The Story of Evolution of LED Headlights

Vehicle manufacturers are actively developing new technologies that optimize functioning while reducing costs LEDs are a step towards that direction.

By car&bike Team

1 mins read

Published on March 25, 2022

Highlights

LEDs have been around for around 60 years!
LEDs are safe compared to other bulbs since they do not contain mercury
LEDs have an efficiency of almost 100%.

LEDs were introduced in the automotive industry quite recently. The headlights used commonly before the evolution of LEDs were known as HID or High-intensity discharge headlights. HIDs were very popular due to their brightness and overall efficiency. However, several problems with HIDs led to the industry turning towards LEDs – inconsistent flashing and brightness, issues while driving, flicking bulbs, etc. Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com The 1990s and LEDs One of the most significant innovations during the late 90s was LED headlights. LEDs have the best life expectancy out of all the headlights used before; LEDs also have higher brightness levels without taking too much energy. Although LEDs were introduced in taillights in 1993, the industry took some time before completely switching to LEDs. With the decrease in HID headlights over the passing years, LEDs became the most dominant headlights in the industry. Even the most basic versions trumped over the superior versions of HID headlights. Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com Countering the high-illumination problem One of the major problems that the automotive industry struggled with was the high-intensity beam coming from the headlights. That could blind the drivers and cause accidents. One of the earliest solutions to this came with Audi's Matrix LED, which came with forward-facing cameras. High beam headlights were automatically turned off if the headlights picked up any oncoming vehicles while keeping the auxiliary headlights on. After the vehicles passed, the high beam headlights were turned on again, and the driver could move freely ahead. Increased interest in LEDs One of the major reasons for an increase in interest in LEDs also had to do with the fact that they are much smaller than traditional headlights. That could mean that a cluster of LED headlights could be made for increased illumination for the vehicles. That also meant that engineers got an increased space to fix the headlights and had the freedom to design the headlights in whatever ways they preferred. That meant sleeker and more aesthetic designs for future models. Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com Adaptive headlights and LEDs Given the flexibility and numerous advantages that LEDs provide, the industry started working on combining LEDs with adaptive headlights. Scientists did not imagine the amount of illumination that LEDs provided just a few years back. Even though the initial entry of LEDs led to an increase in costs, further developments in the field ensured that people could reduce costs while making cooler designs for newer models. LEDs not only ensured car manufacturers increased the aesthetics of their vehicles, but they also allowed them to increase the safety of drivers driving these cars! LED headlights have evolved over the years and will continue to do so in the future for a comfortable driving experience.