The European Commission is now certifying the LED headlights technology for their energy efficiency and Audi is the first to bag a certification.
The way your headlights light up can take you a longer way as well.
If you thought headlights merely lit up the way, here is a revelation. Conventional halogen units consume over 135 watts of power in their low-beam headlight mode while LED headlights operate with significantly better energy efficiency – In the Audi, the low-beam lights only consume around 80 watts.
The EU Commission has measured the fuel savings achieved by LED headlights from Audi – testing the low-beam headlights, high-beam headlights and license plate light in dynamometer testing. On the A6, CO2 savings were found to be over one gram per km. As a result, the EU Commission has officially identified the LED headlights as an innovative technology for reducing CO2 emissions and Audi becomes the first car manufacturer to be certified thus.
The precursor to the Australian butcher moustache debuted as LED daytime running lights in the Audi A8 W12 in 2004.
In 2008, the R8 sports car became the world’s first car to feature full-LED headlights. Today, this high-end lighting system is available in five model series of Audi: the R8, A8, A6, A7 Sportback and A3.
The LED headlights are differently designed for different models. On the A8, 76 light-emitting diodes are used per unit while the Audi A3 uses 19 LEDs in each headlight to generate the low-beam and high-beam lights. They are supplemented by a module for the all-weather and cornering lights as well as a light guide for the daytime running lights, side lights and turn signals.
More and more premium cars use LED lights, as a design signature and an energy saving innovation.
The benefits of LED headlights go beyond energy efficiency. With a color temperature of around 5,500 Kelvin, their light resembles daylight and hardly causes any eye fatigue. The LEDs are maintenance-free and designed to last the life of the car.
