12.00 Volts to 10.00 Volts LED Bucker
Never a dull moment. Genuine 10 watt LED chips (they need a heatsink) are not 12.00 volts capable. Driven much higher than 10.00 volts, light output stays the same but heat increases as dramaticall...
Forum Discussion
We like LEDs because they save energy, but any device you add will reduce the overall efficiency. The added diodes will dissipate (waste) power by the product of the current through them by the voltage dropped across them. Drop two volts with diodes to 10V at 10 W, and I calculate 2 W dissipated by those diodes. Switching converters get around this little detail by switching quickly from off (little current) to on (little voltage drop). Still some loss of course, but I expect a good quality switching converter would provide the best efficiency.
