Headlights are a standard requirement on all types of cars and car owners might be required to replace them every now and again. This may include upgrading the overall quality of their headlights, replacing broken headlights or for aesthetic reasons.
There are a number of aspects to keep in mind when you choose headlights for your car. To begin with, you need to first gain an understanding of the different components of the headlights, the differences between sealed beam headlights and headlight bulbs, along with the pros and cons of these bulbs.
What You Need To Know About LED Technology
LED produces light, as a type of diode which is a semi-conductor which controls the electricity flow. The two main parts in a diode include the n-type semiconductor and the p-type semiconductor, with a p-n junction situated between them. The negatively-charged electrons fill up the n-type semiconductor, and the positively-charged carriers fill up the p-type semiconductor. During electric currents to a diode, electrons which are charged negatively attract to the p-type positively-charged conductor.
The electrons will continuously circuit around a nucleus of the atom. In order to move outwards from this nucleus, they have to change the energy type, in a form of light or photons when crossing the p-n junctions. During these processes, light energy which illumines the LED bulbs will be created.
What You Need To Know About LED Headlight Bulbs In Automobiles
As in most applications, the LED headlight bulbs which are used in automobiles produce sufficient light required for visibility due to the series of the diodes. The LED headlight bulbs have specific features associated to their model number, style and performance.
Here is a list of 5 things you need to know before you switch to LED headlights:
- Performance
LED technology for the headlight bulbs is aimed at improving the performance in a number of ways. The LED bulbs are able to efficiently produce light and they don’t produce heat as the byproduct of the light that they produce. Just about all the energy that is consumed by LED headlight bulbs are utilized for generating light, unlike the halogen and HID technology that converts a large amount of this energy into a form of heat. In addition, less fuel will be required in order to produce light from LED headlight bulbs when compared to the other types of lighting technologies.
- Brightness
Lumens is a measurement which is utilized for evaluating light bulb brightness. A single LED headlight bulb is usually able to reach about 3000lms or higher. Yet it is still important to find out how many of these lumens are used for the actual light, as some of the luminosity will be lost in association to other forms of energy production in these lighting processes. One of the best solutions is to install additional LED projectors in the headlight assembly, to ensure the light becomes more focused instead of scattered.
- Color
Kelvins is used for measuring color for light which is produced by a light bulb and for natural light. This unit actually measure light temperature. Warm white colors are typically for the temperatures that range between 2500 to 4000 K, while cool-flu whites will range from 5000 to 8000 K. The LED headlights are usually closer to lower ends of the cool white lights, which range from 5500 to 6500 K.
- Temperature Problems
LED bulbs are classified as semiconductors, and their performance accordingly will depend on temperature. Diodes are designed to produce higher amount of light at the lower temperatures compared to higher temperatures. This means that the temperature of the LED headlamps have to remain stable to ensure the light output that is required constant and to make ensure a long life-span in the cases that they are shut-off instantly. For this reason, buyers should be taking heat dissipation of the LED headlight bulbs into consideration.
- Stability
When considering stability of the LED headlight bulbs, you would usually begin from an aspect of waterproof, shockproof and ballast. High-performance ballast which is typically connected with the LED headlight bulbs inside a box happens to be one of the important parts of the LED headlights to prevent damages to the LED lights from the voltage spikes and variations to optimize the heat protection, power efficiency and brightness output.
Shockproof will depend on the materials of the bulb and the solid-design in order to lower vibration frequencies and to accomplish a damping function. In addition, in the rainy conditions, the IP ratings will be the primary measurement to test waterproof levels of the LED headlight bulbs.
Factors To Keep In Mind Before You Buy LED Headlight Bulbs
One of the more important factors to keep in mind before you purchase car headlights is to ensure the model is compatible with your vehicle. You also need to make sure the headlights are safe, comply with the laws and appropriate when you travel.
Legality Of Car Headlights
You should also verify whether the LED headlights can be used legally on the roads. For example, you cannot just replace Halogen headlights with the HID bulbs. Instead, they will need to upgrade the headlight to make sure it carries E-Mark, CE and RoHS, which certifies that is compliant with the European standards. While in the U.S, it has to be DOT-Compliant that matches up to the transportation regulations. If you have to repair rock chips in your windshield as a result of the glare from headlight, obviously this wouldn’t be a good idea for you either.
Compatibility Of The Car And Headlights
The more important factor for most buyers when they buy new headlights is to make sure the LED headlights are compatible with the car they are driving. While in the majority of cases, these headlights are designed to be suitable for various models which include h1, h3. H7 and more, it is crucial that you have investigated this matter in order to avoid a purchase that is not worth your while. Your user manual for your car will provide information or model numbers marked on your existing headlight bulbs. You can also reference the VehiCode Bulb Finder to ensure these bulbs are suitable for your specific vehicle.
