Raytec- 3 Benefits of Pulsed Lighting
Posted on 01 July 2019
Pulsed illumination offers several benefits that are well suited to transport applications. In this article we will look at three of these benefits in more detail.
More Light
The lifetime of an illuminator is controlled by the average operating temperature of an LED. Because pulsed illuminators are only turned on for a fraction of the total amount of available time (duty cycle), this means there is significant scope to increase the light output of an LED illuminator for shorter periods.
Raytec pulsed illuminators typically provide 400% power output compared to a standard, constant light illuminator, for the duration of the pulse. To explain how this is achieved, an LED illuminator effectively has a maximum amount of light it can produce, which is governed by its technical construction. That light could be produced at 100% power for 100% of the time (a constant light illuminator), or at 400% of the power for 25% of the time (a pulsed illuminator).
Reduced Running Costs
When an illuminator is pulsed, it is effectively only turned on for the duration of its ‘pulse’ and is dormant for the remainder of the time. The amount of time an illuminator is turned on over a given period is known as the ‘duty cycle’. Compared to a standard LED illuminator (providing constant illumination), pulsed illuminators have a much lower duty cycle and therefore achieve significant running cost savings over both traditional lighting solutions and standard LED solutions.
Longer Illuminator Life
The lifetime of an LED illuminator is governed by the average operating temperature of the LED and not by the number of times it is switched on or off; LEDs are unlike traditional lighting technologies in this regard. This means pulsing an LED illuminator actually increases the operational life of an LED as the average operating temperature of the illuminator is reduced. This allows pulsed LED illuminators to provide exceptional long-life, even by the long-life standards that LED’s are already known for.
Explore Pulsed Illuminators here.
