Optronics International, America’s largest offshore vehicle lighting manufacturer, presented its new ONE Series LED Lamps to the transportation industry today. The single-diode 4-inch round and 6-inch oval LED stop, tail, turn lamps are the first to be introduced and will be followed by other popular formats. The low price and long life of the lamps make them the first truly viable incandescent alternative available, and bring the industry one step closer to the reality that incandescent lamps are essentially obsolete.
The features, advantages and benefits of LED vehicle lighting are well known throughout the industry, as are the shortcomings of traditional incandescent lighting. However, at four to six times the cost of incandescent lamps, converting to LED lamps has made fleets and owner-operators alike pause while trying to reconcile some form of cost-benefit analysis. The result of more than 20 years of deliberation: a large percentage of vehicles still operate with less-reliable incandescent lamps.
Optronics has leveraged advancements in diode technology and pricing to engineer its ONE Series LED Lamps, a lighting solution that looks like an incandescent lamp, costs about twice as much, but lasts 50 times longer. Stop, tail, turn lamps are the most common and because a large number of those in service are still incandescent, the new lamps are meant to cause a tipping point toward LEDs.
“Our new ONE Series LED Lamps will disrupt the status quo,” Brett Johnson, president and CEO of Optronics International, said. “Unless you just really like replacing burned-out incandescent lamps, I can’t think of another reason why you’d buy one at this juncture.”
Optronics continuously gathers qualitative marketplace data, and a low-cost LED alternative to incandescent lamps is something the marketplace has been wanting for years. Now, OEs can deliver a better product at a lower price point, fleets can make a solid business case to convert to LEDs as incandescents fail and independent owner-operators on a budget can easily justify the new LEDs.
“This is a game changer for the vehicle lighting product category,” Billy Thompson, special markets manager for non-automotive, fleet and heavy-duty product categories for O’Reilly Auto Parts, said. “With ONE Series LED Lamps, you don’t need a calculator or an amortization schedule to weigh the value of converting from incandescent to LED lighting.”
The lamps will be on display at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Booth # 69129 and at the Dieters Truck Accessories booth # 30292 at the 2014 Mid-America Trucking Show, March 27 – 29 in Louisville, Ky.
The new ONE Series LED Lamps meet all FMVSS 108 photometric requirements for visibility and safety. Each lamp comes with a lifetime warranty and lenses and housings are made of tough polycarbonate material that is sonically welded. The lamps employ a solid-state, surface-mount device (SMD) design that protects their electronics against moisture, shock and vibration.
A grommet-mount version of the new single-diode 4-inch round STL003RB red and STL003AB amber lamps and 6-inch oval STL002RB red and STL002AB amber lamps will be introduced first and will be closely followed by flange-mount versions. The new lamps are expected to begin shipping mid-May 2014. The lamps will be available with standard PL-3, and weather tight termination options will follow, allowing ONE Series LED Lamps to make use of existing harness connections for installation flexibility and cost-effective retrofitting.
