Originally Posted by
sonnetg
Awesome. Very helpful information. I prefer to go the LED route with good optics, but can anyone explain why LEDs drain less battery than a incandescent bulb with same voltage requirement? (or am i imagining things)
Also, are all dynamos voltage regulated? (eg going fast will not produce more voltage)? If not, how do i find out about it? (I am assuming, if a generator is not voltage regulated, it could burn out a LED as well (while going downhill 40 mph?
) ?
Thanks everyone. The feedback is much appreciated.
Today's Power LEDs are putting out over 100 lumens per watt. An incandescent bulb puts out a lot less lumens per watt, probably around 20 lumens per watt. LEDs are just more efficient than incandescent bulbs. That is why batteries last longer, or you can get a stronger light from a dynamo.
Also, with hub dynamos, they are usually listed as 6v 3w systems. This isn't really true, the volts will change with speed. The hub dynamo is more of a constant current supply at 500mA. You can get much more than 3 watts out of a hub dynamo, just by adding more LEDs. You will have to supply more power to the hub though, there is always a trade off.