A First: Automotive LED headlights

System
System Posts: 2,511 admin
in Solar Product Reviews & Opinions #1
Just reading in Autoplant that the soon to be available Lexus LS600hL, Toyota's luxury sedan, will be the first production vehicle in the world to have LED headlights. There will be 5 LEDs in each headlight, to provide a much wider and brighter spread than conventional headlights.
Very interesting!
"Bigger, brighter and more diverse, LEDs will lighting up the automotive industry for years to come."

Wayne
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Comments

  • nigtomdaw
    nigtomdaw Solar Expert Posts: 705 ✭✭
    #2
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    Wayne , Im also becoming a fan of LED.s Ive just installed 5 x 1 watt led downlighter bulbs in my 20 sq meter living room in the bay part 4 meters away from the wall mounted LCD TV. They give enough illumination to light the full room so you dont trip over one of my Japanese Akita 50 kg dogs but provide lovely ambient light to watch the TV in all its glory. You wouldnt easily read a book but you also wouldnt break your neck on one of my tiny 11 month old puppies LOL .

    My family came over this week from UK and all agree great sub lighting for watching the TV and safety, at 5 watts total very very satisfied. LEDs have a place in every room of the house as far as Im concerned !
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  • Ralph Day
    Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    led's are hot!

    Not literally of course.

    I just installed a Home Depot carried solar spotlight setup for the main house entrance door. Always had big floods available, but now they're only used to find the dog at night and bring him in.


    The solar panel (about 4x8inches) is above the roofline on a pole mount (broomstick) and 2 of the 3 spots...each contains 3 leds...are screwed to the soffit and pointed at the stairs and the door. This makes night-time entry safer, you can see the stairs and see to put your key in the door finally! no more cussing and trying to insert a key by feel.

    When they are operating and the steel entrance door is open the light coming through the screen door looks just like moonlight (only from the North instead of the south). For $40 you can't beat it.

    ralph
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #4
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    Yes, I agree completely with LEDs both inside and outside the house for subdued ambient lighting and I use them for that purpose already. But this headlight thing, to me, is a real major jump forward in LED lighting. These new lights must be far more powerful than anything we have ever seen before. Only 5 per headlight, so they must be extremely bright for LEDs, to be able to match, or indeed exceed the output of the headlights now available on top of the line cars. To me, this represents a true breakthrough, far beyond the dim output from common LED flashlights that claim to exceed that of regular flashlights, while in reality coming nowhere near it. This represents LED lighting coming of age.
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  • nigtomdaw
    nigtomdaw Solar Expert Posts: 705 ✭✭
    #5
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    We will have to see if mainware or vapourware but I suspect in this case probably mainware, which if right means further LED tech means cheaper better and less C02. CFL took 10 years to become a no brainer/ affordable, acceptable functionable light source LED probably 5yrs..........

    Hopefully.

    Love the forum and banter !
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  • Roderick
    Roderick Solar Expert Posts: 253 ✭✭
    #6
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    I saw an article in AutoSpies, and it wasn't clear to me that there was only one diode per light. The article said 3 lenses, but it could be 50 or 100 LED's behind each lens. It's still quite impressive to be able to use LED's for headlights.

    The article also notes that only the low beams are LED, the high beams are probably ordinary Halogen.
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  • skflyfish
    skflyfish Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #7
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights
    Wayne from NS Cana wrote: »
    Yes, I agree completely with LEDs both inside and outside the house for subdued ambient lighting and I use them for that purpose already. But this headlight thing, to me, is a real major jump forward in LED lighting. These new lights must be far more powerful than anything we have ever seen before. Only 5 per headlight, so they must be extremely bright for LEDs, to be able to match, or indeed exceed the output of the headlights now available on top of the line cars. To me, this represents a true breakthrough, far beyond the dim output from common LED flashlights that claim to exceed that of regular flashlights, while in reality coming nowhere near it. This represents LED lighting coming of age.

    I wonder if they will be able to withstand equalization voltages. I have made many nite lights out of automotive LEDs that fit in 1156 or 1157 sockets and they were fine until an equalization was done. They drew so little amperage that they tended to be on at all times, but after the equalization many of the individual LEDs were burnt out.

    Jay
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #8
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    Anything automotive in this regard, I would expect to be designed for max 14.5 volts, so EQ voltage could well be a problem. I noticed the LED replacement for the automotive #1156 has a 68 ohm resister in the base, in series with the + supply and the whole "bulb" would run basically room temp on 12 volts, but would get warm with 14.5 volts. I would expect anything over 14.5, or perhaps 14.8 to present problems. This "bulb" has 9 LEDs in 3 neat rows, all packed tightly together. I only use them at night, thus avoiding the higher voltage heating.
    Wayne
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  • Ralph Day
    Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭✭
    #9
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    Joyeux Noel Wayne,

    How long were your neighbour's lights out? Noel looked like quite a hit, coastal roads washed out, power lines down. Hope you fared well.

    rlaph
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  • skflyfish
    skflyfish Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #10
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights
    Wayne from NS Cana wrote: »
    Anything automotive in this regard, I would expect to be designed for max 14.5 volts, so EQ voltage could well be a problem. I noticed the LED replacement for the automotive #1156 has a 68 ohm resister in the base, in series with the + supply and the whole "bulb" would run basically room temp on 12 volts, but would get warm with 14.5 volts. I would expect anything over 14.5, or perhaps 14.8 to present problems. This "bulb" has 9 LEDs in 3 neat rows, all packed tightly together. I only use them at night, thus avoiding the higher voltage heating.
    Wayne

    Wayne,

    Come to think of it, I have had some burn out from absorbing voltages and not equalization voltages. My chicken coup has a 64 watt panel and small Sunguard controller and a single 12 vdc deep cell battery. I have a 12 volt timer that turns on a couple of automotive 1156 LED lights from 6:00 to 8:00 in the morning and from 5:00 to 9:00 in the evening. I can also override it and I believe I left it on for a few sunny days and they got damaged as well. I think the absorbing voltage on the Sunguard it 14.1 volts, though I have seen as high as 14.4 volts.

    I love automotive LEDs but they do have to be used carefully. ;)

    Jay
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  • nigtomdaw
    nigtomdaw Solar Expert Posts: 705 ✭✭
    #11
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    Im using mains 230 v GU10,s in the house so these are indepentdant of battery fluctuations, no dearer that 12volt MR16s in Uk
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  • quid_non
    quid_non Solar Expert Posts: 48 ✭
    #12
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights

    Hi Jay!
    Can you tell more about the 12V timer - I've been looking for one of those (at a reasonable cost) for some time.

    Also - I'm not familiar with the 12V automotive LEDs - are they available at the local auto parts store??
    Thanks
    Wayne
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  • skflyfish
    skflyfish Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭
    #13
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights
    quid_non wrote: »
    Hi Jay!
    Can you tell more about the 12V timer - I've been looking for one of those (at a reasonable cost) for some time.

    Also - I'm not familiar with the 12V automotive LEDs - are they available at the local auto parts store??
    Thanks
    Wayne

    The 12 vdc timer came from back woods solar. It was $58. Unfortunately NAWS doesn't have one that I can tell.

    The 12 vdc automotive leds I buy from Ebay. I haven't bought any in a while, but if I remember right one needs to steer clear of the ones that have LED on the side as well as the main beam.

    Jay
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #14
    Re: A First: Automotive LED headlights
    Ralph Day wrote: »
    Joyeux Noel Wayne,

    How long were your neighbour's lights out? Noel looked like quite a hit, coastal roads washed out, power lines down. Hope you fared well.

    rlaph

    Hey Ralph, just call me Slow! Just read your post after almost a year :blush:
    Here in my spot of North Eastern NS, we only lost power for ~ 6 hours. Other parts of the Province were out for many days.
    I'm waiting for a major outage, so I can light up like a Happy House on a Saturday night, while my neighbors sit in the dark. That should build up the hate. Hahahaha
    Cheers
    Wayne
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