Brand lamps are safe
Greater safety on the roads starts with good automotive lighting – and with precision-made vehicle lamps. Only brand products meet the high quality standards required; they are the only ones that are safe. This is the conclusion reached by lighting technologists at Karlsruhe University after testing 100 conventional H7 halogen headlight lamps.
Good automotive lighting depends on the quality and coordination of all the lighting components involved: lamp, headlight and power supply. But this system can only be as strong as its weakest link. And in the case of modern headlights, the quality of the vehicle lamp is particularly important. Quality halogen lam
- couple high intensity with optimal roadway illumination
- direct light precisely and prevent glare
- have a long life and are energy-efficient
- meet all statutory requirements.
Modern vehicle lamps are high-tech products
Complex inner workings make the halogen lamp – the test candidate at Karlsruhe University – a sophisticated high-tech product. Its quality depends, for one thing, on the standard of the raw materials used, e.g. the purity of the halogen gas, the quality of the bulb enclosure, the material and winding of the filament and the robustness of the lamp base.
Even more important is the lighting engineering expertise of the manufacturer. Brand products, for example, focus maximum luminance on the shortest possible filament. The more effectively this is achieved, the more light is cast by the lamp onto the safety-relevant areas of the road.
Lamp geometry is crucial
Lamp geometry – the precise positioning of the filament to a hundredth of a millimetre – is crucially important for the quality of a lamp. It alone, for example, defines the light/dark boundary that delineates the illuminated areas of the road ahead for oncoming traffic (see also the illustration below). This means that if the filament is not properly positioned, disturbing stray light is produced. The light is not available to the motorist where it is needed, in safety-relevant areas of the road space, and oncoming traffic is dazzled.
This is frequently the case with poor quality automotive lamps. Many of them distribute light so badly that headlights cannot be correctly set and legal requirements cannot be fulfilled.
Another feature that distinguishes brand products is flawless lamp coating. This ensures that uncontrolled lighting and dazzle are avoided. Inferior no-name lamps are often excessively tinted to imitate the currently popular bluish light of xenon lamps. As a result, they fail to deliver the required intensity of light.
Regular monitoring ensures quality
All the vehicle lamps placed on the market by brand manufacturers have been thoroughly inspected – more than 30 times before the lamps leave the factory. In contrast to manufacturers of poor quality auto lamps, brand lamp-makers thus fulfil their legal obligation to carry out in house quality control.
Computerised monitoring systems guarantee precise compliance with all geometrical requirements. Faulty lamps are immediately intercepted – making for greater safety on the roads.
