Edison Bulb Life Extender (1N4004)

This article describes the Edison Bulb Life Extender (1N4004). The content is very simple, very helpful. Components in this article can help you understand better understanding of this article. For example, in this article, you can go to find and buy these components: 1N4004.

The Edsion Filament lamp may be less popular, but it is the most cost-effective light even today. It is very affordable, The light is soothing to the eyes and best of all gives a warm feeling.

Sometimes due to the mains being restored when bulb is on, or a rapid flick of switch, blows it. This may be due to the cold filament resistance which is low, allowing a huge inrush current.

The problem can be solved with a soft start based on thyristor or mosfet using PWM etc. The circuit here is a low cost solution which may help a bit in reducing the inrush cold current Protection from long duration high voltages is also required but will make circuit more complex.

Now why would anyone spend for a R-C network for a bulb, you could as well buy a new bulb. But I once got a back sprain while replacing a bulb in a hurry, So the price of the bulb alone is not the issue.

The two diodes 1A form a AC path with a switching delay of diodes, The R-C network is for soft start. The Varistor-Thermistor has a cold resistance 4.7E which reduces as it warms up. If switch is flicked rapidly or power fluctuates, then varistor cannot help as its response is slow. The 10E resistor ceramic fusible wirewound resistor and C1 does the job of absorbing .

This circuit has not been tested for long times at multiple places, so i am not sure of its performance.