Car LED light bulb color temperature-- comfort and safety

COLOR TEMPERATURE SPECIFICATIONS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUTOMOTIVE BULBS

As we all know, the common types of general car bulbs are halogen lamps, HID, and LED lights. The following will describes the color temperature specifications of the three bulbs and briefly describes the impact of color temperature on our perception.

• Halogen bulbs: color temperature is generally between 3000K and 4000K, usually not up to 5000K. This is because car halogen bulbs need to have a higher brightness and intensity to ensure better lighting and visibility when driving at night. The higher color temperature may reduce the brightness and life of the bulb, but also increase energy consumption and heat, so the color temperature of the car halogen bulb is generally controlled in the range of 3000K to 4000K, to adapt to the needs of the car driving.

• LED Bulbs: color temperature range is relatively wide and can be adjusted as needed. Because of its long life, high brightness and high performance, it is less affected by the color temperature and has a wide range of adjustable color temperature. Generally speaking, the color temperature of white LEDs is around 5000K, and the color temperature of blue LEDs is slightly higher.

• HID bulbs:usually use a higher color temperature, generally between 4300K to 6000K, there are some models will use a higher color temperature, such as 8000K or 10000K.

Besides, our eyes respond differently to different light colors. Light with a higher color temperature makes light feel brighter and clearer, improving our alertness and cognitive ability. However, higher color temperature bulbs may produce brighter light and cause more glare (when sunlight or strong lights hit the human eye, they produce strong reflections and flashes of light, causing the phenomenon of glare). This will make other drivers on the road at night feel uncomfortable, and it will be difficult to see the objects and scenes ahead clearly for a while, and may even lead to accidents. And while light with a lower color temperature can promote relaxation and sleepiness without the risk of causing glare, it may not be as bright and effective in illuminating the road ahead. This may also lead to unexpected situations ahead when the driver does not receive timely information and is not always alert, also risking an accident.

Therefore, people usually prefer to choose car bulbs with a color temperature between 4300K and 6000K for headlights, because this range strikes a balance between ensuring good visibility and reducing glare.

Considering the above factors, I recommend LED bulbs.

Firstly because of the wide range of color temperatures available for LED bulbs. 

Secondly, compared with halogen lamps, LED bulbs have a more stable color temperature. Because the color temperature of the light bulb will be changed by the temperature of the filament caused by the voltage input, the voltage input cannot be guaranteed to be stable during driving, and the temperature around the light bulb will become higher or lower, so the color of the car light changes according to the temperature at which the bulb is operating. However, LED bulbs are less affected by this, because LED bulbs have stable performance and consume less power than halogen lamps under the same luminous efficiency. And the chip of the LED bulb is blue, and its color temperature is changed mainly by applying yellow pigment to change the luminous color. 

Therefore, in the following analysis, this article will take LED bulbs as an example to describe the relevant elements of color temperature.

WHAT IS THE BULB COLOR TEMPERATURE?

Bulb color temperature is a way to describe the color of a light source, and is a measure of how "warm" or "cold" the light is. A higher value represents a cooler light closer to blue, while a lower value represents a warmer light closer to yellow. In the automotive industry, the common color temperature of light bulbs is 3000K, 4000K, 5000K, 6000K and 6500K. These color temperatures represent different light colors, the specific color temperature corresponding to the relevant color can be seen in the chart below.

To better understand the LED bulb color temperature. After a brief explanation of what the color temperature of a light bulb is, we next look at what factors affect the color temperature of the bulb.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE COLOR TEMPERATURE OF LIGHT BULBS

There are many factors that generally affect the color temperature of the bulb, depending on the circumstances. The following is a description of 5 common factors that affect.

• Light-emitting materials: different light-emitting materials within the bulb will produce different colors and color temperatures. The common light-emitting materials on the market today are incandescent, halogen, fluorescent and LED bulbs.
• Voltage: The color temperature of the light bulb will also vary at different voltages. Generally speaking, the higher the voltage, the higher the color temperature of the bulb.
• Filament material: In incandescent bulbs, the filament material also affects the color temperature. Filaments made of tungsten wire are more likely to produce white light than filaments made of molybdenum wire, which increases color temperature.
• The environment around the light source: The environment in which the bulb is placed will also have some effect on the color temperature. For example, if the bulb is placed in a red lampshade, its color temperature will appear warm yellow; if placed in a blue lampshade, it will appear cool white.
• Bulb power: Generally speaking, the higher the power of the bulb, the higher the color temperature will be and the brighter the light emitted will be.

After introducing the influence of the color temperature of the light bulb, I believe everyone is very clear about the importance of the color temperature of the car light bulb to us. Now let's talk about the correlated color temperature specifications of common headlight positions.

COLOR TEMPERATURE SPECIFICATIONS OF COMMON HEADLIGHT POSITIONS

The color temperature of headlights is different for different locations. Below is a description of the color temperatures associated with common headlight positions.

• Headlights: Headlights are one of the most common bulbs used in automobiles. Common types of headlight bulbs are halogen, xenon and LED. Generally speaking, the color temperature of halogen bulbs is between 3000K and 5000K, the color temperature of HID is between 4000K and 6000K, while the color temperature of LED bulbs can reach more than 6000K. Generally speaking, the headlight bulb color is yellow or white mostly, but people are also torn between the yellow light is good or white light. White light is the closest to natural light, and if you are going to be driving at night for a long time, white light will induce your brain to feel more awake. However, in bad weather conditions, such as rain or fog, the penetration of yellow light is better than white light. This is due to the wavelength of the light and the degree to which it reflects. Therefore, it all depends on how often you drive in each situation. If you are a night driver, you may want to look at white lights, and if you drive a lot in a country where the weather is not so good, yellow bulbs may be your best choice.

• Fog lights: fog lights are mainly used to increase the visibility of driving in bad weather, the common types of fog light bulbs are halogen and LED lights. Generally speaking, the color temperature of halogen lights is between 2700K and 3000K, while the color temperature of LED lights can reach more than 6000K.

• Brake Lights: Brake lights are an important bulb used to alert the vehicle behind you. Generally speaking, the color temperature of brake lights is similar to that of headlights, which is also between 3000K and 6000K.
• Turn signal lights: Turn signals lights are usually used to indicate the direction in which the vehicle is turning. Generally speaking, the color temperature of turn signals is similar to that of brake lights, between 3000K and 6000K.