LED Light Bar: All About Colour Temperature

When shopping for LED light bar, one of the most important factors you must consider apart from lumens and input voltage is colour temperature. Colour temperature provides a way for car owners to describe the appearance of the light generated by a source, or in this case a light bar. It is measured in degrees of Kelvin (K) on a scale of 1,000 to 10,000. 

An LED light bulb's colour temperature helps you determine what the look and feel of the generated light will be. It is assigned through the correlated colour temperature or CCT. For example, if you heat up a metal object, it will appear to glow. Depending on the Kelvin temperature it is being heated at, this glow will be in different colours like orange, yellow, or blue. The colour temperature of light generated by a light source is designed to replicate the Kelvin temperature of the metal object being heated, hence, the reason why the colour of the light produced by your light bar is expressed in Kelvin.

Typical Colour Temperatures of an LED Light Bar

Here are the colour temperatures of the light typically generated by an LED light bar in Australia and other types of automotive lighting.

1. 3000K

LED light with colour temperature of 3000K is usually yellow in colour. This colour of lighting is common among fog lights. It helps increase the visibility of a vehicle when viewed by other drivers and provides the light a distinct colour difference.

2. 4300K

This colour temperature is the colour of the light generated by most HID driving lights. It's whiter than 3000K but it still has a slight yellow tint.

3.  5000K

If you're going to refer to the Planckian locus graph, you'll see that light with colour temperature of 5000K is the whitest of all colours available. Car owners who choose this colour temperature are often those who want to achieve a modern look with their 4WD LED bar light without looking too aftermarket.

4. 6000K

Larger LED light bars often have at least 6000K colour temperature. The light with this colour temperature is primarily white with a very slight tint of blue or purple.

How to Know Which Colour Temperature is for You

The best colour temperature will ultimately depend on your preferences and what you're trying to achieve. To help you remember which colour is which, the lower the colour temperature is, the more yellow or orange the light would appear. The higher the temperature, the more blue or purple it would be.  Also, remember that just because a light bar has a higher colour temperature, it doesn't mean that it is brighter than any other lighting devices.

Make sure to do your research well and determine your preferences so you can buy light bars 4x4 that meet your requirements.

Going on a Christmas Adventure? Don't Forget an LED Light Bar!

Sure, Australia may not have the traditional White Christmas like the rest of the world has, but the holiday season is still one of best times of the year to have fun and be with the ones you love. With the sun shining brightly and the kids on break from school, Christmas is synonymous to camping and road trips. If you and your family are planning an outdoor adventure this Christmas, be sure to get an LED light bar to ensure your safety and maximum convenience.

Why Have an LED Light Bar this Christmas

Going on outdoor adventures during the Christmas season has been an Aussie tradition. Every year, thousands of Australians travel to various scenic spots across the country to enjoy the holidays with their friends and loved ones. Here's how LED lighting devices can make your summer adventures more fun.

1. Enjoy better road illumination

When driving on bush roads and poorly lit rural areas with the kids, it's very important to have an excellent view of the road to ensure everyone's safety. This is why mounting an LED light bar in Australia on your 4WD or campervan is something you should consider. With this lighting device, you'll get better road illumination as the LED supplements the light generated by your car's headlights. It also fans the light to the sides more, helping you avoid low-hanging branches, ditches on the road, and other objects that may put your safety at risk.

2. Avoid eye fatigue

Driving at night is challenging enough, but it can be more difficult if you have poor illumination. It is inevitable that eye fatigue will set in because poor road illumination will cause you to frequently squint and strain your eyes. This is something you can avoid with an LED light bar. With better road illumination, your eyes are less likely to get tired even if you're driving in the dark for hours.

3. Have better campsite illumination

Perhaps the biggest benefit of having a 4WD LED bar light this Christmas is that you'll get a more powerful source light when you're at the campsite. With a better light source, you don't have to struggle in the dark and accidently knock things over. And most of all, there's no need to create fire from scratch. Just switch the light on your 4WD and you're good to go.

Be sure to share this article with your mates so they know why they should have light bars 4x4 this Christmas.

Is Your LED Light Bar Installed Properly?

While it is not advisable to install a light bar in a vehicle that you drive on city roads, it is a different story when it comes to driving on dirt roads, mountain trails, and poorly lit rural areas. An LED light bar is a great help when navigating formidable terrain as it helps supplement the light generated by your regular headlights. With extra illumination, you can avoid accidents that can place your safety at risk.

A Few Things to Avoid When Installing an LED Light Bar

Proper installation is as important as the type and quality of the light bar you'll purchase. After all, even if you buy the most powerful and highly rated light bar on the market, you might still encounter problems if it isn't installed properly. Here are some of the common installation mistakes you should avoid.

1. Fitting it loosely

Most car owners take a do it yourself approach to installing an LED light bar in Australia. However, one of the most common results of DIY-ing the installation is that you often got yourself a loosely fitted lighting device. Take note that most vehicles sporting light bars are driven on bumpy and uneven roads, where even the best car shocks won't protect your car from extreme vibrations and prevent it from bobbing up and down forcefully.

This causes the light bar to produce an unsteady and flickering beam of light. Because of the loose fitting, the light bar will eventually cease to function properly, therefore, causing you to buy a new lighting device sooner than expected.

2. Not installing according to manufacturer's specification

LED light bars come in different sizes and capacities these days and each of them usually come with specific installation instructions that may differ greatly from each other. One installation process may involve removing switches or may require custom work done, while others don't need extensive modifications at all.

Even if you have done LED installations in the past, it's still important to be careful and to follow manufacturer's specifications when installing a new 4WD LED bar light, even if it is the same light bar brand. If you end up damaging it during installation, your warranty could be voided.

3. Failing to align bolt holes

This mistake often occurs when you're replacing an old light bar. Sometimes, people fail to align the new bar with existing bolt holes, while others don't even decide to replace the old bolts with new ones. This is a huge mistake to make because this doesn't ensure a tight fit, which could lead to the problems discussed in No. 1.

To avoid these mistakes, consider going to a professional installer or to someone who's very knowledgeable with the installation of light bars 4x4. This way, you can eliminate potential problems that can cause you to replace your light bar prematurely.

Similarities and Differences between an LED Light Bar and LED Driving Light

If you frequently find yourself driving in rural areas after the sun has gone down, it would be wise to install an LED light bar or driving light in your 4WD. These lighting devices help supplement the light generated by your car's factory headlights to give you better road visibility. With a better view of the road ahead of you, you can easily avoid objects blocking your path.

Facts and Info about LED Light Bars and Driving Lights

If you want to enjoy better road visibility, you can choose between a light bar and a driving light. Can't choose between the two? Here are their similarities and differences to help you decide.

1. Light quality

Light bars are known for generating intense white light that pans out to the side more. It provides you with excellent road visibility so you can see signs and hazards even if they are a few distances away. Beam patterns offered by LED light bar in Australia usually come in three options: spot, flood, or a combination of both.

Driving lights, meanwhile, often come in pairs. They usually have a rectangular beam pattern, but can also generate spot or flood light. As compared to high beam headlights, the light produced by LED driving lights has a longer and wider reach. In most cases, they can also illuminate the side of the road, depending on where they are installed.

2. Light temperature

Both LED light bars and driving lights can produce light of varying temperatures or colour. But if you want to enjoy maximum reliability, opt for a light bar or driving light that produces white light (around 6,500K) because white lights are more powerful in the dark than other light colours.

3. Installation

As mentioned earlier, driving lights are always installed in pairs, while light bars can be installed in pairs or singularly depending on their size. Whether you opt for a driving light or a 4WD LED bar light, know that you must never install them at the back of your vehicle because it can endanger the lives of other drivers and it is against Australian Design Rules.

4. Energy efficiency

Another similarity LED light bars and driving lights share is they are both energy-efficient. Thanks to their LEDs, at least 95% of the power they consume is transformed into light and not wasted as heat, unlike other lighting devices. They also last longer than other auxiliary lighting equipment.

When to Use

Driving lights are a recommended option if you frequently drive on highways at high speeds. Light bars, on the other hand, are perfect for off road driving and for driving in rural areas with limited road visibility and illumination.

Please share this article with your friends so they'll know whether to get light bars 4x4 or a pair of driving lights.