Wait a second, I know for a fact that Audi already dealt with this and the other thermal management aspects of LEDs that make them a bit of a challenge to use where incandescents or halogens were used before.
How else do you think virtually all their cars employ copious LEDs for daytime running lamps and even normal headlights?
The solution is obvious, some very low current heaters for wintertime.
@Nerdtalker I don't believe regular headlamps aren't relied upon for snowmelt. Things such as wind hitting them at 60mph are relied upon. Stoplights are different. They sit there and wait for snow to collect on them. They don't have freezing wind hitting them at 60mph, cooling them. So they build up heat and melt the snow...
@ridata The only difference between air blowing on something and something moving quickly through the air is the frame of reference. They are functionally exactly the same.
In your comment, first you say that wind prevents snow buildup (when referring to headlights) and later you say that wind would cause snow buildup on traffic lights (by cooling them and not allowing the heat to melt the snow). Are you one of those people that cites both both reduction and expansion of the polar ice caps as clear evidence of global warming?
Actually, the LEDs in headlamps create a great deal of heat. It's a problem for the designers who design-in high intensity LEDs. They need massive heatsinks.
The LEDs in traffic lights are very low watt. While they don't radiate much heat from the front I have to believe that the circuits used to run them are warm enough that if they were moved into the lens housing there would be enough heat to melt the ice and snow.
@John H Really? You're having that hard of a time figuring this out?? Ok, lemme break this down barney style for you: A car is aerodynamic... That means that wind flows over it easily. A stop light is NOT aerodynamic. When wind blows on a car, the snow goes over it. When wind blows on a STOPLIGHT, the snow gets stuck. Get it?
@John H Oh, and as for temp differences in wind: Which is colder? A 20 MPH wind hitting a stoplight? Or a 20 mph wind hitting a car that is moving at 60 mph? Common sense man, get some!
Switch your sarcasm detector on and pop a Valium, bro. I was having a little fun with a comment that was ridiculously worded anyway -- double negative in the first sentence, which amounts to him saying the exact opposite of what he meant, and generally unclear wording throughout. Yes of course I understand that cars are aerodynamic and the snow has places to go in that case since headlights don't have covers over them like stoplights do, and of course wind doesn't (generally) blow at 60mph. Try to unwind a little bit, you'll live longer.
@Brokinarrow "You're having that hard of a time figuring this out?? Ok, lemme break this down barney style for you: A car is aerodynamic... That means that wind flows over it easily. A stop light is NOT aerodynamic. When wind blows on a car, the snow goes over it. When wind blows on a STOPLIGHT, the snow gets stuck. Get it?"
By your comment, I should be able to drive during a snow storm at 60MPH and not have to run my windshield wipers at all. Sadly, that would likely result in a wreck as the snow does not all flow easily over the car. Enough of it will stick to the windshield that without the wipers, the window would become just as obscured as these traffic lights.
"Oh, and as for temp differences in wind: Which is colder? A 20 MPH wind hitting a stoplight? Or a 20 mph wind hitting a car that is moving at 60 mph? Common sense man, get some!"
Technically, neither is colder. Given that the wind is at the same temperature, unless there is liquid evaporating from the surfaces, those surfaces will be subjected to the same temperature. Wind chill only exists due to our body's natural evaporative cooling. Please do at least a little research before you claim to have 'common sense;' or perhaps you are trying to emulate Nerdtalker's avatar.
@(Unverified) I was thinking along the same lines. A redesign of the heatsinks to transfer the heat to the lens area would probably be all that is needed.
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Wait a second, I know for a fact that Audi already dealt with this and the other thermal management aspects of LEDs that make them a bit of a challenge to use where incandescents or halogens were used before.
How else do you think virtually all their cars employ copious LEDs for daytime running lamps and even normal headlights?
The solution is obvious, some very low current heaters for wintertime.
@Nerdtalker
What does thermal management have to do with Audi's headlights? They don't get covered up my snow that needs to be melted off.
@hughjass Oh really?
@Nerdtalker
Get your head out of your ass.
@Nerdtalker
I don't believe regular headlamps aren't relied upon for snowmelt. Things such as wind hitting them at 60mph are relied upon. Stoplights are different. They sit there and wait for snow to collect on them. They don't have freezing wind hitting them at 60mph, cooling them. So they build up heat and melt the snow...
@ridata The only difference between air blowing on something and something moving quickly through the air is the frame of reference. They are functionally exactly the same.
@ridata
In your comment, first you say that wind prevents snow buildup (when referring to headlights) and later you say that wind would cause snow buildup on traffic lights (by cooling them and not allowing the heat to melt the snow). Are you one of those people that cites both both reduction and expansion of the polar ice caps as clear evidence of global warming?
@Nerdtalker
Actually, the LEDs in headlamps create a great deal of heat. It's a problem for the designers who design-in high intensity LEDs. They need massive heatsinks.
The LEDs in traffic lights are very low watt. While they don't radiate much heat from the front I have to believe that the circuits used to run them are warm enough that if they were moved into the lens housing there would be enough heat to melt the ice and snow.
@Nerdtalker
So the solution is to put the LED streetlights a few feet away from a large heat producing internal combustion engine? Brilliant!
@John H Really? You're having that hard of a time figuring this out?? Ok, lemme break this down barney style for you: A car is aerodynamic... That means that wind flows over it easily. A stop light is NOT aerodynamic. When wind blows on a car, the snow goes over it. When wind blows on a STOPLIGHT, the snow gets stuck. Get it?
@John H Oh, and as for temp differences in wind: Which is colder? A 20 MPH wind hitting a stoplight? Or a 20 mph wind hitting a car that is moving at 60 mph? Common sense man, get some!
@Brokinarrow
Switch your sarcasm detector on and pop a Valium, bro. I was having a little fun with a comment that was ridiculously worded anyway -- double negative in the first sentence, which amounts to him saying the exact opposite of what he meant, and generally unclear wording throughout. Yes of course I understand that cars are aerodynamic and the snow has places to go in that case since headlights don't have covers over them like stoplights do, and of course wind doesn't (generally) blow at 60mph. Try to unwind a little bit, you'll live longer.
@Brokinarrow
"You're having that hard of a time figuring this out?? Ok, lemme break this down barney style for you: A car is aerodynamic... That means that wind flows over it easily. A stop light is NOT aerodynamic. When wind blows on a car, the snow goes over it. When wind blows on a STOPLIGHT, the snow gets stuck. Get it?"
By your comment, I should be able to drive during a snow storm at 60MPH and not have to run my windshield wipers at all. Sadly, that would likely result in a wreck as the snow does not all flow easily over the car. Enough of it will stick to the windshield that without the wipers, the window would become just as obscured as these traffic lights.
"Oh, and as for temp differences in wind: Which is colder? A 20 MPH wind hitting a stoplight? Or a 20 mph wind hitting a car that is moving at 60 mph? Common sense man, get some!"
Technically, neither is colder. Given that the wind is at the same temperature, unless there is liquid evaporating from the surfaces, those surfaces will be subjected to the same temperature. Wind chill only exists due to our body's natural evaporative cooling. Please do at least a little research before you claim to have 'common sense;' or perhaps you are trying to emulate Nerdtalker's avatar.
@ridata Ever heard of ice, dude?
@(Unverified) I was thinking along the same lines. A redesign of the heatsinks to transfer the heat to the lens area would probably be all that is needed.
Nick