Choosing LED lights

In this article we're going to focus on the technical details to help you when choosing the right LED lights for you & your 4x4.

What is a LED?

The LED (Light Emitting Diode) are now fitted on new vehicles, especially for daytime running lights (mandatory since 2011). It offers three main advantages: ultra-fast ignition, low power consumption and a long life (equivalent to that of the car). LED lighting does not use a bulb, give high intensity output and are highly efficient (more Lumens per Watt). The light is described in terms of "colour temperature" which is measured in degrees Kelvin.

Lumens are used to indicate the light output of an LED bulb.

Lumens = luminous flux

Lumens (lm) are a measure of the amount of total visible light from a lamp or light source. The higher the number of lumens, the brighter the bulb / lamp.

LEDS - more light - less energy (Watts).

LED lamps consume less energy for more light output. For example, a 6.5W LED bulb will produce a similar light to a 50W halogen bulb. This translates as 87% less energy for the same amount of light. With LEDs, energy is transformed into light and not into heat. Thanks to constant innovation, we can now consume less and less energy and we will produce more and more lumens for less Watts.

When choosing an LED headlight, be careful too consider the colour temperature and not just the amount of light it emitted (Lumens). This is expressed in Kelvin and tells you about the quality of the light. That is to say, both its colour and the effect it produces. Kelvin (K) measures the color of light perceived by the human eye.

5000 K is daylight, 2000 K is a warm (amber) color.

One of the first things to look when light is described as tough, waterproof, etc is its international protection index, known as the IP Rating. This is a code consisting of the letters IP followed by one or two digits. The two most common indicators for electronic devices are IP67 and IP68.

IP codes are standards established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). According to the IEC, these codes are used to designate the amount of protection against solid and liquid intrusion. The first digit of the IP code represents the degree of protection against the intrusion of solid foreign objects such as fingers or dust. This index ranges from 0 to 6. The second digit of the code represents the degree of protection against the intrusion of moisture with an index ranging from 0 to 8.

The format of the index given by the IEC 60529 standard, for example: IP 67. The IP is followed by two numbers:

1st digit (ten) = protection against dust.

2nd digit (unit) = protection against water and liquids.

The IP67 standard corresponds to a product that is totally dust and waterproof to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes.

The IP68 standard corresponds to a product that is totally dust and waterproof to a depth greater than one meter for 30 minutes.

Spot or flood:
Spot is concentrated further reaching beam pattern;
Flood is wider beam pattern used to illuminate broadly and not as far.

Combo:
This kind of LED light bar or lamp combines central spot type LEDs with flood style LEDs.

Equip'addict LEDs

Osram LEDs

Lazer LEDs

Various LEDs & accessories

Various LEDs

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