How to Select a Led Driving Light
Designed to help drivers identify potential hazards on their journey. Lights up a wider area for increased visibility, especially on country or forest roads.
Some LED lights require an external driver, while others have one internal to make replacing bulbs easier. Drivers protect the LEDs from voltage and current fluctuations and are available in different power ratings.
Color Temperature
When shopping for LED driving lights, color temperature is an important factor. This value tells you how much of a blue or yellow tint the light has. For example, a 6000K color temperature light has a white light that is closer to the natural sunlight we all know and love. This is why these are the most popular choice for many drivers.
However, not all 6000K lights are the same. Some have more of a bluish tint while others have more of a warm yellow tint. These differences in color are a result of the amount of coating that is applied to each individual LED chip. This can be changed to create different color temperatures. For instance, a blue LED die is used to produce white light and to create other colors such as green or red, a yellow phosphor coating is added on top of Led Driving Light the blue die. To create a warmer lighting, more of this coating is added while a colder color is achieved with less of it.
Measuring a bulb’s brightness by its Kelvin rating is not an accurate way to measure performance. While a brighter light does have more potential to reach farther distances, it is more important to focus on the amount of glare and reflection that a light produces. This is why measuring a light’s output in lumens is the better method for determining its performance.
Light Output
When selecting a driving light you’ll need to consider the lux and lumen figures. Lumens measure the effective brightness of a light, while lux measures the distance it can illuminate. For this reason, it’s best to consider both lux and a beam pattern when comparing lights.
ARB engineers set out to develop a new LED driving light that would out perform all competitors on the market in both the spotlight and flood beam. This was achieved by incorporating SMD LEDs and Hybrid Optics in a round pressure die cast aluminum housing that acts as a heat sink. The result is a durable and highly-effective driving light that can handle the rough conditions that are experienced in off-road driving such as constant vibrations from corrugated roads, animal strikes, and submersion in water.
The result is a small in size, yet powerful in output LED driving light that produces 528 raw lumens with a SAE-Y compliant spot and flood beam pattern. This is more than enough to outperform factory halogen driving lights and can be combined with ARB’s wide range of bull bar mounts for maximum effect. Prototypes of the new light underwent Military Specification vibration testing with both the light and the bull bar mounting system, demonstrating that it will stand up to the toughest abuse that off road driving can throw at it.
Color Rendering Index (CRI)
CRI is a standard way to measure the quality of light. It’s based on the ability of a light source to accurately display different colors in relation to a perfect reference source, which is typically sunlight. The higher the CRI, the better the color rendering.
The standard CRI of 100 was developed by comparing the performance of various lighting sources against a set of eight standard color swatches. The original swatches included pastel shades of blue, red, and green, and a variety of natural materials like fruit, meat, and fabric. Over time, lighting manufacturers have developed special CRI ratings for additional swatches, including R9 through R14, to gauge how well a light source renders red and other saturated colors.
Choosing a light with high CRI is important for businesses or homes that require accurate representation of certain colors. For example, high CRI lights are good for grocery stores or retail shops where products like fruits and vegetables need to be displayed with their true colors. In a home, high CRI lights make furniture, artwork, and decor look their best.
Most modern LEDs have a CRI in the 90s or above, which is considered high. However, there are some LEDs that have a lower CRI and still provide adequate color fidelity. If you’re unsure of what type of LED bulb to buy for your needs, we recommend reading the lighting manufacturer’s specification sheet for a comprehensive list of features.
Power Efficiency
The power efficiency of a LED driving light is determined by its ability to produce light with minimal wasted energy. This is important because it reduces the amount of heat produced by the diode and allows it to operate for longer periods of time. A higher power efficiency also Led Driving Light means that the light will consume less electricity, which can help save on energy costs and reduce emissions.
In addition to reducing energy consumption, LED driving lights are also more environmentally friendly than traditional bulbs. They emit significantly less heat and are more resistant to damage from vibration and shock. Furthermore, they require less maintenance and have a longer lifespan than conventional bulbs.
Another factor that affects the power efficiency of LED driving lights is the temperature of the LED chip. This is because the temperature of an LED’s internal junction affects its performance and characteristics, such as its forward voltage and luminosity.
The most efficient LED drivers use a flyback switching topology to control the current flowing through an LED string. This topology offers better control of an LED’s flicker and provides isolation from AC mains power. It also offers greater efficiency than linear drivers, which have a limited supply voltage range and do not take thermal resistance into account. In addition, flyback swiching circuits have a lower cost than SMPS.
