When purchasing an LED lightbar or spotlights it’s important to understand the light output that they give and the type of light that they shine.  This information can vary between different manufactures, so it’s important to look at the lumens and lux of the light. When it comes to LED Driving Lights or LED Light Bars, there is no relationship between Watts and Lumens and no relationship between Watts and Lux once the LED is placed inside of a circuit. So don’t assume that the higher the wattage the brighter the light. In fact most high end LED’S been manufactured are consuming less and less current/Watts but produce even higher Lumens.

Types of LED and spotlights available:

• Long Range or Pencil Beam – Narrow beam designed to illuminate distant objects
• Flood Beam is an ultra wide beam designed to cast light right next to the vehicle.
• Close Range or Spread Beam. A wider beam that is designed to illuminate an area near the vehicle

Lumen is the volume of light been emitted, and lux is the intensity or brightness of the light at a measured point in the distance.  Effectively at 1 lux it is possible to read a newspaper. For example a High Beam light is brighter than a Low Beam light. This is because a Low Beam light spreads the light over a wider area, whilst the High Beam light focuses the light into a narrower beam to give it distance. Whilst both types of lights have the same lumens, the High Beam will have a higher lux at any given distance.

An important factor to take into account is the installation angle and height that the light is fitted. This can determine the output of the lit area.