Harmonics and Reduction of Energy Consumption in Lighting Systems by Using LED Lamps

This paper proposes the study and analysis of harmonics, energy consumption and power quality of light emitting diode (LED) lamps equipped in building lighting systems. LED lamps with external (LED MR16) and internal (LED light bulb) drivers are investigated using an experimental setup to compare the results. The power quality of both LED lamps is studied by using a power quality meter to measure the generated harmonic currents from various case studies. The case study is divided into four major cases: one LED lamp is turned on with one driver, two LED lamps are turned on using the two drivers, eight LED lamps are turned on with one driver, and eight LED lamps are turned on with the eight drivers. As harmonics are related to total power factor (PF), which affects the energy savings of the building, hence, a filtering circuit to reduce harmonic current has been designed and implemented to improve power quality and/or power factor of the system. The different cases of harmonic filter insertion at the input of an LED lamp's driver are discussed and then compared with a lighting standard to show the effectiveness of the passive filtering technique used in the studied system. In addition, the obtained result can be applied to both newly built and retrofitted buildings that aim to use LED technology to increase energy efficiency and decrease energy costs, and could be a helpful guide for end-users and manufacturers in addressing and developing LED issues.