Nav-comm develops new LED lighting systems for emergency vehicles

Chinese ambulanceThe new generation of nav-comm's high power, surface-mount LEDs are brighter, last longer and use less power than traditional halogen and strobe lighting used in beacons on emergency vehicles such as police, fire and ambulances.

The new lighting units have a physically lower profile, thus they cause less drag on the emergency vehicle at top speed, making it more fuel efficient and faster, and reducing the vehicle’s carbon footprint. The units are designed not to interfere with other vehicle onboard equipment, such as life-saving machines in ambulances, and satellite navigation and communications equipment.

Russian police car The new product has been in development for over two years and is now in mass production in the UK, with major interest being shown by emergency vehicle users across the UK and Europe. The Russian Police and Emergency Services agency, including the Russian Ministry of Defense, has ordered the first wave of light bars to be fitted to Ford Focus and Mercedes cars. A double-decker LED light bar will be fitted to larger vans and trucks.

LEDs offer significant energy savings over conventional halogen lamp sources, particularly when a lamp is filtered to produce colored light. In this application, the energy consumption of an LED solution can be as little as 10% of an equivalent halogen lamp product.

UK rapid response vehicle The latest white LEDs offer luminous efficiencies that are typically 45 lumen/W, which is 2-3 times that of a halogen lamp and helpful for emergency scene illumination. They have a life expectancy of 100,000 hours, which keeps the emergency vehicles on the road and out of the garage, reducing cost, time and the need for spare vehicles. The system was developed in partnership with Merseyside Police's Liverpool North Equipment Office.

Police demo and test vehicle Because of the low power consumption, the new style lights are also suited for electric vehicles and the new generation of hybrid cars that run on a combination of gas and electric engines. Nav-comm’s work with the UK police, home office and emergency service has produced a range of equipment designed specifically for UK and European vehicles, including digital video recorders and touchscreen switching systems for use in vehicles.