Causes of LED Light Flickering and Precautions to be Taken

Today, most of the traditional light sources have been removed from use due to climate change and this has caused LED luminaires to become more and more popular and widely used. We all know that the LED luminaire is one of the most suitable options for lighting, but there is still a problem with the flickering of the LED luminaire. In fact, most light sources flicker to a certain degree.

What is tremor?

We can define flicker as "change of brightness over time". Vibration is flutter and unstable lighting for human visual sense. Fluctuations in the voltage source modulate the lighting output and then flicker appears. When flickering occurs, the illumination intensity also changes rapidly. Vibration higher than 80Hz is not easy to detect by human eyes. It creates the illusion that rotating and moving objects are static, this is called the stroboscopic effect. The stroboscopic effect is dangerous for people who operate machinery in an industrial environment. The movement of the machine will slow down or stop due to the stroboscopic effect. Persons cannot perceive the danger of operating the machine and cannot touch them, which may result in injury.

There are two types of tremors: visible tremor and invisible tremor.

Visible flicker can be detected and observed by humans. Invisible flicker is imperceptible but still harms human health. Vibration lower than 50 Hz can be detected by most people, but some people may not perceive it up to 100 Hz. Visible or invisible tremors cause problems on health. It is known that flicker of light between 3Hz and 55Hz can cause various photosensitive epileptic seizures. Most people may complain of migraines and eye spots as they are more sensitive to flicker at higher frequencies. Other defects include poor visual performance, distraction, less motivation, headaches, dizziness, mental deterioration, etc. countable. The severity of flicker effects depends on exposure time, wavelength, and individual pathology.

Brightness variation can be achieved by changing the current flowing through the LEDs. LED lighting system mainly consists of driver and electronics (such as power supply and LED load). The flickering of the LEDs is caused by the driver and its electronics.

An LED system consists of a dimmer, driver and LED fixtures. Dimmer and driver are critical for reducing flicker. Flickering can be minimized in constant and freely variable current supply. Manufacturers try to minimize flicker and optimize lighting product with acceptable flicker for different applications without increasing cost, reducing reliability and efficiency.

Bad LED Driver

LEDs are not directly connected to power. Therefore, the LED driver is the device designed to supply electrical current to the LEDs. Because the LEDs must be driven on DC current, the driver converts the AC current to DC current for the LEDs. It has constant voltage LED driver and constant current driver. The constant voltage driver provides a constant voltage load for each LED, but the current changes with the load. The constant current driver provides the original current for the LEDs. This type of driver is more ideal for supplying current. Bad driver output causes flickering as it cannot normalize and stabilize the LEDs.

Correct driver helps to eliminate flicker and achieve better lighting effect. The dimming is controlled by the driver. By choosing the right driver with the right dimming method, objectionable flicker can be avoided. The right driver reduces the risk of dangerous vibration-related health effects.

Loose Connection
Loose wiring and lighting fixture can cause flickering. It should be noted that loose wiring will result in an intermittent current supply through the LEDs, resulting in flickering.
Loose wiring and lighting fixture can cause flickering. Stable connection avoids intermittent current supply via LEDs. Stable power supply is important as the voltage may fluctuate when the LED luminaire and other devices are operating at the same time. Insufficient voltage supply causes flickering. If the light fixture is flickering, check the wiring and connection of the light fixture. Check if the plug and socket are well connected. If the problem persists, we recommend that you contact an electrician.
Choose LED Fixtures from Reliable Manufacturers
The simplest way to avoid flickering is to choose LED fixtures from trusted manufacturers. Reliable manufacturers focus not only on the quality of lighting fixtures, but also on user health. They also care about user health by aiming to minimize harmful effects such as glare and flicker.
As Solilamp, we aim to provide high quality and efficient LED lighting solution for consumers. We are always by your side with our quality products and professional team. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.