When choosing extra lights for your transport car, it can be difficult to know which extra light is right for you and your car. Watt, lumen and lux are values used when measuring light, but none of these values can speak of the absolute most important thing; that you get the light where you want it. To get an understanding of what the light image looks like, we recommend that you look at the illustration images, the so-called Isolux diagrams, which show where the light ends up.
If you travel on roads with little traffic and with long straight distances, you should choose an extra light that reaches far ahead. However, it can be important not only to look at how far the light reaches. Our opinion is that you should have a light with a width of about 30 meters to provide plenty of light in the ditch and forest, and which reaches around 75-200 meters in front of the car. In good conditions, the reaction time plus the braking distance is 70 meters from 100km / h and it takes about 3 seconds to travel 100 meters at the same speed. Based on this calculation, the light image should be wide and have enough light for 6 seconds ahead to detect wildlife and other obstacles. The best light image for this is Combo Beam, it has lenses for a relatively wide light image but at the same time it has some lenses that cast the light longer. There is also a variant called Spot, which casts the light further. It is tempting to have a good extra light, but also keep in mind that your eyes get used to seeing in the dark. If you have a fantastically good high beam and then turn it off, your eyes have gotten used to the strong light. This means that your vision deteriorates with the low beam as the visibility is limited. So, something in the middle is best.
ECE 112
When buying an auxiliary light, it is important that it is marked with ECE 112. It is a European standard that defines auxiliary lights. If the light does not have this marking, there is a risk of fines and remarks during inspection.
Values used to measure light
Watt is a value that has been used to measure light since the time of the light bulb. Watt tells you how much the lamp consumes, but this device is often misused when writing the theoretical wattage on the LED chip. Often you do not run the conductors on this effect because it gets too hot. So, the best thing is to have an extra light that has as little wattage as possible but that provides as much light as possible.
Lumens are a good way to measure the amount of light. However, it is slightly irrelevant on an auxiliary light where you should instead look at where you control the light. A lamp can have thousands of lumens but no lenses, which means that a lamp with only a few 100 lumens, but which has good control of the light, can work much better.
Lux is a value that describes how bright a light shines at a certain distance, which means that it can be used to compare different lights against each other. One lux is often used to show how far a light reaches, but it is too low for us to use it. It takes about 10 lux to identify an animal or a human without a reflex.
Kelvin is the temperature of the light. A light bulb with a value of 3000k is perceived and called warm white. If the value is 6000k, it is instead cold white. Most manufacturers of auxiliary lights use high Kelvin numbers as the colder light is perceived as stronger. But the colder the light, the more reflection you get back. For example, the reflection from a road sign. By choosing a slightly warmer light, you can therefore avoid being as disturbed by reflections.
What are reference numbers?
Simply explained, the reference number tells you how far a headlight radiates the light. The larger the reference number, the longer the light radiates. In the ECE regulations, there is a limit of 50, so there are some lamps with two cables, where one of them meets the requirements and one does not.
Placement and installation
Right now, it is popular to place the extra light in the lower grill, which looks good, but which entails a disadvantage. When the road is uneven, you get a lot of shadows, and it can happen that you get motion sickness. Another location that many people use is on the roof of the car, which is preferred when driving on an uneven road. However, the light can hit the hood and you can be disturbed. A light on the roof of the car can also be difficult to use in rain and snow. Which placement is best then? It is up to you as a driver, but the most comfortable light is placed at the same height as the original lights on the car or in the area between the original light and your eye level. But it can be difficult to mount at eye level. When installing an auxiliary light, it is important to know where the car's sensors are located and if you need a Canbus reader to find the signal that will activate the light. It varies with which car model you have but often also varies depending on what equipment the car has. At Work System, we help you find the right equipment.
