Low Current LEDs!

Updated 9/5/2015, some minor updating 10/14/2024.

Use at most a few milliamps, or even a fraction of a milliamp, to power indicator lamp LEDs!

Why do this?

1. Using amount of current much less than 10-20 milliamps to power indicator lamp LEDs in battery powered equipment can allow increased battery life, and/or smaller battery size.

2. In line powered equipment, reducing LED current from 20 milliamps to 2 mA or less can save a customer 16-17 cents per LED per year assuming 5 volt supply rail voltage, 80% efficiency of power supply and 16.62 cents per KWH US national average residential electricity cost as of a time in October 2024.
The costliness of lower efficiency LEDs increases with supply rail voltage.

3. LEDs and dropping resistors produce heat. Reducing current through LEDs and dropping resistors by 8-20 milliamps sometimes means lowering the temperature of the entire product by .5 to 1 degree C, sometimes 2 degrees C. Most modems and similar "boxes" supplied by internet service and cable TV providers can run 1-4 degrees C cooler with good high efficiency LEDs. By the "usual rule of thumb" for relationship between failure rate and temperature, making a product run 1 degree C cooler decreases rate of heat-affected failures by about 7%. And achieving 4 degrees C less temperature rise reduces rate of these failures by about 24%. This includes most failures caused by aging of the product.

Now, for how to accomplish lower LED current:

"Low Current Red" low cost LEDs
The story of "High Efficiency Red" LEDs
Low Current Optimized low cost LEDs
Red LEDs with GaAlAsP and related chemistry good for 1 mA
InGaN LEDs, especially green ones, good at .2-.5 milliamp
More Advanced - Use only .04-.2 mA with pulsing

"Low Current" Red LEDs

Such low cost "low current red" LEDs are a red variant of GaP LEDs, noted for efficiency being somewhat impressive at lower currents around a milliamp. One notable factor of many of these is peak wavelength being 690 to 700 nm.

Such LEDs are "only a little dim" at 2 milliamps. Many of these do reasonably well at 4-5 milliamps, while being only a little brighter at higher currents due to efficiency decreasing as current increases past a couple milliamps or so. These are also notable for low cost, because this technology was in mass production as far back as the late 1970s.

To get such LEDs with at least 60 degree viewing angle from Digi-Key, and not all of these are always in stock there (updated 9/7/2022):

Lumex SSL-LX3044HD, 3 mm / T1, rated 6 mcd at 20 mA
Lumex SSL-LX5054HD, 5 mm / T1-3/4, rated 3 mcd at 20 mA
Lumex SSL-LX5093HD, 5 mm / T1-3/4, rated 10 mcd at 20 mA
Lumex SML-LX15HC-RP-TR, a SOT-23 style surface mount LED
Lite-On LTL-4211N, 3 mm / T1, rated 6 mcd at 20 mA.

An older wide-angle "flat-top" "Fresnel lens" LED of this chemistry has part number of TLR-147 or TLR147. That one in my experience has served well at 3-5 mA and was a classic Radio Shack item.

The story of "High Efficiency Red" LEDs

Many of these are ones of an older technology emerging around 1980 or in the late 1970s. This technology is GaAsP on GaP substrate, with high As/P ratio pushing the limits for GaP substrate as opposed to GaAs substrate. Ratio has been said to be 60% P, 40% As. This technology is a minor variation from one used to produce reddish-orange LEDs. The color is an orangish shade of red, with the "dominant wavelength" (a color specification roughly meaning hue) in the low or mid 620s of nm, often nominally 623 nm. The peak wavelength is in the 630s of nm.

More-modern brighter and more efficient LEDs with InGaAlP chemistry have similar wavelength and color specifications. The older technology of "high efficiency red" is highly available at low cost and in my experience tends to often require 3 milliamps to be "usefully bright".

Specific LEDs of this type available from Digi-Key, round 3 mm (T1) and round 5 mm (T1-3/4) with "through hole" "radial" leads, viewing angle at least 60 degrees and lower cost include:

3 mm / T1 ones:

Lumex part number SSL-LX3052ID
Lumex part number SSL-LX3044LID, notably lower cost
Lite-On part number LTL-10223W, noted as lacking a flange
Lite-On part number LTL-4221N, strangely costing more with inferior specs
Lite-On part number LTL-1CHE, lower cost
Kingbright part number WP132XID
Kingbright part number WP424IDT, 100 degree wide viewing angle flat-top
5 mm / "T1-3/4" ones: Lumex part numbers SSL-LX5063ID, SSL-LX5093ID and SSL-LX5093LID
Kingbright part number WP483IDT, 100 degree wide viewing angle flat-top

Please keep in mind that flat-top / cylindrical versions with wider viewing angles can easily require about 3-5 mA to achieve "good" brightness, and other versions with viewing angle closer to 60 degrees can easily appear dim if current is less than 2-3 milliamps or so. This particular LED chemistry tends to have efficiency maximized when current is at least 5-10 milliamps, and efficiency usually decreases significantly when current is reduced to around or under 4 millimaps.

Low Current Optimized low cost LEDs

This section refers to LEDs using chemistries dating back to around 1980 or as far back as mid 1970s and typically losing efficiency when current is reduced to a few milliamps or less, but with optimizations to improve efficiency and usefulness at lower currents in the 2-5 mA range.

Digi-Key has some offerings by Broadcom (formerly by Avago) and Kingbright in this area. (through-hole, radial, test current 2 mA, nominal wavelength in the 565 to 635 nm range). It appears to me that Kingbright makes the "viewing angle" of these somewhat on the narrow side. I have only tested in this area one, the 5 mm yellow one by Broadcom, HLMP-4719 and found it noticeably dim at 2 mA, but I found it "up to par" at 3.5 mA. High efficiency red ones (nominal wavelength 623 to 635 nm) should do well at 2 mA.

The Broadcom 2 mA ones have a rated maximum current of 7 mA.

Red LEDs with GaAlAsP and related chemistry good for 1 mA

Red LEDs with GaAlAsP "AlGaAs" generally do well at 2 mA. Some of these are even rated for performance at 1 or 2 mA. Ones characterized for performance at 2 mA should do very well at 1 mA.

Ones rated for performance at either 1 or 2 mA and that are diffused red tinted 3 mm or 5 mm types include:

Broadcom HLMP-K150 and HLMP-D150 (60-65 degree viewing angle)
WP7113LSRD (30 degree rated viewing angle)
Not rated at low current but also likely good are Lumex SSL-LX5093SRD (60 degree 5 mm), SSL-LX2573SRD (110 degree rectangular), and SSL-LX25783SRD (a larger rectangular 110 degree one). The Lumex ones have fairly low cost.

All of these have maximum continuous current of 30 mA, including the ones with ratings at lower currents as low as 1 mA.

I mention a few others in my "Short List".

InGaN LEDs, especially green ones, good at .2 - .5 milliamp

In general, green LEDs with InGaN chemistry (nominal wavelength anywhere from 518 to 535 nm) and maximum current 30 mA or less tend to do well for indicator lamp usage with current around .2-.5 mA - if the light distribution pattern is suitable. Many are bright enough to see in direct sunlight at 1.25-5 mA.

For my favorite general-purpose through-hole green ones, go here.

A green one good for viewing at greater distances when aimed horizontally is Cree C566C-GFS-CV0Z0792. Its rated viewing angle is 70 by 35 degrees. Make the wider spread horizontal. These need about 2 mA to be visible at short distances in direct sunlight.

A green one good for long distance viewing at a distance in a particular general direction, such as in a hallway or a specific distant viewing location, are Cree C503B-GCS-CY0C0791 (with lead stops) and C503B-GCN-CY0C0791 (without lead stops). Its rated viewing angle is 30 degrees. These need only about 1-1.25 mA to be visible at shorter distances in direct sunlight.

CAUTION - InGaN LEDs are static-sensitive.

More Advanced - Use only .04-.2 mA with pulsing

InGaN low power LEDs are generally most efficient at around 1.5-3 milliamps. To maintain this efficiency at lower currents, they can be pulsed. Instantaneous current should be at least 1 milliamp, preferably 1-3 mA for green or blue LEDs, 1.5-4.5 mA for white or other phosphored ones. Red, orange and yellow LEDs work better with even higher instantaneous current of 3-10 mA.

Duty cycle should be what achieves suitable brightness with a suitable peak current, can be anywhere from 1.5 to 25%, and is typically 2.5-6.25%.

UPDATE 9/5/2015: Some (maybe most) recent Nichia green low power LEDs and at least some recent Cree LEDs have efficiency remaining so high at currents as low as .06-.1 milliamp that they have only minor benefit from pulsing. For example, I have tested a Cree CP41B-GFS-CN0P0674 to produce as much light with 42 microamps of steady DC as with 28 microamps of fairly optimized pulsed DC, not including the 3-4 microamps used by the pulsing circuit.

UPDATE 7/15/2015:

My Page For Low Current LED Pulsing Circuits

Written by Don Klipstein.

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