There are 2 types popular headlamp housing: projector headlights and reflector headlights. Reflector headlamps are the old style found on cars or trucks made earlier. Projector headlamps are newer, but not every new car has projector headlight. High-performance projector headlamps that were originally only available in luxury vehicles since 2000, and now become more and more vehicles are equipped. They are able to work with the extremely super bright HID (high-intensity discharge) headlamps and LED (light-emitting diode) headlights bulbs. Some vehicles’ low beam headlights are projector type, and high beam headlights are reflector type.
So, we are always asked what is the difference between projector and reflector headlamps? And, whether our LED headlights bulbs will have great performance in projector or reflector headlamp housing? This article will discuss what is the projector headlight? what is the reflector headlight? What is the difference between projector and reflector headlights? How the LED headlights bulbs work inside the projector and reflector headlamp housing?
Table of Contents
Reflector headlights have been featured as standard since the invention of electric headlights in 1898. Reflector headlamps have two main components: a light source (bulb) and a reflector bowl.
The reflector bowl is a hollow hemisphere shape. The inside is painted with reflective chrome paint and covered in precisely-located mirrors. The bulb sits right in the center of this device. Mirrors are place within the bowl to reflect light out onto the road.
In older reflector headlights, the shape of the light beam was determined by the lens in the front of the headlight. With this type, known as a sealed-beam headlight, the casing cannot be removed to replace a burnt-out bulb.
In the 1980s, improvement in LED technology at reflector headlights is to use mirrors inside the headlight housing itself to guide the beam, that means it was no longer necessary for the lens and the headlight housing to be sealed, and bulbs could be easily removed or replaced.
When the bulb is switched on, beams of light hit the mirrors and are reflected in front of the vehicle and onto the road.
Because of this, reflectors headlights produce a wide beam that covers a large surface area, but also cause the light less intense and focused, which wastes a lot of light.
Until now, many new vehicles are still equipped with reflector headlamps due to its advantages:
Projector headlight is a newer development in auto headlights development. Projector headlamps are like reflector headlights, they consist of a headlight assembly with a replaceable bulb, and also include a reflector component, but that’s at the similarities end.
The overall design of a projector headlamp is based around the idea of focusing light with a specially shaped reflector, then using a shutter to project it on the road with a beam pattern that is evenly distributed and light focused. And adding a lens acts as a magnifying glass, increasing the brightness of the light beam.
A projector headlight includes below components:
Unlike the reflector headlights, projector headlamps are equipped with round lens that magnify the intensity and focus of the light beam. Think of those lenses as a magnifying glass. The light is absorbed and projected in a smaller yet more focused and concentrated beam. The lens also shapes the unique and premium look of projector headlamps.
A projector headlight is also equipped with cut-off shield (shutter). This allows the beam of light to be directed further down the road. This unique feature also prevents the light from glaring other drivers on the road. This cutoff shield is responsible for the sharper cut off beam of reflector headlights.
Projector headlight is also perfect if you are looking for an HID kit or LED upgrade. In some places, installing HID(high-intensity discharge headlight) bulbs in a reflector headlight is illegal. In this case, the light will be too bright and scattered in all directions, which will blind oncoming traffic. However, it won’t be a problem if your vehicle is equipped with projector headlight.
All projector headlights have the same basic design, but they can replace different light source like halogen, HID or LED projector headlight.
VS |
Projector Headlight |
Reflector Headlight |
---|---|---|
Development: |
|
|
Bulb’s Position: |
|
|
Components: |
|
|
Dimension: |
|
|
Light Effects: |
|
|
Best Light Source: |
|
|
As to how to choose the best and brightest led headlights bulbs, please click here for more details.
Due to more and more people tend to purchase auto LED lighting bulbs like headlights, fog lights, turn signal, brake tail, back-up reverse, license, interior lights, DRL off Amazon, the question: how to find a reliable and best Amazon seller is noticeable, for when we buy a product online, we hope our products are well standby and have good quality, the manufacturer is reliable too. Here are tips to help you find a reliable and the best Amazon seller in automotive LED lights bulbs.
As a consumer or buyer of Amazon, when you are interested in one product, and you want to know the seller’s information and feedback from different buyers, then you need to check Amazon seller profile as below steps, we will take one of our 921 LED bulb‘s listing on Amazon as example:
2. After you click the Amazon seller’s name, and will direct above page:
3. For this seller page, you will find below quite important information that help you know more about the seller
Why we think Google reviews are quite reliable or we can trust it? The reason is because google reviews are come most local customers’ feedbacks, and the business must be USA located and offer local service as well, the reviews are more authentic and reliable. Then how to check the google reviews about the seller?
2. Then please go to http://www.google.com search column, and input the below format: brand name + address, like Alla Lighting address
3. Locate the same words as brand name, and click it, and then it will got this seller’s Google’s reviews page, and click Google Reviews, and you will sell details showing different customers reviews, yet if you find the google business name maybe longer than brand name, that is normal, for brand name is not business name, a business can have different brand name, but it all will be checked out on its business website.
If you have more FAQ about automotive LED lighting, please click here for more details.
Due to more and more people tends to change OEM halogen, HID headlamps from Syvlania, Osram or Philips upgrade to LED headlights bulbs, the LED headlights bulb‘s brightness(vision) is a must factor to be considered. We are going to tell you how to choose the brightest LED headlights bulbs replacement for your vehicle, please make sure choose the correct part number before purchasing.
Table of Contents
There are 2 ways to measure the brightness of a LED headlight bulb as below.
Lumens. The brightness of a LED headlight bulb is usually measured in lumens, or the total amount of light emitted by a light source in all directions. Luminous flux considers the sensitivity of the eye to the visible part of the electromagnetic radiation. Lumen is therefore the unit to measure the brightness of a light source independently of the direction of the light beam.
Lumens are derived from luminous flux, which is the total power of light, which is why high-power bulbs are sometimes called “high-flux,”
Luminous flux is a measure of the total amount of light in a light beam. Light intensity is a measure of the light density. If one sees a part of a light beam, that part has a smaller luminous flux (in lumen) but (in principle) the same luminous intensity (in candela) as the whole beam. The luminous flux depends on the power of the source and on the color of the light.
To measure lumens, a LED headlight bulb is placed inside a sealed reflective sphere (integrating sphere), and its light is bounced 360° without sport in the sphere (integrated) so its flux can be measured at any angle and calculated into lumens based on the space of the sphere.
So, Lumens equal to brightness, more lumens, more brightness. Yet for a LED headlight bulb, it maybe not the best LED headlights bulbs when you choose the brightest one. We will analyze below: how to choose the brightest LED headlights bulb for my vehicle?
Please note: a LED headlight bulb will change widely in their brightness during usage and can be “dimmed” by running at a lower current.
Lux. Another measurement of light is lux, or the light measured in 25 square meter of output area. For example, if you mark off one square meter on your garage, and measure all the lights of a LED headlight bulb that goes into that area when your car is exactly 25 feet away from it, you would have the lux measurement at 25 feet, straight-on of your headlights.
The lux (symbol lx) is a unit of illumination: 1 lux is the illuminance produced by 1 candela on a surface perpendicular to the light rays at a distance of 1 meter from the source.
The lux thus corresponds to the illuminance that is obtained when each square meter of the considered surface receives a luminous flux of one lumen. The number of lux is thus found as the quotient of the total received luminous flux, expressed in lumens, and the size of the illuminated area expressed in square meters; therefore 1 lux = 1 lumen / m².
Lux can be measured from different distances. Be careful when making a comparison between two lamps. A lamp that gives the same number of lux at three meters distance than a lamp measured at one meter is much more powerful than the one measured on a meter.
With a light meter you can measure the lux value of any surface or space. When measuring, make sure that the light meter is placed at working height. As the distance from the light source to the object to be illuminated increases, the illuminance decreases in the square.
Based on the above 2 ways measurement, if you use lumens, then more lumens, more brightness, that means the brightest LED headlights bulb is the one has the most lumens amount as measured.
If you use lux, we must compare the same distance of the light output to compare and the higher rating, the better vision for a LED headlight bulb.
Due to a lot of different brands or options of aftermarket LED headlights bulbs in the market, and they are stated high lumens, even up to 20000 lumens, how can we choose the best and brightest one for my vehicle?
In fact, we can’t just see the stated high lumens amount, and we buy it, which may cause an happy purchase experience. Below we will show you how to the brightest LED headlights bulbs for your vehicle?
3. Considering the brightness, in fact, when you choose the brightness, it can’t just buy the highest lumens of a LED headlight bulb stated by a seller. For a halogen headlamps, each bulb’s lumens is about 800lms~1200lms for low beam, and 1200lms~1600lms for high beam, HID headlamp is about 3000 lumens per bulb, and most popular LED headlights in the market is about 2300lms~5000lms per bulb, and if stated over 6000 lumens per bulb stated, you must considering it may cause glare for others drivers.
4. Considering the working power, even though more working power doesn’t mean more brightness, the brightness of LED headlights will also depend on the wattage of the bulbs. For example, a 1-watt diode is capable of emitting around 130 Lumens. If the bulb is fitted with 16 diodes, this means each bulb is rated at 16-watts and around 2,080 Lumens.
5. Considering the brand, as a matter of fact, a lot of brands of LED headlights bulbs in the market, how to choose a reliable seller is very important too. a USA located supplier is recommended if you prefer have the best support and warranty guaranteed. Click how to find a reliable seller on Amazon for more details if you want to purchase from Amazon.
6. Considering the fitment easiness, different LED headlights bulbs will have different fitment easiness, normally, the design is smaller height from the locking part to bottom and diameter of the bottom part, it will be easier to install.
7. Considering the with fan or fanless led headlights bulbs: normally the led headlights bulbs with fan will have more brightness, for cooling fan will enhance the heating dissipation, which we can design to produce more lumens and increase the lifespan.
8. Considering the correct part number of OEM headlamps: if purchase the wrong part number, that means the part number doesn’t match the OEM headlamps, then the bulb you purchased won’t fit into the housing.
The part number of a LED headlight bulb is from OEM halogen or HID headlamps, which is made by the manufacturer: Sylvania, Osram, Philips, Nava, Hella, ECE, Lucas, GE, GM.
So when you are able to remove the OEM lamps, normally it will show the part number on it, yet if you can’t tell from the OEM lamps, no worries, just shoot an email service@allalighting.com or call 1(909) 606-2935 by providing your OEM bulb’s pictures or advising the part number, vehicle’s information and order number, we will help you to do the FREE exchange. We will be appreciated for your chances to remedy it.
Here are 3 ways below to help you find the part number as below:
Yet if you purchase wrongly, no worries, contact us directly by email service@allalighting.com or call 1(909) 606-2935 by providing your OEM bulb’s pictures or advising the part number, vehicle’s information and order number, we will help you to do the FREE exchange. We will be appreciated for your chances to remedy it.