Purpose Of Multiple LED's ????

Caution - possibly stupid newbie question . . . . .

Can someone tell me the reason for having multiple LED's in a flashlight? With all they're doing with one LED (power, throw, etc.), what's the reason for the multiple LED lights? Is it just a marketing thing? Many multiple LED flashlights are far less powerful than single LED lights - so why the extra LED's?

Maybe a dumb question, but an honest one.

Thanks - Larry

Iv'e noticed that multi led lights have a good even distribution of light and they are very nice on the eyes with no intense spot to distract. Whether or not that makes them better than single leds i'm not sure but they do fill a niche.

Wassernaut said:

Caution - possibly stupid newbie question . . . . .

Can someone tell me the reason for having multiple LED's in a flashlight? With all they're doing with one LED (power, throw, etc.), what's the reason for the multiple LED lights? Is it just a marketing thing? Many multiple LED flashlights are far less powerful than single LED lights - so why the extra LED's?

Maybe a dumb question, but an honest one.

Thanks - Larry

Click to expand...

example?

a multi-LED light can be many things, from a few 5mm LEDs to multi-Cree monsters. A little more information would be good for others to understand as to which ones you are talking about.

the Multi LED lights benefit from the insane efficiency that the LEDs have at low drive currents. You can keep the light cooler, allow the battery to last longer and get better output if you drive multiple LEDs at the same total power as what one LED can put out at that particular power level. For example, if you drive 3 Crees at 1 watt each, you will get better output than if you drive one Cree at 3 watts, due to the better efficiency and lumen maintainence that LEDs experience when under-driven.