Led Flashlights: How Cold Weather Affects Performance

This article examines the science of incandescent and LED flashlights' performance in very cold surroundings. We hope to provide you with a sense of what to look for in your next cold-weather LED flashlight. We also provide a few tricks on how to improve performance as the mercury in the thermometer plummets - these tips come in handy even if you don't happen to live in a remote, frigid place like Alaska.

In Extreme Cold, Incandescent Bulbs Can Shatter

A traditional incandescent bulb works by warming a metal filament until it literally glows with heat. In very cold surroundings, this can be dangerous. The temperature contrast between the filament and the surrounding air can cause glass to break, and the bulb to shatter. This occurs because glass cannot quickly conduct heat; it is inflexible and cannot stand temperature changes as well as other materials. An exploding flashlight bulb poses a real danger to the user.

On the other hand, LED bulbs function by way of shifting atomic charges. In an LED light bulb, superconductor material glows when there is a discrepancy between positive and negative charges. The point is that an LED flashlight runs cold. It doesn't glow with heat like an incandescent flashlight, so its bulb won't shatter in bitterly cold environments.

Dropping Temperatures Negatively Impact Battery Performance

If you've taken basic chemistry, you appreciate that heat causes many chemical reactions to speed up, and cold temperatures cause chemical procedures to take place more slowly. Batteries are affected by this rule; they operate by way of chemical reactions that decelerate in cold conditions. For this reason, LED flashlight users may notice that batteries run out of juice much more quickly in below-freezing temperatures.

There are a couple of simple solutions to this potential problem: Keep your batteries in your pocket (your body heat will keep them warm) or buy lithium batteries, which are manufactured to work between -40 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

Current demand is the other variable in cold battery performance. An LED flashlight that doesn't need much current will keep working longer because it doesn't draw as much on taxed batteries. Even if you do buy a low-current flashlight, be aware the brightness may be halved in below freezing temperatures.

Alternatively, you can select a capacitor-powered LED flashlight. Movement powers capacitators, so all you'll need to do to bring your capacitator LED back to life is shake it for a spell.

One final note on battery performance: Remember that you may face leaking or even battery explosion in extreme cold. The freezing point for alkaline batteries is around -48 degrees Fahrenheit. If you will be in such cold conditions, keep your batteries inside your parka; this will keep them warmer than your surroundings.

Look for Consistent Metal Connections in your LED Flashlight

If you anticipate regular use of your LED flashlight in cold environs, check the metal connectors before purchasing a new torch. Avoid any LED flashlights with different internal metals as connections. Different metals have different rates of contraction in cold. If all of the metal inside your LED flashlight is of one type, you'll be set - all of the metal connections will shrink at the same rate, and the LED flashlight should still operate just fine. On the other hand, the LED flashlight with different internal metals might not work in bitter cold.