It is not simple to develop LED drivers that comply with current standards and can operate together with other electronic equipment. Therefore, Nordic Power Converters collaborates with FORCE Technology to make their products more robust.
Our homes, workplaces, and society are filled with electronic products. They do not exist independently of each other but interact and influence each other with noise currents on the wiring and radio waves sent through the air, which is why they must be designed with this in mind. Ideally, you should be able to turn on a new LED lamp while your mobile phone is charging and your audio system is playing, all without annoying noise in the speakers or disturbances in the charging process.
At Nordic Power Converters in Herlev, which develops and manufactures LED drivers, the company works closely together with FORCE Technology on EMC testing and standards. An EMC test shows whether a product can operate alongside other electronic devices, and this has given insight into several potential challenges, explains Thomas Andersen, one of the founders of Nordic Power Converters:
"We have now participated in a number of projects together with FORCE Technology, and it has given us knowledge we were not even aware we were missing. You always have an idea of where your product may have weaknesses, but we have also found issues we did not know about, could not read in the standards, and that our customers were not aware of either. It has given us insight into some areas that now make it possible for us to deliver even more robust solutions."
One of the projects, for example, was about testing how Nordic Power Converters’ products interact with the power grid.
"We had the power grid tested to see how it actually behaves in practice, what our products are exposed to, and what they have to withstand. That was important new knowledge," says Thomas Andersen.
Complex standards
FORCE Technology is a member of the standardization committees Electromagnetic Compatibility (S-710) and the International Special Committee on Radio Interference, S-650, and therefore has the most up-to-date knowledge of the current standards in the field. Nordic Power Converters benefits from this knowledge:
"Of course, we study the standards ourselves thoroughly to understand how they are structured. But you can read a standard three or four times and think you have understood it completely, and then on the fifth reading you might still have doubts. It can be a very complex and heavy process, and in these cases, it is great to run projects with FORCE Technology and ask the questions when they arise," says Thomas Andersen.
"The collaboration has been valuable for us because it has made our products more robust, resulting in more satisfied customers," he says.
About EMC testing
An electronic product must be able to function electromagnetically together with other electronic equipment. Otherwise, the product cannot be approved and CE marked.
With an EMC test, it is possible to test an electronic product's electromagnetic compatibility and document its emissions and robustness.
FORCE Technology performs all kinds of EMC tests: preliminary tests, self-testing, accelerated tests, traditional accredited EMC tests and can issue certified IECEE CB Scheme reports for both EMC and electrical safety.
Read about the EMC Club.
About Nordic Power Converters
Nordic Power Converters manufactures LED drivers. These are devices that control the power supply to one or more LEDs (the light emitters in the lamp) and ensure that the diodes receive the correct current, so they provide the desired light, do not overheat, and therefore last longer.
The company, which is seven years old, is based on technology from DTU and specialises in making LED drivers that are smaller than those of their competitors. This gives their customers the opportunity to significantly improve their designs, while reducing material consumption and enabling new applications.
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