This paper proposes a circular sequential lighting control method to reduce current imbalance and luminance deviation among multiple LED modules in AC-powered LED lighting systems. Conventional fixed-sequence lighting control repeatedly prioritizes the same LED modules in every rectified voltage cycle, which leads to unequal current distribution, luminance non-uniformity, and the accelerated degradation of specific modules during long-term operation. To address these limitations, a circular sequential lighting strategy is introduced, in which the lighting order is cyclically rotated at every rectified cycle, ensuring that all LED modules experience equal lighting opportunities. A prototype AC-LED lighting system consisting of four series-connected LED modules was implemented and experimentally evaluated. The results demonstrate that, while the conventional fixed-sequence method produces a maximum average current deviation of up to 1.6 mA among modules, the proposed method equalizes the average current across all modules to approximately 17.1 mA. Furthermore, the flicker index remains at 0.13, which is comparable to that of the conventional method, indicating that luminance uniformity is improved without degradation of optical performance. The proposed circular sequential lighting control effectively distributes electrical stress, enhances luminance uniformity, and improves long-term reliability, making it a practical and efficient solution for high-quality AC-LED lighting applications.

Long lifetime, low power consumption, and environmental friendliness have enabled light-emitting diode (LED) lighting to rapidly replace conventional light sources such as incandescent and fluorescent lamps. In particular, AC-LED lighting systems can be directly powered by commercial alternating current (AC) sources; however, they suffer from significant luminance deviation caused by uneven current distribution among LED light-emitting modules. This paper proposes a lighting control method that improves flicker performance while maintaining lamp brightness and effectively reduces luminance deviation in AC-LED lighting. The proposed method reduces luminance deviation by controlling the lighting order of multiple LED light-emitting modules. Among four LED modules, only the required number of modules is continuously turned on, and the lighting priority alternates between rectification cycles. Specifically, during odd rectification cycles, LED modules are activated sequentially in ascending order (11→12→13→14), whereas during even rectification cycles, they are activated in descending order (14→13→12→11). By alternately applying continuous lighting control with opposite activation orders, the proposed reverse alternating lighting control method equalizes the current distribution among LED modules. As a result, luminance uniformity is improved, electrical stress concentration on specific modules is reduced, and the operational lifetime of the LED modules is extended compared with the conventional fixed-sequence lighting control method.

In order to spread LED lighting, LED lighting technology directly driven by alternating current (AC) commercial power has recently been introduced. Since current does not flow at a voltage lower than the threshold voltage of the LED, a nonconductive section occurs in the current waveform, and the higher the threshold voltage of the LED, the more discontinuous current waveforms are generated. In this paper, multi-LED modules are connected in series so that the threshold voltage can be adjusted according to the number of LED modules. A small number of LED modules are driven at a low instantaneous rectified voltage, and a large number of LED modules are driven at a high instantaneous rectified voltage to lengthen the overall lighting time of AC-LED lighting, thereby minimizing the luminance deviation of AC-LED lighting. In addition, the load current flowing through the LED module is adjusted to be the same as the design current even at the maximum rectified voltage higher than the design voltage, so that the light brightness of the LED module is kept constant. Therefore, even if the rectified voltage applied to the LED module changes, the AC-LED lighting in which the light brightness is constant and the luminance deviation is minimal has been realized.