this invention is suitable for directly driving from an alternating current line voltage source an array of led lamps with a minimal amount of ancillary circuitry . most of the required circuitry is situated within an integrated circuit , which includes a full wave rectifier , transient protection , a current control transistor , a feedback control loop , and overheating protection . the integrated circuit powers a transistor circuit structured as a constant current source to energize individual groupings of leds , as well as larger configurations of leds . the invention is useful for various lighting arrangements such as luminaires , bollards , strip lights , task lights , lighting tubes , and other types of applications that use a multitude of leds powered directly by ac line voltage without the requirement of a direct current power supply . this invention may further be used with an external phase switching dimmer apparatus .