We changed the car lights from halogen lights to LED lights, and they are definitely brighter than before.
However, if the power and color temperature of the LED lamp are not adjusted and selected properly, the lamp bowl is not well matched, and the lens is not taken care of, the degree of brightness will be limited, and the best effect will not be achieved. Good things can also harm people.
I bought a poor LED light
The power of car lights available on the market ranges from 15W to 70W. It is possible that the light is not bright enough and the power is too low.
In most cases, the greater the power, the brighter the light. However, the light efficiency of the lamp beads must also be taken into consideration. This is the key to the real brightness.
Simply put, the light efficiency refers to the efficiency of the lamp beads, how bright the light is per watt of electricity.
To give an analogy: It's like doing business. Some people earn back 20 yuan with a capital of 100 yuan; some people earn 200 yuan with a capital of 100 yuan when they get home. This is the light effect of doing business. .
In fact, in 2010, the light efficiency of high-power LEDs in the laboratory exceeded 100lm/W (lumens/watt).
However, considering the stability requirements of large-scale production and civilian use, 100lm/W has not become mainstream in the market until now.
For example: if you go to buy a lamp and see the merchant labeling it with a power of 20W and a brightness of 6000lm, that is basically nonsense.
Divide and calculate: multiply the power of 20W by the light effect of 100lm/W, which is almost 2000lm. This brightness is most likely a false standard.
What's more, some businesses will also cheat on the power, and the actual power is not as high as advertised. This happened to me when I bought a projector myself.
Therefore, it is better to give priority to big brands when choosing lights. At least the data is true. Don’t look at it. The data may not necessarily be outstanding. It is really more important than anything else. I think so.
Newly replaced LED, the color temperature is not selected correctly.
In addition to actual power and light efficiency, color temperature is also an important factor affecting visual brightness. If you feel that the LED you replaced is not bright enough, it may be that the color temperature is not selected correctly.
Simply speaking, color temperature refers to the warm and cold tones of light. Low color temperature is warm light, which is more yellow; high color temperature is cold light, which is more bluish.
Shao Maofeng of China Jiliang University (※China Jiliang University has now been renamed China Jiliang University) said in his master's thesis "Study on Photometric Characteristics and Evaluation of Road Lighting Changes with Haze".
When the haze concentration is low, the illumination transmittance comparison of LED lights with different color temperatures is as follows: 3000K color temperature LEDs are greater than 5000K, and those with color temperature are greater than 5300K.
To put it simply: lights with low color temperature have better penetration in mild haze or rainy and foggy days. But when it comes to high-concentration smog, everyone is about the same, and everything looks completely white if you look past it.
At the same time, according to a paper published by Yang Honghui and others in "Light Source and Illumination", "A Brief Discussion on the Selection of Lighting Sources in Haze Weather", it is stated above.
Light with low color temperature has a better color rendering index in hazy weather, which helps to significantly improve the lighting effect.
To put it simply: the light that looks more yellow to you is easier to be discovered and seen in the white haze. This also indirectly plays the role of signal lighting, helping pedestrians and other drivers to give early warning.
Halogen works well in rainy and foggy days, mainly because the color temperature is relatively low, not because the halogen lamp itself has any advantages in principle, or it is brighter.
We changed to LED lights and chose ones with a relatively lower color temperature, which actually produced good results.
Many common LED lights on the market have a color temperature of 6000K. This color is relatively close to natural light in cloudy weather, and is called "white" in local dialect.
The color temperature of halogen lamps is generally around 2700K. If we buy LED lights ourselves, we should try to choose lights around 5000K based on the actual situation.
I usually choose 4200K or 4300K. If I choose one above 6000K, when it rains, it will basically dazzle my eyes and be reflected back.
After replacing the LED, the lamp bowl no longer matches
Many halogen lamp headlight assemblies have a reflective bowl inside. The function is to better illuminate the light emitted by the bulb to the front of the vehicle through reflection.
We feel that the new LED is not bright enough, which may be related to the mismatch in shape and specifications of the lamp bowl.
Fan Min and others published a paper in "China Lighting Appliances", "Analysis of Light Efficiency of Reflective LED Automotive Lamps".
It is said above: The focal length, aspect ratio, LED emission position, rotation angle and other parameters of the reflective surface of reflective LED lamps will all affect the light efficiency of the entire optical system.
This is not only the case for LED car lights, but also for halogen lights.
In other words: the new LED lamp may not exactly match the design of the original halogen lamp bowl.
As long as the lamp bead is a little longer or a little shorter, and is not at the original designed focus position, the light emitted will be reflected by the reflective bowl and will be scattered, out of focus or unclear.
In this case, it is highly recommended to replace it with an LED light with a built-in lens. Because the lens itself is designed to gather light, it can also improve light divergence to a certain extent.
Moreover, if the lamp bowl that is originally a halogen lamp is directly connected to an LED lamp, the people on the opposite side will be blinded by you.
If he couldn't see clearly, wouldn't he hit your car? Don't feel proud or anything. The most annoying thing at night is the high-beam dog. Friends who agree, please give it a thumbs up.
So what is the more recommended approach?
Is there any way to upgrade my car lights with less worry and effort?
The first thing to consider is whether the manufacturer has its own original upgrade solution.
For example: Honda Fit and Civic, don’t their headlight assemblies come in high, medium or low configurations? The low-end version has halogen lights, and the high-end version has LED lights.
This kind of upgrade is convenient. Just buy a high-end one with the original assembly, and it will be fine as soon as it is "kaka"? The downside is of course it's not cheap.
If there is no original LED light assembly, it can only be replaced with the original assembly.
At this time, it is more recommended to find a professional light modification factory. At least ask first if there are any recommended solutions, if there are any successful cases, and if I can take a look at the modified car.
Because some models can just replace the light bulb, but some models don't, and you have to cut it open and make it again. For more complicated ones, you can't do it by yourself. It's impossible for inexperienced people to do it, and there are safety hazards in the process, so it's not recommended.
Moreover, some 4S stores went to them, and if you said you wanted to upgrade, they were outsourced to professional "light factories".
"Hello dear customer, you want to change the light, right? Please wait a moment, drink coffee here." "Hey, they need to change the light, come here." Anyway, the 4S store did not change it by itself.
There is a problem of incompatibility when upgrading halogen lamps to LED lamps
Therefore, in general, the brightness of halogen lamps upgraded to LED lamps is definitely better, but there are also some possibilities of incompatibility.
Therefore, if you do more homework before upgrading, or simply look at the actual cases of professional lamp modification factories, you will be more assured, the effect will be better, and generally speaking, it will be cheaper.
Why did xenon headlights lose to LED?
In addition to upgrading halogen lamps to LED lamps, in fact, some people are also upgrading xenon lamps. What is the difference between these lamps? what should I be aware of?
After we upgrade, we often find: "Hey" why is there water or fog in this headlight? Does it matter? Will there be any electricity leakage? Or is there something wrong somewhere?
This merchant told me: "Everyone is the same and needs ventilation." Should I listen to this or not?
How long does it take for the headlight shade to turn yellow? What if it turns yellow? It says online that one toothpaste is all it takes. Can toothpaste be used everywhere in the car?
- Keywords: headlights
If you want to know these, it is very simple. Just follow "Spare Tire Talking Cars" and reply to the keyword "Headlight". "Spare Tire Talking Cars" is waiting for you to play.
references
[1] Shao Maofeng. Research on photometric characteristics and evaluation of road lighting changes with haze [D]. China Institute of Metrology, 2015.
[2] Yang Honghui, Zou Jian, Li Ning. A brief discussion on the selection of lighting sources in haze weather [J]. Light Sources and Illumination, 2015.
[3] Fan Min, Tang Shuming, Huang Limin, Cai Jiayu. Analysis of light efficiency of reflective LED automotive lamps [J]. China Lighting Electrical Appliances, 2020.
