| Heavy Duty Headlamp technology By David A. Kolman, Editor Headlamps are evolving to provide enhanced nighttime driver visibility There have been a lot of advances in headlamp technology for commercial vehicles. While halogen bulbs and high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are the most commonly used on heavy duty vehicles, LED (light emitting diode) headlamps are making inroads. Halogen headlamp systems off er competitive costing and industry standard performance. Th e main drawbacks of halogen is that they are not as effi cient and have a relatively short life compared to some other options, such as LED lamps. Th e drawbacks are accentuated in heavy duty applications where the operating environment is more severe than on cars, SUVs and light trucks. Halogen lamps – basically a variation of an incandescent bulb – cost very little but typically have a short life, lasting only 500 to 1,900 hours, are fragile and their light output depreciates rapidly overtime. Lumen depreciation on a halogen headlamp is as much as a 25 percent reduction in light output aft er just 100 hours. Lumen depreciation is when the amount of light produced decreases and light color appearance shift s over time. A halogen lamp has halogen gas sealed into a small envelope. Th is inert gas allows the evaporated tungsten from the fi lament to reattach the material 16 FLEET MAINTENANCE ❚ AUGUST 2016 ❚ VehicleServicePros.com
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