp, you need to follow these steps:

1. Remove the top glass from the old halogen bulb, as well as the white putty near the pin base (as shown in the photo below). For this, it is best to use a screwdriver.
   
2. Turn the lamp socle upside down and carefully use a hammer to knock out the pins from the seat. The old halogen bulb should fall out.
   
3. According to the number of LEDs you have chosen, come up with a diagram of their location, on the basis of which make a paper stencil. You can use an existing blank and print one of the ready-made diagrams that are provided in the picture:
4. Glue the stencil to the aluminum sheet with super glue, cut the sheet to the shape of the stencil, and then make the seats for the LEDs with a hole punch.
   
5. Generate an assembly drawing of an LED lamp on the Internet for your conditions. In our case, to create an LED light bulb at home from 22 diodes, you need to assemble the following circuit:
   
6. Put the aluminum disk on a convenient stand and insert the LEDs into the seats, as shown in the photo. To simplify the soldering process, bend the cathode leg of one diode to the anode leg of the other.
   
7. Carefully glue all the LEDs, making them a single design. An important point - the glue should not get on the legs of the diodes, because. when soldering, extremely unpleasant smoke will be emitted.
   
8. When the glue hardens, start soldering the legs. By the way, we recommend that you do this, which also does not take much time. According to the diagram, solder the diodes of the LED lamp, leaving only one plus leg and one minus leg for power connection. It is recommended to cut the "-" leg in half, so as not to confuse the polarity of the contacts of a home-made LED light bulb in the future.
   
   
9. Solder the resistors to the negative terminals according to the diagram. As a result, according to our example, you should get 6 positive terminals and 6 negative ones (with resistors).
   
10. Solder the resistors according to the generated schematic.
    
11. Solder the same piece of copper wire to the two contacts formed, which will make it possible to make the pin base of the LED lamp at home. By analogy with the previous advice, make one leg shorter (minus) for a while, so that later you don’t confuse anything and make the connection correctly.
    
    
12. To prevent this from happening in the future, carefully glue the space between the legs that are brought out.
    
13. Perform the final assembly of the LED light bulb: place the disk on the reflector and carefully glue it.
    
14. With a marker, sign on the body of the assembled LED lamp where “+” and where “-”, also indicate that the home-made light source is designed to be connected to a 12 volt power supply, not 220.
    
    
15. Check the assembled homemade product. To do this, connect the LED bulb to a car battery or a 220/12 Volt power supply.
    

In such a simple way, you can make an LED lamp with your own hands from improvised means. As you can see, there is nothing difficult and it will not take much time to assemble! Be sure to check out some of the best ideas for making a light bulb at home, which we have provided in the video gallery:

Idea number 2 - "Housekeeper" in progress!

The second, no less interesting idea is to assemble a light bulb from an energy-saving lamp. There are also no particularly serious works and even a not very experienced electrician can handle the assembly.
To begin with, you must prepare the following materials and tools for assembling an LED lamp with your own hands:

Having prepared all the materials, you can proceed to the assembly. This instruction is more creative, so if you decide to make a diode light bulb from a burnt housekeeper, carefully look at the photo examples.

Stages of work:

According to these instructions, you can easily make an LED lamp from a fluorescent or halogen light bulb!

Idea number 3 - LED strip for the base

If you are not so good with a soldering iron and at the same time have no idea how to assemble a circuit on fiberglass, it is better to make an LED lamp with your own hands from LED tape. In this case, instead of a driver, you can use a power supply that converts 220 Volts in the network to 12. The only significant drawback of this method is the large dimensions of the power supply, so this option is recommended if you decide to make LED lighting in the room with spotlights. You can try to collect all the bulbs for them with your own hands and connect them to a single power supply, which will hide without problems in the ceiling.

So, all you have to do is:

That's the whole instruction for assembling an LED lamp from a tape. As you can see, everything is much easier than even making a light bulb according to the generated scheme. This concludes our simple instructions, and now you know how to make a DIY LED lamp from an energy-saving light bulb, diode tape and a halogen light source! We hope that the ideas provided were useful and understandable for you!

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Is it possible to make a LED lamp (LED) powered by 220 volts with your own hands from start to finish? It turns out you can. Our tips and instructions will help you in this exciting activity.

Advantages of LED lamps

LED lighting in the house is not only modern, but also stylish and bright. Conservative fans of incandescent lamps are left with weak “Ilyich 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 watts. Advanced users have long switched to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). But LEDs bypass all their predecessors:

• the power 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 8% and 36% higher, respectively;
• the achievement of the full power of the luminous flux occurs instantly, unlike CFLs, which require about 2 minutes for this;
• the cost price - 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 almost eternal.

Dry figures confirm: LED is the future.

The design of a modern factory LED lamp

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

LED types

LED - a semiconductor multilayer crystal with an electron-hole transition. By passing a direct current through it, we get light radiation. An LED 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 the LED burns out, it must be completely replaced, repair is impossible.

There are four main types of LEDs:

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

Before proceeding with 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 rather massive external power supply. A lamp with a conventional base, designed for a voltage of 220 volts, fits any cartridge in the house.

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

Since we do not know the level of your electrical training, we cannot guarantee that you will get a properly working device at the output. In addition, you will be working with life-threatening voltage, and if something is done inaccurately and incorrectly, damage and damage may occur, for which we will not be 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 allowable value for them.

Resistors - current limiters - can be dispensed with only for low-power LEDs. You can simplify the simple calculation of the number and characteristics of resistors by finding an LED calculator on the network, in which not only data is given, but also a ready-made electrical circuit of the structure is created.

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

In the simplest driver circuit, the supply voltage is supplied through a clamping 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 a stable current even with sudden changes in the supply voltage in the network. Resistors cannot do this.

Consider 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 you to power high-power LEDs with a source of much higher voltage than is necessary for their operation. Disadvantages: large size and electromagnetic interference generated by the choke;
• 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, burned-out LEDs and driver radio components are removed, and one new design is assembled from the whole ones.

But you can make an LED lamp from an ordinary CFL. This is quite an attractive idea. We are sure that many zealous owners have faulty “energy savings” in boxes with parts and spare parts. It's a pity to throw it away, there is nowhere to apply 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 the gas discharge tube that usually fails, but not the electronic device for "igniting" it. We again put the operating electronics in the stash: it can be disassembled, and in skillful hands these details will still serve something good.

Types of socles of modern lamps

The base is a threaded system for quick connection and fixation of the light source and cartridge, 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 a pin;
   • E - threaded (developed back in 1909 by Edison);
   • F - with one pin;
   • G - with two pins;
   • H - for xenon;
   • K and R - respectively with cable and recessed contact;
   • P - focusing base (for searchlights and lanterns);
   • S - soffit;
   • T - telephone;
   • W - with contact inputs in the glass of the flask.
2. The second letter U, A or V indicates whether the lamp base is used in energy-saving, automotive or tapered ends.
3. The numbers following the letters indicate the diameter of the base in millimeters.

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

Creating an E27 LED lamp from an energy-saving one using a ready-made driver

For self-production of LED lamps, we need:

1. Failed CFL lamp.
2. Pliers.
3. Soldering iron.
4. Solder.
5. Cardboard.
6. Head on shoulders.
7. Skillful hands.

We will remake a defective LED CFL brand "Cosmos".

Step-by-step instructions for making an LED lamp

1. We find a faulty energy-saving lamp, which has been with us for a long time “just in case”. Our lamp has a power of 20W. So far, the main component of interest to us is the base.
2. We carefully disassemble the old lamp and remove everything from it, except for the base and the wires coming from it, with which we will then solder the finished driver. The lamp is assembled with the help of latches protruding above the body. You need to see them and put something on them. Sometimes the base is attached to the body more difficult - by punching dotted recesses around the circumference. Here you have to drill out the punching points or carefully cut them with a hacksaw. One supply wire is soldered to the central contact of the base, the second to the thread. Both are very short. The tubes may burst during these manipulations, so care must be taken.
3. We clean the base and degrease it with acetone or alcohol. Increased attention should be paid to the hole, which is also carefully cleaned of excess solder. This is necessary for further soldering in the base.
4. The base cover has six holes - gas discharge tubes were attached to them. We use these holes for our LEDs. Place a circle of the same diameter cut with nail scissors from a suitable piece of plastic under the upper part. Thick cardboard will work too. He will fix the contacts of the LEDs.
5. We have HK6 multi-chip LEDs (voltage 3.3V, power 0.33W, current 100-120mA). Each diode is assembled from six crystals (connected in parallel), so it shines brightly, although it is not called powerful. Given the power of these LEDs, we connect them three in parallel.

   Each LED shines quite brightly on its own, so six pieces in the lamp will provide good light intensity.

6. Both chains are connected in series.

   Two strings of three parallel-connected LEDs are each connected in series.

As a result, we get a rather beautiful design.

7. A simple ready-made driver can be taken from a broken LED lamp. Now, to drive six white one-watt LEDs, we use a 220 volt driver such as the RLD2-1.

   The driver is connected to the LEDs in parallel.

8. We insert the driver into the base. Another cut out circle of plastic or cardboard is placed between the board and the driver to avoid a short circuit between the LED contacts and the driver parts. The lamp does not heat up, so any gasket is suitable.
9. We assemble our lamp and check if it works.

We have created a source with a light intensity of about 150-200 lm and a power of about 3 W, similar to a 30-watt incandescent lamp. But due to the fact that our lamp has a white glow color, it visually looks brighter. The part of the room illuminated by it can be increased by bending the LED leads. In addition, we received a wonderful bonus: a three-watt lamp can not even be turned off - the meter practically does not “see” it.

Creating an LED lamp using a homemade driver

It is much more interesting not to use a ready-made driver, but to make it yourself. Of course, if you are good with a soldering iron and have basic skills in reading electrical circuits.

We will look at etching the board after drawing the circuit on it by hand. And, of course, everyone will be interested in messing around with chemical reactions using available chemicals. As in childhood.

We will need:

1. A piece of fiberglass foiled with copper on both sides.
2. The elements of our future lamp according to the generated circuit: resistors, capacitor, LEDs.
3. Drill or mini-drill for drilling fiberglass.
4. Pliers.
5. Soldering iron.
6. Solder and rosin.
7. Nail polish or stationery corrective pencil.
8. Table salt, copper sulfate or ferric chloride solution.
9. Head on shoulders.
10. Skillful hands.
11. Accuracy and care.

Textolite is used in cases where electrical insulating properties are needed. This is a multilayer plastic, the layers of which consist of fabric (depending on the type of fibers of the fabric layer, there are basalt textolites, carbon textolites, and others) and a binder (polyester resin, bakelite, etc.):

• fiberglass is fiberglass impregnated with epoxy resin. It has a high resistivity and heat resistance - from 140 to 1800 o C;
• foil fiberglass is a material covered with a layer of galvanic copper foil with a thickness of 35-50 microns. It is used to make printed circuit boards. Composite thickness - from 0.5 to 3 mm, sheet area - up to 1 m 2 .

LED lamp driver circuit

It is quite possible to make a driver for an LED lamp on your own, for example, based on the simplest circuit that we considered at the beginning of the article. There you just need to add a few details:

1. Resistor R3 to discharge the capacitor when the power is turned off.
2. A pair of zener diodes VD2 and VD3 for shunting the capacitor if the LED circuit burns out or breaks.

If we choose the stabilization voltage correctly, we can limit ourselves to one zener diode. If we put a voltage of more than 220 V, and choose a capacitor for it, then we will do without additional details at all. But the driver will turn out to be larger in size, and the board may not fit in the base.

We created this circuit to make a lamp with 20 LEDs. If there are more or less of them, you need to choose a different capacitance of the capacitor C1 so that a current of 20 mA still passes through the LEDs.

The driver will lower the mains voltage and try to smooth out power surges. Through a resistor and a current-limiting capacitor, the mains voltage is fed to a diode bridge rectifier. Through another resistor, a constant voltage is applied to the block of LEDs, and they begin to shine. The ripples of this rectified voltage are smoothed out by a capacitor, and when the lamp is disconnected from the mains, the first capacitor is discharged by another resistor.

It will be more convenient if the driver design is mounted using a printed circuit board, and does not represent a kind of lump in the air from wires and parts. You can make the payment yourself.

Step-by-step instructions for making an LED lamp with a homemade driver

1. Using a computer program, we generate our own pattern for etching the board according to the intended driver design. Very convenient and popular among radio amateurs is the free computer program Sprint Layout, which allows you to independently design printed circuit boards of low complexity and get an image of their wiring. There is another excellent domestic program - DipTrace, which draws not only boards, but also circuit diagrams.
   

   The free computer program Sprint Layout generates a detailed board etching diagram for the driver

2. We cut out a circle with a diameter of 3 cm from fiberglass. This will be our board.
3. Select the method of transferring the scheme to the board. All methods are terribly interesting. Can:
   • draw a diagram directly on a piece of fiberglass with a stationery correction pencil or a special marker for printed circuit boards, which is sold in a radio parts store. There is a subtlety here: only this marker allows you to draw tracks less than or equal to 1 mm. In other cases, the width of the track, no matter how hard you try, will not be less than 2 mm. Yes, and copper patches for soldering will come out sloppy. Therefore, after applying the drawing, it is necessary to correct it with a razor or scalpel;
   • print the diagram on an inkjet printer on photographic paper and iron the printout with an iron to fiberglass. The circuit elements will be covered with paint;
   • draw a diagram with nail polish, which is definitely in any house where a woman lives. This is the easiest way, and we will use it. Carefully and carefully with a brush from the bottle, draw tracks on the board. We are waiting for the varnish to dry well.
4. We dilute the solution: stir 1 tablespoon of copper sulfate and 2 tablespoons of table salt in boiling water. Copper sulfate is used in agriculture, so you can buy it in gardening and hardware stores.
5. We lower the board into the solution for half an hour. As a result, only the copper tracks that we protected with varnish will remain, the rest of the copper will disappear during the reaction.
6. With acetone, remove the remaining varnish from the fiberglass. Immediately you need to tin (cover with solder with a soldering iron) the edges of the board and the contact points so that the copper does not rapidly oxidize.

   The contact points are soldered with a layer of solder mixed with rosin to protect the copper tracks from oxidation.

7. According to the scheme, we make holes with a drill.
8. We solder the LEDs on the board and all the details of the home-made driver from the side of the printed tracks.
9. We install the board in the lamp housing.

   After all the operations carried out, you should get an LED lamp equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent lamp

Security Notes

1. Although self-assembly of an LED lamp is not a very difficult process, you should not even start it if you do not have at least basic electrical knowledge. Otherwise, the lamp you have assembled, with an internal short circuit, can harm the entire electrical network of your home, including expensive electrical appliances. The specificity of LED technology is that if some elements of its circuit are connected incorrectly, then even an explosion is possible. So you have to be extremely careful.
2. Typically, the luminaires are used at 220 V AC. But designs designed for a voltage of 12 V cannot be connected to a regular network in any case, and you should always remember this.
3. In the process of making a homemade LED lamp, the components of the lamp often cannot be completely isolated from the 220 V mains immediately. Therefore, you can be seriously electrocuted. Even if the design is connected to the network through a power supply, it is quite possible that it has a simple circuit without a transformer and galvanic isolation. Therefore, the structure must not be touched with 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 hastily acted with a soldering iron. But don't despair. Try further!

Video: learning to solder

It's strange: in our age, when the stores have absolutely everything, as a rule, inexpensive and very diverse, after twenty years of euphoria, people are increasingly returning to making homemade things with their own hands. Needlework, carpentry and locksmith skills flourished unthinkably. And in this series, simple applied electrical engineering is confidently returning.