Performance Analysis of Single-Stage LED Buck Driver Topologies for Low-Voltage DC Distribution Systems

Abstract

The demand for lean protein is the main reason for raising domesticated birds in poultry farms for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food. In these poultry farms, artificial lighting system is an essential factor for the success of the commercial production of egg layers and broilers. Lighting loads connected to the existing AC system requires DC power. Nearly 25% of the total power consumed in India is by lighting loads. Therefore, low-voltage DC distribution system is the new requirement of electrical network to improve energy conservation. In this paper, an energy efficient single-stage LED driver topology is proposed as a better alternative to fluorescent lights used in poultry farms. The proposed topology is a phase-shifted buck converter with reduced size of passive components. The converter is mathematically modelled and designed for a power of 24 W LED lights. An experimental prototype is developed for the proposed converter and the results are validated in terms of cost, energy savings, and energy efficiency with various other LED driver topologies like conventional buck converter and interleaved buck converter. Further to justify the outcome of the proposed LED driver, a case study is also done for poultry farms.

Keywords:

• LED driver
• Phase-Shifted Buck Converter (PSBC)
• Digital controller
• Dimming control
• Energy savings

Acknowledgments

The first author gratefully acknowledges the “VIT,” Chennai and the management of “Bharamathi farm” for the support received because of which the work reported in the paper was possible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

R. Srimathi

R Srimathi received the BE degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India, and MTech degree in power electronics and drives from SASTRA University, Thanjavur, India. She is currently pursuing PhD and also a senior lecturer with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, VIT, Chennai, India. Her research interests include smart LED lighting systems, energy savings in buildings, power converters for DC microgrids, mathematical modelling of converters, control techniques for converter. R Srimathi is a member of the IEEE Power Electronics Society. Email: [email protected]

S. Hemamalini

S Hemamalini received the BE degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, India, and both MTech and PhD degrees in power systems from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India. She has teaching and research experience of about 20 years. She is currently a professor with the School of Electrical Engineering, VIT, Chennai, India. Her current research interests include power system optimization, renewable energy, microgrids, power electronics applications in power systems, reliability and protection in microgrids, and electric vehicles. Dr Hemamalini is a member of the Power and Energy Society and the IEEE Power Electronics Society, and a Lifetime Member of the Indian Society for Technical Education. Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]