hotfoot
Flashlight Enthusiast
Accepted Fact #1: Current mass-market white LEDs are only as efficient halogens bulbs.
Accepted Fact #2: Halogen lights put out a *lot* of heat, despite their efficiency.
Accepted Fact #3: Luxeons (or any large cluster of overdriven LEDs) can get really HOT!
Accepted Fact #4: We have only seen/heard of Luxeons or other new-tech LEDs coming up to sizes of 2-5 watts apiece. Halogens in the household range from 10W all the way to 75W.
So, won't equally high-powered LEDs produce the same amount of heat as halogen bulbs?
LEDs are being touted as cool light(ie. little or no heat), but if the facts above are true, won't this 'cool lightsource' thing now be false? Or are we talking about equivalent electrical-to-light conversion efficiencies here, with no regard to the wavelength of the light produced?
For example, lets say a halogen and a white Luxeon LED put out 25 lumens per watt. All else being equal, will the halogen be the hotter light because a large percentage of light produced has its wavelength within the IR range, as opposed to the higher color temps of white LEDs? Or will both bulbs be equally hot due to their inherent pure electrical resistance?
I'd like to hear anyone's views on this as this might affect our expectations of a future where halogens are possibly replaced by LEDs (such as in that Luxeon-in-car-headlamp post).
Accepted Fact #2: Halogen lights put out a *lot* of heat, despite their efficiency.
Accepted Fact #3: Luxeons (or any large cluster of overdriven LEDs) can get really HOT!
Accepted Fact #4: We have only seen/heard of Luxeons or other new-tech LEDs coming up to sizes of 2-5 watts apiece. Halogens in the household range from 10W all the way to 75W.
So, won't equally high-powered LEDs produce the same amount of heat as halogen bulbs?
LEDs are being touted as cool light(ie. little or no heat), but if the facts above are true, won't this 'cool lightsource' thing now be false? Or are we talking about equivalent electrical-to-light conversion efficiencies here, with no regard to the wavelength of the light produced?
For example, lets say a halogen and a white Luxeon LED put out 25 lumens per watt. All else being equal, will the halogen be the hotter light because a large percentage of light produced has its wavelength within the IR range, as opposed to the higher color temps of white LEDs? Or will both bulbs be equally hot due to their inherent pure electrical resistance?
I'd like to hear anyone's views on this as this might affect our expectations of a future where halogens are possibly replaced by LEDs (such as in that Luxeon-in-car-headlamp post).