Heat and Thermal Technology


Competent and well engineered thermal management is essential for the long-term durability of Hella LED luminaires.

A common misconception is that LEDs do not generate heat. LEDs consume power and some of this power is also converted to heat, even in the most energy efficient LEDs. In contrast to incandescent lamps however LEDs do not like to ‘run hot’. As a rule of thumb the hotter an LED runs the faster it will degrade with a lower and in extreme cases, a much lower light performance will result.

High performance LEDs do generate heat, which needs to be coupled to surfaces designed to efficiently transport the heat away from the LED itself. LEDs that overheat, meaning the junction temperature of the LED rises above a set threshold, will permanently degrade and significantly reduce their luminous efficacy.


  Colour Temperature Examples
1850 K  Candle
2800 K  Halogen G4 Bulb (Incandescent lamp)
3000 K  Hella Warm White LED courtesy lamp
5200 K  Hella White EuroLED® lamp
5400 K  Hella White LED courtesy lamp
6500 K  Daylight

 


A noticeably ‘hot to touch’ exterior surface of a high powerLED interior lamp provides some indication that the light output of the device will deteriorate fast, sometimes within a few hundred hours. Well engineered LED devices will operate ‘cool’ or ‘warm’ to the touch after many hours of operation.

Hella has many years of technical expertise of good thermal designs, matched with superior optics and electronic design which ensures the long term durability of all our LED lighting products with minimal degradation over many years of service.

A solid-state source LED luminaire is often more compact, energy efficient and more durable than any lighting technology that has gone before it.

With our commercial transport range of Marker and Signal lamps we have proven the cost effectiveness of the 'Fit and Forget' value proposition. Highly efficient white LED luminaires are becoming a solution that make ecological and economic sense for an ever increasing range of applications.