The PWM for LEDs for current control is often used when resistors would make it too expensive. Most LEDs have a ability to handle a lot of current for a short period in time. If you average the on/off time the average power rating of the LED is within specs.
Whether you’re using them for indication, communication, lighting, or just for some added cool factor to a project, all LEDs have one thing in common: they are unable to regulate current. Without a limited current flow, LEDs will eventually fail. Sometimes catastrophically. What is needed is a means to limit the current that flows through the LED. Resistors offer an expedient means for limiting the current through an LED to safe levels, but they have two downsides: 1. Resistors are inefficient: A resistor converts all the electrical energy it consumes into heat. Favorite 68 Introduction LEDs are all around us: In our phones, our cars and even our homes. Any time something electronic lights up, there's a good chance that an LED is behind it. They come in a huge variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, but no matter what they look like they have one thing in common: they're the bacon of electronics. UUy8a18.