Why do LED lights flicker?
LED flicker appears as brightness fluctuation or banding when recorded by phone cameras. This article explains the main causes of LED light flicker including driver performance, power ripple, dimmer mismatch and circuit issues. It also introduces professional flicker evaluation metrics for lighting buyers and manufacturers.
What Is LED Flicker and Camera Banding
Have you ever noticed unstable lighting or horizontal bands when filming an LED light with your phone? These effects can be linked to variations in light output, often described as flicker.
What causes it?
1️⃣Driver performance
A driver with insufficient current regulation can allow fluctuations to reach the LEDs.
2️⃣Power-supply ripple
Without adequate filtering, rectified AC power can produce periodic changes in brightness.
3️⃣Dimmer compatibility
A mismatch between the lamp, driver, and dimmer can cause flickering, unstable operation, or a limited dimming range.
4️⃣Electrical conditions
Voltage fluctuations, loose connections, and large loads on the same circuit can also affect lighting stability.
How should flicker be evaluated?
A phone camera can reveal banding, but it cannot reliably measure flicker severity. Camera settings and sensor readout also influence the result.
Useful metrics include modulation depth, Flicker Index, PstLM for visible flicker, and SVM for stroboscopic effects. Frequency and dimming level matter too.
For lighting manufacturers and buyers, good light quality includes stable output across the intended operating range. Driver design, filtering, and tested dimming compatibility all deserve attention
Do you check flicker performance at both full output and dimmed levels?
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