An LED light engine is a driver-integrated LED assembly intended to operate directly on line voltage power. However it is not an independent lighting system but is designed to be incorporated into a luminaire. The use of light engines simplifies the luminaire design and assembly process while facilitating future replacement and upgrade. The integrated assembly is composed of a sub-assembly of LED packages or LED arrays as well as an on-board or remote driver. Secondary optics, heat sinks and other mechanical and electrical components may be integrally built into the assembly.
Today most LED light engines adopt the driver-on-board (DOB) design in which the driver components are mounted on the same metal-core printed circuit board (MCPCB) with LEDs. DOB LED assemblies are also known as AC LED light engines because they're typically designed to drive high-voltage LEDs directly from a mains voltage without stepping the voltage down. The driver-on-board design addresses the inconvenience of the SMPS drivers which is the dependence on bulky, expensive and unreliable reactive components to regulate power. However, the design of AC LED light engines remains a great challenge as it involves a number of compromises, including efficiency, power factor correction, flicker mitigation, electrical overstresses, etc.
Today most LED light engines adopt the driver-on-board (DOB) design in which the driver components are mounted on the same metal-core printed circuit board (MCPCB) with LEDs. DOB LED assemblies are also known as AC LED light engines because they're typically designed to drive high-voltage LEDs directly from a mains voltage without stepping the voltage down. The driver-on-board design addresses the inconvenience of the SMPS drivers which is the dependence on bulky, expensive and unreliable reactive components to regulate power. However, the design of AC LED light engines remains a great challenge as it involves a number of compromises, including efficiency, power factor correction, flicker mitigation, electrical overstresses, etc.
