Mains input LED bulbs or into the mainstream of future market demand

LED bulb manufacturers are developing 120/230VAC input LED bulbs and 12VAC input LED bulbs (such as MR16 bulbs and similar products), each LED bulb has a very good reason for rapid development.

MR16LED bulbs have a huge advantage over CFL bulbs because CFL bulbs cannot be made very small. For this reason, LED-based MR16 bulbs are more energy efficient than any other technology. Compared to today's CFL bulbs (even if it is doing better in the future), the 120/230VAC input MR16 LED bulb has the best energy efficiency. The main drawback of MR16 LED bulbs is the electronic transformer. Most of today's installed MR16 LED bulbs use an electronic transformer instead of a magnetic transformer to generate 12 VAC from 120/230 VAC. The problem is that the electronic transformer is designed for halogen lamps, so most electronic transformers usually cause Led Lamp flicker problems. This incompatibility with some existing infrastructure may make them more difficult to accept.

Another limitation is heat dissipation: Due to their small size, MR16LED bulbs cannot dissipate much heat. For this reason, the power of MR16LED bulbs is limited to around 5W, which makes them rarely used to replace halogen MR16 lamps today. The 120/230VAC MR16 LED bulbs are larger, so they can dissipate more heat. All in all, I think the recent 120/230VAC input LED bulbs will be the mainstream (60-70% market share), and the rest will be 12VAC input LED bulbs. In the long term, as LED lighting becomes more popular in the home market, the ratio of 120/230VAC input LED bulbs may increase (12 VAC input LED bulbs will be less), and newly installed LED bulbs will avoid the use of 12VAC transformers. The power is taken directly from the 120/230VAC power supply.

The recently developed 120/230VAC input LED driver is getting a very positive review from the market. The solution developed based on the MAX16834 offers outstanding dimming performance, allowing LED bulbs to be dimmed from 0 to maximum brightness using standard TRIAC dimmers without flicker. They can also be dimmed with digital chamfer dimmers like Lutron Maestro, which is a very rare performance. In addition, these solutions can be properly designed without the use of electrolytic capacitors, which can extend the life of LED bulbs, as electrolytic capacitors are often the first component to fail in LED bulbs. For 12VAC input applications, we have developed a unique solution that can solve the problem of electronic transformer compatibility. With its active PFC topology, it allows LED bulbs to operate without flicker when working with most electronic transformers, and can provide greater than 7W output with either buck-boost or boost topology. In addition, it does not require electrolytic capacitors, so its life is greatly improved.

Overall, I don't think we are competing with Taiwan and mainland LED driver suppliers because we are concerned about the need to get higher performance markets from drivers such as flicker-free dimming and compatibility with electronic transformers. Of course, over time, we will increasingly compete with suppliers in mainland China and Taiwan.