Introduction
Dimmers are usually associated mostly with the AC fan circuit to vary the speed of the fan. However, it can also be used with various other appliances, AC or DC. So, the way you change the fan speed of your room, you can also change other things, maybe the speed of the motors, etc. But this article is about changing the intensity of light.
So, in this tutorial, we are going to make an “LED Dimmer Circuit with 555 Timer IC”. The 555 timer IC is the most widely used IC, having 8 pins, and is widely utilized in the applications of timers, oscillators, and pulse generation circuits. Here we are also using this to generate PWM pulses.
Hardware Components
The following components are required to make LED Dimmer Circuit
| Sno | Component | Value | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | IC | NE555 timer | 1 |
| 2. | MOSFET | IRFZ44 | 1 |
| 3. | Powerful LED | – | 1 |
| 4 | Potentiometer | 10-50k | 1 |
| 5. | Diode | 1n4007 | 2 |
| 6. | Resistor | 1k | 2 |
| 7. | Ceramic Capacitor | 100nF ,10nf | 1,1 |
NE555 IC Pinout
For a detailed description of pinout, dimension features, and specifications download the datasheet of NE555 IC
IRFZ44 Pinout
For a detailed description of pinout, dimension features, and specifications download the datasheet of IRFZ44
LED Dimmer Circuit
Working Explanation
In this LED Dimmer Circuit, 555 timer works as an astable multivibrator and generates PWM pulses. The circuit includes the timing components like Resistors, potentiometer, and capacitor Thus, the potentiometer is there to adjust the duty cycle of the PWM signal. The higher the duty cycle, the greater will be the light intensity, the light intensity will be lower when the duty cycle would below. At the trigger pin, the diodes are used to bypass the cycle of a wired potentiometer during the charging of IC in an astable mode and also to manage the constant frequency irrespective of the duty cycle. At the output of an IC, MOSFET is connected to run the powerful LED.
Application and Uses
- The circuit can be used in headlights.
- Ring lights can utilize this for their circuits.
- This circuit can also be in bedroom lamps.
- The LED lights change the intensity.
