Quote:
Originally Posted by markweatherill
I was going to point out that at the higher voltage your accessories might just draw less current, but use the same power. But somehow that doesn't seem to work in practice! Headlights always seem to get brighter when the engine is running rather than when it's off. I guess 12V is just not very efficient full stop.
Which might suggest, is there the option to convert to 24V?
|
Headlights are a straight resistive load and will always consume more power when given a higher voltage. LEDs behave similarly, and have a bigger problem of drawing more current the hotter the LED gets. This positive feedback can cause LEDs to burn out prematurely which is why they need to be engineered properly for their application. HIDs on the other hand will draw a relatively constant amount of power within a range of voltages.
24v would allow for smaller gauge wire to supply the power, but I don't ever see that being adopted. I'd like to see 240v AC be the standard in US homes for the same reason, but that seems even more improbable.