More About LED Switching Power Supply

A power supply is an electrical device to convert the electric current coming from a power source to the voltage value needed for powering a load, like a motor or an electronic device.

Two main designs for power supplies are a linear power supply and a switching power supply.

Linear: A linear power supply design with a transformer steps down the input voltage. After the rectification the voltage is turned into a direct current voltage. Then the voltage is filtered to improve the waveform quality. Linear power supplies with linear regulators can maintain a constant voltage at the output. These linear regulators dissipate any extra energy in the form of heat.

Switching: A switching led power supply design is based on a newer methodology to solve many of the problems related to the linear power supply design, including transformer size and voltage regulation. For the switching power supply design the input voltage is no longer reduced; rather, it’s rectified and filtered at the input. Then the voltage passes through a chopper. The chopper converts it into a high-frequency pulse train. Before reaching the output, the voltage is filtered and rectified once again.

How Does a Switching Power Supply Work?

For many years, linear AC/DC power supplies have been converting AC power from the utility grid into DC voltage for operating home appliances or lighting. The necessity for smaller supplies for high-power applications means linear power supplies have become relegated to some particular industrial and medical uses, where they are still needed because of their low noise. But switching power supplies have become popular because they are smaller, more efficient, and are capable of handling high power.