What is the best Emergency Lighting?
When arriving on the scene of an accident or fire, emergency vehicle drivers need many different types of emergency lighting. First they need lights mounted on or inside of the car which alert other drivers to move out of the way. Once they arrive on the scene they will need more than the lights on the car to illuminate the area. Hand held lights are often needed to illuminate, increase visibility and to direct traffic if necessary.
Take down lighting is a special kind of spot light which emergency drivers take into the darkest of areas where much light is needed to search for accident victims, or fleeing criminals. They can also be helpful when checking addresses or when searching for lost children in wooded areas at night.
Police officers, firemen, wrecker drivers, ambulance drivers, first responders and other emergency drivers need many different types of lighting on the exterior of their vehicles. All this is standard according to each type of emergency vehicle. The need for so much bright light, along darkened roadways, lead to the question, what is the best emergency lighting?
Incandescent bulbs
Once the industry standard, incandescent lights have become obsolete, and some states are considering banning them even for home use. Incandescent bulbs are the same technology as the ordinary household light bulbs used almost exclusively from the 1940’s until the 1980’s. They have filaments that can break when jarred, which makes them even more impractical. They are not energy efficient they weigh too much and require too much electricity. They produce a lot of heat, which could actually be a plus for some applications but it is definitely not something emergency vehicle drivers look for in lighting.
High-intensity halogen
Halogen lights are inexpensive and energy efficient, which does matter in battery applications, where officers need lights to last longer. However they are much larger and heavier than more modern forms of lighting. Halogen technology is used in car headlights, and as such will continue to be used in automotive applications for years to come. Halogen lights are also frequently used as takedown lights because of their intensity and brightness.
LED Lighting
Technological advancements in LED lighting have brought down the price and made LED lighting one of the most practical forms of lighting. Their use is ecologically sound and economically sound. LED is the most logical choice for most applications because of their light weight, durability and ease of handling. LED emergency lighting is the most popular form of emergency lighting, and is used more often than any other type of lighting for emergency use.
LED lights are small, less than a quarter of an inch wide. They weigh almost nothing, which is a real plus when an officer has to use it to direct traffic. LED bulbs don’t get hot, are shatter proof, and can last 20 years or more. They are also recyclable. New LED lighting can also be exceptionally bright. When they were first used, LED lights only came in colors, like red, blue, green and yellow, but today white LED lights are possible. This makes them perfect not only for the flashing lights on top of emergency vehicles but also for various hand held emergency lighting applications.
Solar Lighting
Solar powered lighting is currently used in flashing highway sign technology, to warn drivers of dangers on the road. While the technology is still developing more emergency uses will be found for this technology in the future. Advances in solar lighting will eventually make it the preferable form of lighting but for now, LED and halogen are more practical for most emergency lighting applications.
So what is the best emergency lighting?
As you can see, though LED is obviously best for most applications at the current time, incandescent lighting provided emergency vehicle lighting in the past and may still have some limited applications. Halogen lights with their uncanny brightness also come in handy from time to time, and halogen auto headlamps will probably be used for a long while, as well as halogen takedown lights for police vehicles. The rest of the emergency vehicle and hand held lighting industry is dominated by LED which is far more practical than other forms of emergency lighting available at the current time.
Technology continues to progress and eventually other technologies will replace the current ones. Solar lighting is advancing and may someday either replace or go hand in hand with LED technology. For now though LED is far more practical than any other type of lighting for most emergency applications. It has become more affordable, and is long lasting, powerful light, which will not weigh an officer down if he must use a hand held light. It works well on emergency vehicles and makes very little drain on the car battery considering its energy efficient nature. LED technology currently offers the best option for emergency lighting.
