The use of LEDs in automobiles has been increasing gradually for years now. This is due to improvements in LED technology like better brightness and greater efficiency. Automotive lighting has not only made driving safer, but it has also introduced some sophisticated and complex electronic changes that present some challenges to designers. Let’s look closely at how automotive lighting fundamentals impact design and what’s new.
LED Lights for Cars: Why do we need them?
LEDs have a long life and low power consumption due to their lower heat generation. They can be used as temporary and permanent auxiliary lights to replace light sources with a short lifespan. LED Light for Cars also produce less heat, which is crucial because most of the electronics in the vehicle exist in the engine bay. As of now, incandescent lighting and halogen lighting are the only options available for automotive lighting. Due to their higher costs, LEDs are not very popular with many companies for lighting.
How do car interior led lights work?
Typically LED light bulbs serve for interior illumination. LED bulbs can be used for reading or as ambient light. Car interior LED lights work by using a small electric current run through a semiconductor material. The semiconductor material glows due to a phenomenon called electroluminescence, which involves turning electrical energy into light through the use of phosphorous materials and diodes. Comparatively, LED lights to have a white color in contrast to tungsten filament lamps which have an orange/yellow hue. Hence, this is due to the ability of an LED light to have good luminous efficacy, which is a ratio of the luminous flux to the electrical energy.
Pros of LED Lights for Cars
The biggest advantage of using LEDs in cars is that they use less power and thus produce less heat. This helps keep the engine bay cool and reduces costs related to air conditioning systems which would otherwise need to remove extra heat from the engine bay. Another advantage of using LEDs to replace incandescent bulbs is that they consume less power and produce less heat, which helps save fuel economy. As a result, the engine bay will require less air conditioning (AC) and fewer cooling fans.
The biggest advantages of using LEDs in cars are:
- Low cost compared to other lighting options
- Lower power consumption
- Less heat generated by lighting sources