The Future of Car Light's

 

     Car lights have come a long way since the first cars began to appear, first with gas lanterns, followed by various means of being seen by pedestrians and other road users and lighting the way at night.

 

     But what of the future. What better way of 'lighting the way' will we have on our mode of transport.

     As with the different types of lighting technology available for the homes such as the incandescent and fluorescent technology, car lighting has its own set of technology that is not necessarily uniquely used in cars but proves to be very efficient in car lamps.

      The three major light technologies widely used today are that of.

  •                  LED (Light Emitting Diode)
  •                  Halogen
  •                 HID (High Intensity Discharge) /Xenon

 

            HID & LED technologies will continue to gain ground in vehicle bulbs and lighting assemblies throughout 2009.

      

      In headlights, HID lamps are expected to replace halogen units in the mainstream. Models will come in a wider selection of bulb types and sockets to fit most cars.

 

           Conversion kits will be easier to install. Australia, Asia, South America, North America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East will be the target markets of these products.

 

           The limiting factors with the LED head light presently include, high system expense, regulatory delays and uncertainty, glare concerns related to the output spectrum of white LED's, and logistical issues created by LED operating characteristics. LED's are commonly considered to be low-heat devices due to the public's familiarity with small, low-output LED's used for electronic control panels and other applications requiring only modest amounts of light.

            However, LED bulb's actually produce a significant amount of heat per unit of light output. Rather than being emitted together with the light as is the case with conventional light sources, an LED bulb's heat is produced at the rear of the emitters. The cumulative heat of numerous high-output LED emitters operating for prolonged periods poses thermal-management challenges for plastic head lamp housings.

            In addition, this heat buildup materially reduces the light output of the emitters themselves. LED bulbs are quite temperature sensitive, with many types producing at 30 °C (85 °F) only 60% of the rated light output they produce at an emitter junction temperature 16 °C (60 °F).    Prolonged operation above the maximum junction temperature will permanently degrade the LED emitter and ultimately shorten the device's life. The need to keep LED junction temperatures low at high power levels always requires additional thermal management measures such as heat sinks and exhaust fans which are typically quite expensive.

 

      LED light will remain the trend for interior and exterior auxiliary lighting systems. Research on these for forward illumination will also continue to advance, mainly on boosting lumen output, meeting luminance requirements and managing heat emission.

      LED head lights are expected to be available commercially within the next two years.