Does anyone know if the newer bin LEDs are more energy efficient than older bin LEDS. Or is it that they are just brighter and use the battery up faster in the end?
I'm planning to buy some budget LED lanterns and headlamps that run a long time and are also bright.
I'm curious about if I buy a P3 lantern or headlamp, compared to a Q or R bin headlamp if that means P3 will be both less bright and use up the 3AAA batteries faster than a Q or R bin would.
Wouldn't the dimmer LED lights just end up running longer? Or is it possible that there are some LED lights out there that produce low light and also run shorter as well?
Thats the thing, higher flux bins produce more light of off the same amperage. Given than forward voltage of LEDs is fairly even, you can expect higher bins to produce more light even if they consume the same amount of power. If the available energy is the same (same Wh): a higher flux bin LED will produce more light for the same duration of time or alternatively the same amount of light for a longer duration of time.
So what this means then is that a P4 lantern or head lamp could have twice the run time, when at the same brightness, amperage, batteries as a a Luxeon 1 version?
I looked up some more info on this. I read that there have been massive improvements in efficiency since some of the older bins. According to this list on DX: A 2005 Luxeon 1 produced 45 lumens at 350ma current. At the same current a P4 produces double the output.
At the same 350ma current a P4 gives 80.6-87.4 lumen, where a S4 gives 164-172 lumen. That's again double the output!!
For people who want the max run time on a headlamp / lantern / flashlight for survival, it seems that getting the latest bin code is going to help you get the maximum run time from your batteries, and with the same amount of brightness.
Yes. I once got 3x the output for twice as long by replacing a Luxeon 1 with an SSC LED. Most often what you get from the latest LED is more brightness for the same runtime. It's easy to put in a different LED, it isn't so easy to change the driver to one that produces the same output as the previous model. Especially when people buy on brightness..
For the most part, you've got it. You also need to keep in mind that efficiency per LED changes depending on the current it's run at. Some are more efficient the harder they're pushed, others less so. The reason you usually don't see longer runtime with the new leds is because they're driven harder. So for the same runtime and power you'll get more light. I guess because brighter lights sell better than longer running lights (/shrug).
