Seeing the light

Overcome sticker shock before ruling out LEDs

When it comes to comparing new lighting technology, most lighting experts see LEDs as the high-tech future of headlamps over high-intensity discharge (HID) technology. “LED has legs, so that’s where all the research money is going,” says Page Large, Grote Industries’ national fleet sales manager.

The low current draw of LEDs provides the ability to operate marker lights such as Truck-Lite’s Model 36 Flex Lamp while the truck is turned off without draining the batteries.

Besides longer life and instant-on capability, LEDs also have less potential for damage and include less consumable material. LED color temperature is similar to the sun, more toward blue-white than red-orange. “That means more visibility because you see more different colors reflected for the same amount of light energy or lumens,” says Brad Van Riper, Truck-Lite’s senior vice president of research and development.

While major truck lighting manufacturers see LED headlamps as a long-term solution, they also realize that LED affordability remains over the horizon for most fleets. “Our challenge is to get the cost down,” Van Riper says. The higher initial cost for LEDs yields 10,000 hours of life compared to 3,000 for halogens.

Optronics’ 4-inch-round LED stop-turn-tail light features high-quality diodes and circuitry sealed with epoxy to protect against moisture and corrosion.

HID lamps work by striking an arc of electricity that jumps across electrodes through a gas containing metal salts to promote conductivity and produce more light. Because they deliver a bright, white light of high intensity, they are considered a technological success – but unrealistic for fleets from an economic standpoint when halogens go for $25 or less, says Van Riper.

HID replacement cost averages $100 per headlight, and that’s only for designs where the ballast needed to make the light work is separate from the bulb; if combined, the price climbs closer to $300. Also, HIDs only last about as long as halogens, and both products have comparable energy consumption.

Spotlight on CSA 2010