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LED Headlight Cost Analysis
OK, today I will do the math to know if changing headlights for LED is worthy
I will take my car as an example, a Toyota Matrix 2013
Low beam model : 9006 from factory they consume 50watt each
Same model in LED they consume 4.5watt each and are $24.95 + $15shipping(estimate)
You save 91watt/hour if you put those light and drive for 1 hour
1 Liter of gas contain: 8900watt/hrs.
An ICE (Internal combustion engine) is only 20% efficient so each litre of gas give 1780 watt/hrs of moving energy
An alternator is only efficient at around 50%
So you need 1 litre of gas if you want to draw 890 watt/hrs of electricity,
With the LED headlight it need 890/91 = 9.78 hrs of driving to save 1 liter of gas.
On my GPS I have the information on my average speed on the last 45000km. My average speed was 68.5km/h
68.5Km/h*9.78h = 669.93Km, let’s call it 670Km So it take me 670km of driving to save 1 liter of gas if I put those LED light.
Or I bring down my consumption down of 0.15Liter/100km
In Canada Ontario (where I live), the Gas is at $1,20/liter
Total cost of light + shipping is approximately $65
$65 = 54.16liter of gas
670Km/1L * 54.16L = 36292Km
I will break even after 36292Km (22700miles) or approx 1 year of driving.
Is it worth it? - Kind of ..
Oh, its 36292Km of driving with day light, you have to buy another set if you want to drive at night. High beam is the model 9005. it’s the same price as the 9006. So double the initial price and double the distance.
My car is still new; it may be worth it to change now if I plan on driving the same car for 250,000+Km but don't think that those LED will save you money rapidly.
Let me know what you think of it.
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