Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

LED headlamps

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I know this is off topic (sort of), but no one as mentioned that the Model S will NOT have LED headlights. I am a bit surprised by this as Xeons are not nearly as energy efficient. I thought originally it was said that the S would have LED headlights (not just fog lights). Yet another feature my 4.5 year old Lexus has that the S will not have :(
 
It appears that Tesla went with halogen headlight lamps to keep the base price of $50k after tax credit. Xenon is included in the tech package (a whoppy $3750 extra). I expect LED headlights are even more expensive - or Xenon would be out of business!
 
LED are not really expensive. But they the high-performance-LED will cost several hundred buck, this is really much more then the few bucks of a H7 bulb. But sts the cost of regulations and approval for a new headlight whats really drives the cost to the sky.
What i want most for my Roadster are some LED for a simple corner light. But i have to upgrade to the new Xeon-headligth to get better light for the driving in sharp curves.
 
I know Tesla isn't going to use LED headlights on the Model S but what improvement in range would they offer?
One Xenon headlight (HID) consumes under 40W, one LED headlight consumes around 15W, so there would be ~25 W power reduction per light. You have two - 50W power savings.

Average power in motion is around 15 kW. 50/15.000 = 0.3%.
With a "300-mile battery" LEDs would give/save you 1 (one) additional mile of range. With 160-mile battery, only half a mile.
Now consider various driving conditions where same battery pack can give you anywhere between 150 and 200 mile range. LEDs savings are hence unnoticeable.
 
Don't forget the headlights can use energy even when you are not moving. So if you leave your car parked with the headlights on for a while, you would sacrifice more range.

One Xenon headlight (HID) consumes under 40W, one LED headlight consumes around 15W, so there would be ~25 W power reduction per light. You have two - 50W power savings.

Average power in motion is around 15 kW. 50/15.000 = 0.3%.
With a "300-mile battery" LEDs would give/save you 1 (one) additional mile of range. With 160-mile battery, only half a mile.
Now consider various driving conditions where same battery pack can give you anywhere between 150 and 200 mile range. LEDs savings are hence unnoticeable.
 
One Xenon headlight (HID) consumes under 40W, one LED headlight consumes around 15W, so there would be ~25 W power reduction per light. You have two - 50W power savings.

Average power in motion is around 15 kW. 50/15.000 = 0.3%.
With a "300-mile battery" LEDs would give/save you 1 (one) additional mile of range. With 160-mile battery, only half a mile.
Now consider various driving conditions where same battery pack can give you anywhere between 150 and 200 mile range. LEDs savings are hence unnoticeable.

The numbers I looked at had LED headlamps running ~50W (Audi R8), or 40W (A6). I saw that the Audi DRLs (A4) were running 15W. And HIDs run 35W low beams from the factory.

By comparison, a mere 15 watts is required to power the new Audi A4's modern LED daytime running lights,

Audi Debuts World's First LED Headlights - Audi R8 - Eurotuner Magazine


use just 40 watts of electricity each

Audi A6 LED Headlights

What alternative HID wattages are out there?
35-watt is the norm & industry standard.

Image Window

Right now you aren't going to see any difference between the two lights in terms of power draw. And realistically running halogens wouldn't change your driving range where you would notice, it will change your visibility range. :biggrin:
 
One Xenon headlight (HID) consumes under 40W, one LED headlight consumes around 15W, so there would be ~25 W power reduction per light. You have two - 50W power savings.

Average power in motion is around 15 kW. 50/15.000 = 0.3%.
With a "300-mile battery" LEDs would give/save you 1 (one) additional mile of range. With 160-mile battery, only half a mile.
Now consider various driving conditions where same battery pack can give you anywhere between 150 and 200 mile range. LEDs savings are hence unnoticeable.
Thanks. That's what I was looking for. Good to know it doesn't make too much of a difference.
 
Here's is the latest example of LED headlights on a mass produced vehicle. The up coming Kia K9

2012-Kia-K9-Headlight.jpg