The scope of LEDs is huge today and is constantly expanding. But not so long ago, this device could only be found in display schemes. It was not designed for a heavy load. More and more powerful devices are being developed that can work in the field of lighting. There were spotlights and lamps based on powerful LEDs. They are used in the automotive industry, participate in road lighting and regulate traffic using powerful traffic lights. Appeared household appliances, which are a good analogue of existing lighting devices. LED lights begin to appear in our apartments, on landings and in offices.
The unusual properties of LEDs have long attracted the attention of designers. In the automotive
industry ,
parking lights and brake
lights are used based on these devices. One of the directions in car design is the replacement of obsolete lamps inside the cabin with LEDs. They are also widely used for display on the
dashboard and
interior lighting. The smooth inclusion of LEDs is one of the promising solutions in car tuning. For example, the light in the cabin can gradually light up or go out, respectively, when opening or closing the doors. Or the backlight on the control devices can smoothly turn on / off when activating any device, for example, side lighting.
It’s easy to arrange the smooth on of the LEDs, for this you need to assemble a small circuit. If the load
power consumption is small, then you can use a simple polar capacitor, soldering it parallel to the lighting device. Do not forget about the polarity (the positive terminal of the capacitor must be connected to the anode wire of the LED). Negative, respectively, with the cathode. Capacitor may explode if connected incorrectly! Also pay attention to the maximum voltage at which such a circuit works. It must not exceed the permissible voltage of the capacitor.
Having correctly assembled the circuit, you can immediately see the smooth inclusion of LEDs.
It is not recommended to increase the
capacitance of the capacitor by more than 2200 MKF, since exceeding this value will lead to rapid wear of the switching equipment. The fact is that when voltage is applied to the circuit, the capacitance begins to charge. At the first moment of time, a decent starting current occurs, which can damage the relay contacts. The aforementioned capacitance of the capacitor allows for the smooth inclusion of LEDs with a delay of up to 3-5 seconds. This happens exponentially, that is, initially you get about 20-40 percent of the lighting in the cabin. Within a few seconds after this, the LEDs smoothly turn on to the nominal mode of their operation.
To work with more powerful lighting devices, one capacitor is not enough. The smooth switching on of such devices is organized using circuits where the output stage, assembled, for example, on transistors, controls the consumed current of the LEDs. The time delay in this case is realized by various electronic circuits.