International Rectifier Compact Fluorescent Lamp Reference Design Reduces Cost by 25% and Accelerates Time-to-Market
EL SEGUNDO, CA. August 2001 - International Rectifier, IR® (NYSE: IRF) today released the IRPLCFL2 design, a complete reference design for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) using the IR2156 integrated ballast control and gate driver IC.
The reference design is a complete 42W, 110/220VAC compact fluorescent lamp ballast. The IR2156 includes high integration of protection and programmable features to eliminate 10 discrete components, decreasing manufacturing cost by as much as 25%, and accelerates time-to-market compared to previous generation solutions. The complete IR2156 CFL ballast assembly is small enough for built-in CFL ballast applications. The IR2156 CFL solution is an alternative to inefficient, self-resonating bipolar CFL designs.
The reference design uses the built-in protection and programmability features in the IR2156 such as programmable pre-heat, ignition and run characteristics that minimize electrode wear and ensures reliable operation and longer lamp life.
Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps is one of the easiest ways to conserve electricity. According to Southern California Edison (SCE), CFLs use 75% less energy than typical incandescent bulbs. In addition, CFLs can last as long as 10,000 hours, compared to common incandescent light bulbs that last approximately 750 hours.
Tom Ribarich, Director of Engineering, Lighting ICs at International Rectifier, said, "Built-in operating and protection features in the IR2156 minimize additional circuitry, and decreases overall system cost. Other operating parameters are programmable with simple component changes to accommodate different lamp types and operating voltages to increase manufacturability. This is an example of IR applying advanced power management technology to conserve energy usage."
The IR2156 CFL ballast IC embeds a half-bridge ballast driver and timing circuits into one chip. The IR2156 includes all core ballast protection functions including failure-to-strike, over-current, brownout, and filament failure. An external shutdown signal can be used for automatic reset, and shuts the ballast down in a controlled fashion.
Pricing and More Information
The IRPLCFL2 design reference design is US $125 each, and is available immediately. Documentation includes a bill of materials, application note, PCB layout and silkscreen. The reference design can be easily customized using International Rectifier's free Ballast Design Software to calculate programming component values. Ballast Design Software, data sheets, and additional information are available on the International Rectifier lighting Web site, http://lighting.irf.com/.
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