jdp298
Newly Enlightened
Bit of a conundrum. I have a pair of 1W LEDs at the front of my bike, they work just fine. At the back I have half a Watt of 8mm SUNLED standard looking LEDs in a Lucas motorbike rear lamp housing. Originally I had gone with a single 0.5W red LED star. It wasn't nearly as bright or as diffuse as the array of 11 8mm LEDs in there now.
So the question comes. Would it be better to get one Watt of small LEDs (15 by my reckoning) or to stay with the single big one? Are smaller LEDs more efficient still?
Essential comparisons I can't square away are the mcd vs Lumen problem. The maths is no problem and easy to understand, once you can think in solid angles. It's not helping me understand which would be better though.
8mm LED: 17990 mcd, viewing angle 15 deg
1W LED: 90 Lumen, viewing angle 120 deg
I also have a 10 deg lens over each big LED which helps focus but doesn't stop the flood as they're inside Union-style bullet-shaped dynamo reflectors which are quite wide.
Hopefully that's enoug to get us going.
So the question comes. Would it be better to get one Watt of small LEDs (15 by my reckoning) or to stay with the single big one? Are smaller LEDs more efficient still?
Essential comparisons I can't square away are the mcd vs Lumen problem. The maths is no problem and easy to understand, once you can think in solid angles. It's not helping me understand which would be better though.
8mm LED: 17990 mcd, viewing angle 15 deg
1W LED: 90 Lumen, viewing angle 120 deg
I also have a 10 deg lens over each big LED which helps focus but doesn't stop the flood as they're inside Union-style bullet-shaped dynamo reflectors which are quite wide.
Hopefully that's enoug to get us going.