Why choose LED lights?
The advantages of LEDs over incandescent bulbs are not even a matter of debate anymore. By using 75% less energy and lasting 25 times longer, they are quickly making traditional incandescent lighting obsolete in homes, offices, shops and factories.
But the technology has been around for over five decades. LEDs were too expensive for fleets to be able to afford the initial outlay involved in making the switch over.
That scenario has changed considerably.
The price point of LED has dropped so much in the last five years. There’s no reason anymore why fleets shouldn’t be equipped with a lighting solution that is affordable, durable, and safe.
Let’s look at the ways these light-emitting diode lamps can improve day-to-day operations in the trucking sector:
# 1: Energy Efficient
As mentioned above, LEDs are 75% more efficient than incandescent lights. Almost 95% of the energy in LEDs is converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat. In an LED strobe, the power draw is about 2.5 amps. A conventional strobe with a power unit could draw anywhere from 8-12 amps.
# 2: Environment Friendly
Less energy use reduces the demand from power plants and decreases greenhouse gas emissions.
# 3: Improved Daylight Visibility
LEDs offer significantly better visibility in daylight, which is an important safety consideration for vehicles with strobe or beacon warning lights.
# 4: Improved Night Visibility
Incandescent bulbs are severely limited by the range of the light they cast — only a few feet ahead of the truck. This means drivers have less reaction time when road conditions change at night to make potentially life-saving decisions. LEDs, in contrast, casts a much brighter light on the road ahead, and give drivers the visibility they need to operate safely in the dark. This is especially useful during the shorter days of winter, when there is plenty of traffic on the road even after sundown.
# 5: Fuel Efficiency
More than 5% of fuel consumption goes into powering a vehicle’s lights. As LEDs use less power, they can stay on for a much longer period of time without draining the battery or having to idle the engine, which saves fuel.
# 6: Durability
At 50% solid use, LEDs can last for up to 22 years. They’re a single unit or diode, which means they don’t rely on multiple moving parts like incandescent bulbs to produce light. The possibilities of failure therefore are significantly reduced.
# 7: Less Bug Attacks
Fleet trucks, which ply on the road through all seasons, feel the impact of bugs which leave corrosive stains and obstruct visibility. LEDs emit very little light in the UV spectrum, which makes them less likely to attract insects in the summertime.
At Custom Truck One Source, we’ve aligned our unsurpassed range of equipment with an equally extensive inventory of chassis and equipment parts, available in-house and for overnight delivery. Contact us to request a quote for parts, such as LED lights for your fleet, or fill out a parts request form on our Parts page.
