: >> For automotive use, filament type lamps are fine, the time it takes to : >> fully illuminate is f*ck all compared to the reaction times of the fella : >> behind you. I dont think the additional millisecond will make any : >> difference what so ever! : >>
: >> But as far as longevity LEDs are the way to go, should be compulsary for : >> every Taxi on the world. : >
: > For auto use if set up properly they will be either on or off, : > which is different than incandescent bulbs which dim with age. : >
: > There is a reason LEDs are being increasingly used world wide : > in traffic lights and motor vehicles. Retofit has to be an : > entire lighting unit replacement tho : >
: > I'd go with HID for headlamps and LED for everything else, : > although LED has been used for headlamps. : : **A couple of years ago, I said that LEDs would never be much use for : headlamps (well, not in the next few years anyway). I've been forced to : revise that opinion. Things have moved very quickly. Cree now have white : LEDs with an output capability of around 100 Lumens/Watt. This is close to : HID lamps and LEDs have the potential to be significantly less expensive and : more robust. A good Halogen is around 25 - 30 Lumens/Watt, so all the LED : guys need to do is increase power levels. This can be done with multi-chip : arrays, but heat sinking remains a stumbling block. A 15 Watt LED gets : damned hot. You've got a 2 sq mm chip, with 100 sq mm of heat sink! Heat : pipes and fans will address some of the issues. Still, if they manage 200 - : 300 Lumens/Watt in the next few years, you can kiss halogens goodbye. : Especially those horrible (domestic) downlights. In fact, at 300 : Lumens/Watt, there's little point in bothering with HID lamps in automotive : applications. : : Trevor Wilson :
20 years ago a 12volt halogen downlight (lamp only) was approximately $8.00. I see now that the LED array units are down to $5 already. Now you can buy four times as many for the same price. (You have to take into account that one transformer can now run many LED array lamps). and get a nicer colour output while your at it.
Id imagine that modern cars may get like the old jags (I think that they were Jags) where all output points (interior) were fed via Fibre optic and you only had a single lamp running the lot. How simple would that me now. At the press of a button change all dash colours out of a single LED.
Its getting a lot more efficient to use LED now that the technology has improved thats for sure.