The driver is the least glamorous component in an LED installation and the one most likely to end a project early. LEDs themselves routinely last 25,000–50,000 hours. A driver run at its limit, or in a hot sealed void, can fail in two years. Choosing it properly costs a few euros more and saves the whole job.
Constant voltage or constant current?
Constant voltage drivers output a fixed voltage — usually 12 V or 24 V — and let the load draw the current it needs. This is what LED strip, most magnetic track systems and many modular fittings use. If your product is specified in volts, you need constant voltage.
Constant current drivers output a fixed current in milliamps (350 mA, 700 mA and so on) and vary the voltage. Most downlights, panels and integrated fixtures use these, and they very often come supplied with the correct driver already matched. If your product is specified in mA, you need constant current, and you must match the current exactly.
The two are not interchangeable. Fitting the wrong type is the most common and most expensive mistake.
Size it with headroom
Add up the wattage of everything on the circuit, then choose a driver rated at least 20% above that figure. Four 12 W modules total 48 W, so use a 60 W driver rather than a 50 W one. A driver held permanently at 100% load runs hot, and heat is what kills the electrolytic capacitors inside. Running at roughly 70–80% of capacity is the sweet spot for lifespan and efficiency.
Dimming
A dimmable fixture needs a dimmable driver and a compatible wall dimmer. Three things have to agree. The common protocols:
- TRIAC / mains dimming — works with an ordinary wall dimmer, cheapest, but prone to flicker and buzz if components are mismatched
- 0–10 V — a separate low-voltage control pair; reliable, common in commercial installations
- DALI — addressable digital control; the standard for larger buildings where zones and scenes matter
- PWM — typical for low-voltage strip and RGB controllers
Putting a non-dimmable LED on a dimmer circuit will damage it. If a product does not say dimmable in its specification, it is not.
Where the driver lives
Ventilation matters. A driver sealed inside an airtight plasterboard void with no airflow will run hot and die early. Give it space, and keep it away from insulation.
Access matters. Assume the driver will fail before the LEDs do, because it probably will. Anywhere you cannot reach without cutting a hole in a ceiling is the wrong place.
Match the IP rating to the location. An IP20 driver is fine in a dry ceiling void. Outdoors, in a garden, or anywhere damp, it needs to be IP65 or fitted inside a sealed enclosure. Our range includes IP-rated, DIN-rail, ultra-slim and plug-in versions for exactly this reason.
The short version
Match the type, match the voltage exactly, leave 20% headroom, confirm dimming compatibility across all three components, and put it somewhere you can reach. Do that and the driver becomes the boring component it is supposed to be.