A driver circuit for coupling an electromagnetic ballast to a light circuit comprising one or more light emitting diodes, the driver circuit comprising - a rectifier bridge (11-14) with an input for exchanging a first current signal with the electromagnetic ballast and with an output for providing a second current signal to the light circuit , and - a protection circuit (21-24, 25-27) for protecting the electromagnetic ballast against one or more parameters of the first current signal obtaining a value larger than a threshold value, characterized in that the driver circuit further comprises a further switch arranged to control an amount of power supplied to the light circuit , wherein in a non-conducting mode of the further switch , the second current signal flows via a diode to the light circuit and is further used for charging a capacitor and wherein in a conducting mode of the further switch , the second current signal flows through this further switch to ground, and the light circuit gets its power only from the charged capacitor , wherein the parameter is an average value of a rectified version of the first current signal, and the protection circuit comprising a detector for detecting the average value of the rectified version of the first current signal and for providing a detection result if the average value exceeds the threshold value, and comprising a switch for, in response to the detection result, interrupting the second current signal; or wherein the parameter is a peak value of the first current signal, and the protection circuit comprising a detector for detecting the peak value of the first current signal and for providing a detection result if the average value exceeds the threshold value, and comprising a switch for, in response to the detection result, interrupting the second current signal. - a rectifier bridge (11-14) with an input for exchanging a first current signal with the electromagnetic ballast and with an output for providing a second current signal to the light circuit , and - a protection circuit (21-24, 25-27) for protecting the electromagnetic ballast against one or more parameters of the first current signal obtaining a value larger than a threshold value, characterized in that the driver circuit further comprises a further switch arranged to control an amount of power supplied to the light circuit , wherein in a non-conducting mode of the further switch , the second current signal flows via a diode to the light circuit and is further used for charging a capacitor and wherein in a conducting mode of the further switch , the second current signal flows through this further switch to ground, and the light circuit gets its power only from the charged capacitor , wherein the parameter is an average value of a rectified version of the first current signal, and the protection circuit comprising a detector for detecting the average value of the rectified version of the first current signal and for providing a detection result if the average value exceeds the threshold value, and comprising a switch for, in response to the detection result, interrupting the second current signal; or wherein the parameter is a peak value of the first current signal, and the protection circuit comprising a detector for detecting the peak value of the first current signal and for providing a detection result if the average value exceeds the threshold value, and comprising a switch for, in response to the detection result, interrupting the second current signal. <EOS>