By Mark Stansberry, eHow Contributor
Instructions
- 1Determine the LED forward voltage. Look at the manufacturer's data sheet and find the specification for the typical forward voltage. This is a close approximation to the voltage across the diode. Alternatively, measure the voltage drop across the LED when it is lit with a voltmeter. Otherwise, just estimate the forward voltage based on the color of the LED. Use 1.8 volts for a red LED, 3.5 volts for a white LED, 3.6 volts for a blue LED and 2.1 volts for a green, orange or yellow LED.
- 2Determine the electrical current flowing through the LED. Look at the manufacturer's data sheet and find the typical electrical current associated with the typical forward voltage. This electrical current is a close approximation to the current through the diode. Alternatively, measure the electrical current through the LED with an ammeter if you want an exact value. Otherwise, just roughly estimate that the current through the LED is around 20 milliamperes.
- 3Calculate the LED power. Multiply the voltage across the LED by the current through the LED. Use the result obtained in Step 1 for the voltage and the result obtained in Step 2 for the current. For example, for an LED that has typical forward voltage of 2.1 volts with an associated typical current of 20 milliamperes, calculate that the LED power is 42 milliwatts, since 2.1 multiplied by 0.02 is 0.042. Remember that power in watts is equal to current in amperes multiplied by voltage in volts, and that 1000 milliwatts is equal to one watt and 1000 milliamperes is equal to 1 ampere.
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