Is there an industry standard about how should a bulb being labelled? almost all company say something like "Up to 110 % more light on the road (compared to standard halogen lamps)", are they talking about the same standard lamp? On GE bulbs it says something like this "Up to 120% more light on the road - extent of area illuminated more than 12lx." Is this 12lx the industry standard or it's just GE's enterprise standards？
question about numbers
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Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
The +30/+50/+whatever number means that *somewhere* in the high-intensity part of the beam in *some* headlamp, the light is X% brighter than with a standard bulb. It's not predictable where the most intense part is, other than being in the hotspot.
This is mostly done by making the filament smaller, more-tightly coiled, and more-precisely placed, so as to more closely approximate the point light source for which a headlamp is designed. The filament luminance higher that way, and the focus of the beam improves, which contributes to maximum intensity in the hotspot. A side-effect, thanks to the laws of physics, is that the bulb life is also shortened.
As far as how GE represents it, they are most likely indicating that this is "hotspot" light in areas relevant to beam performance, as they use different lux referents for the HB4 and HB3.
This is mostly done by making the filament smaller, more-tightly coiled, and more-precisely placed, so as to more closely approximate the point light source for which a headlamp is designed. The filament luminance higher that way, and the focus of the beam improves, which contributes to maximum intensity in the hotspot. A side-effect, thanks to the laws of physics, is that the bulb life is also shortened.
As far as how GE represents it, they are most likely indicating that this is "hotspot" light in areas relevant to beam performance, as they use different lux referents for the HB4 and HB3.
So basically, the bulbs of different companies can not be compared. Only bulbs inside the same company can be compared with each other. what about that "standard bulb"，are they using the Geometrically identical standard bulbs in the test？I mean, the so called standard bulbs from different companies are having different characteristics.
Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
Every manufacturer of a +X bulb will use a similar reporting method. The goal is to put the bulk of the light in main portion of the beam, and improved beam focus is the best way to do that. Comparing various *reputable* brands should be easy. Now, if PIAA comes out with a +200 bulb, obviously they're not to be trusted and can't be compared with the reputable brands.
GE may be using their own "standard bulb", but it would be a "standard bulb" essentially complying with the specifications submitted to the NHTSA in accordance with CFR 49 Part 564 "Replaceable Light Sources". Nothing fancy, and no sabotage of that exemplar just to make the comparison better.
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