LED Warning Light

LED warning lights provide a visual alarm to alert people of incoming danger or danger in a particular situation or environment.

This guide will equip you with the practical skills of what you should know about the LED warning lights before you purchase one.

Best Uses and Applications of LED Warning Light

Aircraft Warning Lights

They are installed on structures either permanent or temporary that could pose any hazard on air navigation.

The LED warning lights are used to make tall structures more visible to aircrafts both during the day and at night

Emergency Vehicles

LED warning lights are mostly used in emergency and law enforcement vehicles to alert motorists to pave way for them.

Helipad Lights

You mount the warning light on the helipad to make it more visible for helicopter landing. LED strobe warning lights

The LED strobe warning lights for bikes help you increase your bike visibility as well as light your way.

 LED strobe warning light

One can also use the strobe warning lights at home to achieve various coloring effects.

You can also use the strobe warning lights for club lighting that is you use different LED warning lights to create a flashy and strobe effect.

LED Warning Light Bar

You use these lights majorly on emergency response vehicles like police cars and ambulances.

The lights produced by these led bars are highly visible making them the best choice to be used by vehicles.

LED warning light bar

LED Flares

This type of LED warning light flashes bright light that is visible from a long distance.

LED flares can be used in emergency response teams, on highways to notice other motorists of an accident ahead.

LED Flares

Marine warning lights

You use this warning light to signify the position you are in when on high seas.

They make the ship or boat visible to other boats to prevent collision with each other.

Advantages of LED Warning Light over other alternatives

They have low power consumption compared to ordinary lights making them more efficient.

The LED warning lights are small in size hence do not occupy a lot of space.

Besides, the LED warning lights are environment friendly since they are made from non-toxic materials hence do not pose danger to the environment.

They have high brightness and low heat generation compared to fluorescent lights.

The LED warning lights are directional meaning you can direct them where you want and no light is lost.

The LED warning lights have a long lifespan meaning if well maintained they can be used for up to 50000 hours.

The LED warning lights do not wash colors hence rendering excellent color rendering.

LED Warning Light Components

 Components of LED warning light

Light diffuser:  used to control the distribution of the beam by narrowing the beam angle, concentrating, and focusing it

Heat sink: The LED when in operation it converts electricity into light hence heat is generated. The heat sink dissipates the heat inside the LED to prevent damage to the diodes.

LED array: The LED warning light contains a whole array of light-emitting diodes.

The diodes are semiconductors with two terminals that allow the flow of current in one direction.

Driver: The driver acts as a transformer that steps down the mains voltage which prevents the damage of its circuit hence making it compatible with the LED.

Fitting: Also known as the cap, this is where the bulb is fitted and connected directly to electricity.

Types of LED Warning Lights

There are various types of LED warning lights in the market. Each type has a specific appearance, size, voltage, and color.

Flash Strobing Lights

Feature a high signaling effect through white bursting lights and are mostly used in industrial facilities and warehouses.

They can also be used as an evacuation signal during emergencies.

In aviation industries, they are used in the determination of aircraft position at night or during low visibility conditions.

Rotating Lights

These lights are designed to provide an effective warning signal.

A rotating mirror light is used to make it efficient.

The mirror works as the reflector, therefore, giving the focused beam of light more attention. Also, the rotating lights are used mostly on emergency vehicles like ambulances, police cars, firefighter cars and so much more.

Pulsing Lights

Also known as blinking warning light.

The pulsing lights are designed to help with safety in hazardous working environments like in mines.

Pulsed lights are used in machinery to serve as an alarm warning to keep people working in harsh environments safekeeping the process efficiently.

 Mode of Operation of LED Warning Light

LED warning lights operate in different modes which allows them to fulfill a specific function.

Operating modes include;

Flashlight Mode

You use this mode when you want to produce effects.

By doing so, flashes of light will be produced in a sequence hence creating a pattern.

You will find the flash lighting mode being used mostly in emergency vehicles and concerts.

Continuous Mode

Here the spacing of flashlights is very small making it difficult to detect the flashes.

You use this mode in photography since it facilitates a continuous beam.

Best Housing Material for LED Warning Light

You need a material with good thermal stability and sturdy to last long under strenuous conditions.

When the housing material is chosen well, you offer protection to the internal components of the light.

When the internal components are well taken care of, you will automatically improve the life span and efficiency of the warning light.

The main materials used for housing are

Aluminum: it is lightweight, non-toxic, has a great heat sink, and is not affected by adverse weather conditions.

Polycarbonate; has up to 90% transparency making it clear, easy to clean, very strong, and can withstand adverse weather conditions.

Average Lifespan of LED Warning Light

The life span of the LED warning light ranges between 10000-15000 hours meaning you can use the warning lights for approximately 6 years no stop.

Disadvantages of LED Warning Light

• High initial price; when looking at the initial capital cost, the warning lights are expensive compared to alternative warning systems.
• Temperature dependency; the overall performance of the LED warning lights depends on thermal management properties.

Overheating of the lights will damage them, therefore, reducing lamp lifespan.

• Electrical polarity; one has to source the correct electrical polarity for the warning lights to light up.

Unlike other warning lights that can work under any electrical polarity, the LEDs have to be fitted with a rectifier to match the source of polarity.

• Voltage sensitivity; you have to apply a voltage higher than the threshold and current below the rating.

For one to achieve this a series of resistors have to be used.

• Blue hazard; the LED warning lights can exceed the limits of blue light hazard as stated in eye safety specifications.
• Blue pollution; the LED warning lights have a high color temperature.

This means that they emit more blue light compared to conventional outdoor sources, therefore, causing light pollution.

• Area light source; the warning lights are not able to approximate a point source of light hence cannot provide divergence below few degrees.

Cost of LED Warning Light

The LED warning lights are sold at a competitive price yet affordable.

Besides, the  price depends on size, where to be used, and mostly the cost of production.

The LED warning lights are relatively expensive compared to the traditional light source. This is because of materials used in their production, the long lifespan, and also have higher efficiency.

Due to their long lifespan, they cost less.

The prices of the warning light range from around 3 USD.

How Color Temperature Works with LED Warning Light

 LED light color temperature

Color temperature refers to the warmth or coolness of light.

The color temperature is measured in kelvins. Whereby the high temperatures will represent cool colors and low temperatures represent the warm colors.

When choosing the color temperatures, we consider where the warning lights will be used.

What is CRI in Relation to LED Warning Light

Color rendering index (CRI) is the measure of how accurately a light source displays its colors.

We determine CRI by comparing the appearance of a colored object under artificial light.

When the CRI level is low we have more unnatural colors appearing when illuminated with artificial light.

When we have our CRI levels high we have a better rendering of colors by the artificial light.

For effectively rendering colors a CRI value of 80+ is used while when we need very accurate color rendering a CRI value of 90+ is used.

For warning lights, we use a higher CRI value so that colors are visible due to good light rendering.

Selecting Luminous Intensity of LED Warning Light

Luminous intensity is also known as direction flux. It quantifies the luminous flux emitted by a light source in a certain direction.

We measure this in candelas while its viewing angle is in degrees.

The viewing angle of the light source is very important as light is not evenly dispersed.

To determine the luminous intensity of a LED warning light we calibrate the detector of illuminance then calculate luminous intensity using the inverse square law.

The location of the beholder will determine the output of light. Therefore, when the viewing angle is wide enough, a single warning light can be used in an entire building.

To achieve this, diffused lenses are used since they provide a wider viewing angle compared to a clear lens.

Dimmability of LED warning light

First, we need to understand that not all LED warning lights are dimmable, and those designed as dimmable may not work with certain dimmers.

We advise that you read the manufacturer’s packaging instructions so that you don’t use a non-dimmable lamp with a dimmer.

By doing so you may reduce the durability of the lamp.

Dimming the LED lamps helps conserve energy by 50%, which means you use half the normal required energy to illuminate.

Dimming creates less heat in the lamp hence less stress. Thereby increasing the lifespan and therefore add up to a lot of savings.

A dimmable LED warning light gives you flexibility in setting the mood for the situation that you are in.

However, the dimmable LED warning light has the following issues:

Drop out; happens when the LED dims to its maximum percentage hence completely turns off.

The inverse of drop out is pop on that is when you start to rise the light brightness from dimming it pops on to full illumination.

Flickering can be either constant or in irregular intervals.

It can cause loose of driver efficiency hence making it impossible for it to protect the lamp from power surges as it might overheat.

You can dim the warning lights in two ways:

Pulse-width modulation dimming (PWM) works by turning the LED warning light on and off at a high speed.

This allows the warning light to be on for less time, lowering the internal temperature and in return adding the lifespan of the light.

The main setback of PMW is you will have a generation of noise and consequently flickering.

Constant current reduction (CCR) is also known as analog dimming.

When you pass the electrical current that is necessary for illumination of the lamp through it, the current lowers and dims the light.

CCR will help you increase the lifespan of the light as less current passes in the lamp hence less heat will be generated.

In addition to that CCR will not result in any noise generation or flickering.

Importance of Center Beam Candle Power (CBCP) for LED Warning Light

Center beam candle power is the measure of luminous intensity at the center of the directional source of light.

Among the fixtures of the same delivered lumen, CBCP could vary depending on the beam angle.

CBCP will create a more use case-specific matrix for the determination of lights in a given space.

When you take CBCP into account you are sure to have the right light distribution for your application.

Therefore, CBCP is more effective when it comes to the selection of lights for a given space.

Why you should consider Efficacy Ratio when choosing LED Warning Light

LED warning light

This is the number of lumens a bulb or lamp produces for each watt it consumes.

When the number of lumens produced is high, this means that the bulb is more efficient.

Efficacy should be given serious consideration as it will help you deliver the same features of lighting using less energy.

Efficacy is calculated by dividing lumens by watts.

Considerations for LED Warning Light Flash Patterns

You will be able to change the flash patterns of your warning light depending on the situation you are in.

To make this possible you apply different power to different pattern select lines.

For white and red warning lights you are advised to use a flash rate of 90 flashes per minute to get the desired attention.

Adding to that, you use a flash rate of 60 flashes per minute to get desirable blue lights.

Your warning lights should concentrate their brief flash to around 20% of the total on-off cycle.

By doing so the flash will get more visual effect from the same amount of energy.

How to determine the Total Power Consumption of an LED Warning Light

When you compare the power consumption of LED to that of the traditional lighting system the latter is high that’s why people are switching to LED lighting.

You use wattage to measure the power supply used in running these lights.

Before you purchase the lights, you need to know their wattage and by doing so you will be able to know how much you will pay for them.

The glowing in LED lights with one end brighter than the other is a result of voltage traveling in the length of wires then gradually dropping in DC circuits.

You are advised to use constant 24-volt strips for long-run applications since they don’t lose voltage quickly.

To determine the total power consumed by the warning light, you will use the following formula;

Power = LED power consumption per foot multiplied by LED strip length.

Also, it is important to note the voltage your strip lights always use to ensure you do not damage the strips when using them hence reducing their efficiency.

For example, when you want to calculate the total power consumption of your LED strip of length 10 feet and power consumption per foot is 6 watts then the total power will be;

10 multiply by 6 giving you 60 watts.

Notable Features of Weatherproof LED Warning Light

In most cases, you will use LED warning lights outdoors.

Here are some of the notable features you should consider

Bright Clear Light

the warning lights are bright and clear hence are visible even in adverse weather conditions.

You can see the warning light when it’s raining or the weather is foggy.

Water Resistance

The LED warning lights covers are made from hard glass protecting the inner lamp from rain

Most warning lights have a metal casing to protect them from dust, mud and so much more.

Besides, they should have proper sealing. This will protect the LED warning light system from any form of damage.

So, the light must be IP rated.

 IP rating

Sizing Options for LED Warning Light

The sizing option of the LED warning light greatly depends on where you will use it.

If you are going to place the light in an outdoor setting the sizing is much bigger compared to those that will be used in a building.

You also decide the sizing option with the purpose of the warning light.

For example, the alarm warning lights in a residential house used to alert of fire are not the same as those used in road flares because they serve different purposes.

The material used by the manufacturer also will determine the size of your LED warning light.

Safety Rating Requirements for LED Warning Light

You should place the warning light away from faces because their brightness easily irritates the eyes.

Always place the warning lights in open to make them visible.

Ensure you do not overuse the warning lights because by doing so you could end up causes seizures due to their bright light.

You are only allowed to use the warning lights in times of emergency to not cause a false alarm.

Warranty Duration for LED Warning Light

Most LED warning lights are warranted for a period of one to two years.

If the manufacturer proves that the damage is not their fault, they can avoid the warrant and this mostly happens if you are not careful during installation.

If you buy a cheap LED warning light the warranted period is shorter compared to if you bought an expensive one.

Mounting and Installation Options for LED Warning Light

The warning lights should always come with all necessary hardware for installation.

The installation process is supposed to be simple.

Mounting can be in different ways depending on where the lamp is to be used.

Mounting options are as follows;

Roof mounting; here you install the LED warning light on the roof of the object. The roofing options can be on top of cars or rooftops of buildings

Body Mounted

You mount the LED warning light on a body. This type of mounting will take more space compared to when it is mounted on a roof.

Vehicle Integral

You make the LED an integral part of the object to be mounted on.

Besides, you apply this mostly in vehicles in form of headlamps.

Lightbar

You mount the warning lights on the light bar of vehicles.

Also, you can mount your warning lights in different way namely;

Magnetic Mount

This type of mount has a magnetic base where you can place it on any magnetic surface.

It is mainly used on police vehicles.

Permanent Mount

In this case, you will fix your warning light permanently on a surface using bolts and screws.

This application is mainly used in ambulances.

Ensure you have a black plate that will assist with the connection between the LED light and the surface.

Surface Mount

For this mount, you will fix the light on top of a flat surface.

Grille Mount

You will place the warning light behind a grille.

How to Turn on/Control LED Warning Light

• Remote; you can control the LED warning lights from anywhere or from another device when you are not in the location where they have been installed.

For this to happen the LED warning lights have to be connected with the control device and that could be a smartphone or laptop.

• Wi-Fi; you connect your LED warning light with your internet.

Using the internet you can control the switching on and off of your warning lights.

• Control Box; you are provided with the control box by the manufacturer.

The control box has a switch that is used to turn on or off the lights when the need arises.

• Sensors; while installing warning lights, you synchronize them with sensors.

The sensors can detect an emergency if one arises and turns on the warning lights.

Accessories you may need for LED Warning Light

Here are some of the accessories you need for your warning light to work effectively.

Batteries; you need to have high-quality and efficient batteries for your warning light.

The main use of the batteries is to retain or store the power required for lighting purposes of the warning lights.

Charger; when buying your LED warning light ensures that it has a charger.

You will use the charger to supply power to the battery which is used for lighting.

Magnetic base; as you know, for any warning light the base is very important for the stability of the lights.

Since most LED warning lights are mounted on metallic bases, a good magnetic base is always required for it to be stable.

Wires and cables; you will use them to connect the LED warning lights to the power source and also to supply power inside the warning light.

How to choose the Right LED Warning Light

Everyone has a unique way of choosing their warning light which is achieved by focusing on different aspects of the light.

Factors you should consider when it comes to buying the warning include;

LED warning light

Cost

It will always come down to your budget.

The prices of the warning lights are competitive and one should always choose that which is within their budget.

By doing so, one can find the best device which will meet their needs and still be affordable in the long run.

Buying a cheaper light does not imply that it is fake, it all depends on the cost of manufacturing the light.

Application

Where you intend to use the warning light is very important when it comes to purchasing it.

If you are to use the warning light at the mines for an emergency, you definitely will not buy one used on police vehicles.

Also knowing where to use the warning light will help you use it effectively and will avoid damages and in the end have the value of your money.

Quality

You know LED warning lights are famous for their long life.

This is dependent on the manufacturer, if he does not deliver quality lights then it works in reverse.

You know that when the quality of the warning light is poor it dies faster.

As a consumer always look for the best quality manufacturer and buy the light from them.

Efficiency

Not all warning lights are efficient. When buying the LED warning light, one should look for that which is energy efficient in rating.

By doing so, you are assured that you will not use a lot of power when it comes to using the LED warning light.

You can find out the energy efficiency of light by dividing the number of lumens by watts.

The higher the number the more efficient your warning light.

How to Determine the Quality of LED Warning Light

When choosing LED warning light, it is important to consider the following:

Color Accuracy

You should consider the color accuracy of the LED warning light when shopping for quality lights.

When the warning light has a high CRI, it means it will reveal colors more realistically.

Color Temperature

When buying LED warning lights always opt for a higher color temperature if you need cool light and low temperature for warm light.

You need to know that good quality color temperature will emit light of the same color whereas poor quality will slightly differ.

LED Chip

The quality of the chip will always depend on the manufacturer.

You are advised to get more information about the chip manufacturer to determine its quality.

Working Temperature

Always look at the working temperature of your warning light before purchase.

For a high-quality working temperature light, the tape doesn’t noticeably change during the working process.

Conclusion

Well, I am sure that with the information given above you have been able to see why you should purchase the LED warning and how to you it efficiently.

Using the information given in this guide you will be able to purchase your desired warning light.

I advise you to go ahead get the best type of warning light that will suit your needs and purchase

For any questions or inquiry about LED warning light, contact GoldMore now.