Which Unity spotlight LED lighthead is the best?

JohnFireFan

Member
Jan 29, 2012
323
Louisiana
Which replacement LED lighthead for the Unity spotlight is the best?

1) Sirennet PAR-46 Replacement LED 2° Spotlight (Tighter spot beam @ 2,000 lumens)Sirennet 1.jpg

2) Sirennet PAR-46 Replacement LED 8° Spotlight (Slightly wider spot beam @ 1,600 lumens)Sirennet 3.jpg

3) Sirennet PAR-46 20° x 60° LED Floodlight (Flood @ 1,600 lumens)Sirennet 4.jpg

To my knowledge the 2° spotlight is the more focused beam and the 8° spotlight is slightly larger beam. Which lighthead is best for normal everyday operation? I do not have a specific use for the light other than the essentials. The 2° spotlight has a higher output of light at 2,000 lumens and the 8° spotlight has a lower output of 1,600 lumens.

A comparison video would be great but unlikely. A picture or video of the different beams would be more ideal.
 

wilsonbr90

Member
Sep 30, 2013
1,427
Corning, New York
This thread has the picture comparison of thd halogen bulb vs the whelen 2º spotlight replacement. Have you thought of the whelen version? This guy was selling them for way less than a sirennet one (no offense guys)
 

JohnFireFan

Member
Jan 29, 2012
323
Louisiana
This thread has the picture comparison of thd halogen bulb vs the whelen 2º spotlight replacement. Have you thought of the whelen version? This guy was selling them for way less than a sirennet one (no offense guys)
Without hesitation I went ahead and bought it. What a great deal for the real deal! I'll take some or better pics of the halogen vs. Whelen PAR 46 2º when I get it.
 
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UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
Personally, we prefer our U-8547 LED drop in. It is similar to the 2 degree Whelen. If you want to go with Whelen (those Sirennet Lamps are Whelen lamps) go with the Whelen 2 degree spot. It is the only one of those lamps that meets SAE standards for a spotlight and technically the 8 degree and the flood light should not be used in our spotlights. If you are interested in a wider beam that still meets SAE spotlight standards we recently just released or X-LED series spotlights. They are not drop in units as the whole head of the spotlight is a specially designed LED lamp. Going by how Whelen measures they are 4.5 degree beam spread and were designed to have a beam pattern more like a halogen. The light is reflected to create a hot center with an extra corona that we have not seen in other LED lamps.

X-LED Spotlights: http://www.unityusa.com/X335-Series-Unity-X-LED-Post-Mount-Spotlights_c_2113.html
 

octoberguy77

Member
May 15, 2014
975
Indianapolis, IN
It's funny but I'm going to say it anyway...Unity is correct...The Whelen bulb (P46SLC)is good but the candlepower is much higher in Unity's bulb(U-8547 is 215,000 candlepower)compared to Whelen's P46SLC with 123,000 candlepower. Unity's Par46 LED spot bulb is shown below...and looks pretty cool actually!! I have one of each bulb myself. Both bulbs are rated at 50,000 hrs of use.Screenshot_2016-01-19-17-35-33.png
 
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UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
It's funny but I'm going to say it anyway...Unity is correct...The Whelen bulb (P46SLC)is good but the candlepower is much higher in Unity's bulb(U-8547 is 215,000 candlepower)compared to Whelen's P46SLC with 123,000 candlepower. Unity's Par46 LED spot bulb is shown below...and looks pretty cool actually!! I have one of each bulb myself. Both bulbs are rated at 50,000 hrs of use.View attachment 150577

On a personal, not representing Unity level, of those two I think the U-8547 looks cooler too, but X-LED is by far my favorite looks wise.

(Back to Unity Rep) It also is brighter than both the other lights at 225,000 candle power, has wider beam, same power draw and lamp life as the other two, and dissipates heat better. For these stronger LEDs the heat builds up fast and can effect the light output. The actual P46SLC lamp drops off pretty quickly in brightest due to heat. I am not an engineer, but I believe that is due to how this the lamp is. The U-8547 holds up much better to the heat, but it is a lot bigger lamp if you put the two next to each other. The size difference is all heat sink. The X-LED is bigger yet, that we had to design the whole light head around holding it and its heat sink. We also added in a GORE-TEX membrane in the back that vents out the heat.
aunityusa.3dcartstores.com_assets_images_LED_20Head_20Comparison.jpg
 
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UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
Did quick photo of the heat sinks. U-8547 is on the left and Whelen is on the right. (Technically the Whelen is a P46FLC, but the heat sinks are similar enough to demonstrate the point and it's what I had access to right now.)
aunityusa.3dcartstores.com_assets_images_Unity_20vs_20Whelen_20heat_20sink.jpg
 
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EVT

Member
May 24, 2010
622
Midwest
So the X335 will take an entirety new housing? How will that work with current patrol units with the standard spotlight already installed?
 

UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
So the X335 will take an entirety new housing? How will that work with current patrol units with the standard spotlight already installed?

We will have a retro fit kit available. The whole head of the spotlight is fairly easy to swap out. There is essentially just and nut that needs to be removed to pull the head off to switch from current model spotlights (S04) to the new model (S14). For upkeep we will have replaceable parts that will come available in the near future. We just released the new X335 so only the full spotlight assembly is currently available. The new design eliminates the retainer ring the holds the lamp into the shell. The lens has now been separated and itself screws directly into the shell. Either of those parts can be replaced for upkeep and when the lens is removed, full access to the LED assembly is possible.

There are no plans to discontinue the S04 model spotlights. They will still be supported, the U-8547 lamp will still be available and we are in planning stages of possibly adding a version of the U-8547 drop in that would have stats more like the X-LED. That is still in planning though and we do not have a timetable on that.

In addition to the new X-LED we plan on releasing X-H3 spotlights. These will run on the same S14 head style, but will be the halogen equivalent. They will improve greatly on issues we have encountered with the current U-7682 halogen lamp.

aunityusa.3dcartstores.com_assets_images_X330GM_0002.jpg
 
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fleetcomm

Member
Sep 2, 2011
717
south of nowhere
I received a rigid industries spotlight monday and have had a few nights to test and review it. The replacement rigid bulb weighs more than unity and whelen bulbs, it has a bright white light without the purplish blue color of the unity. The spot area is larger than unity and whelen. I am impressed with it but, I can not justify the price difference between it and other led spot lights. I prefer the whelen 2 degree spot over the unity led spot in side by side comparison because of color and the size of the spot. I have not seen the new unity light yet so I can not give an opinion on it, I m going to try to get one for test and evaluation and will report back when I get it.
 
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CHIEFOPS

Member
Jan 24, 2011
1,532
NYC
OK, I'm thoroughly confused now. I'm spec-ing out a 2017 Ford Utility, which Unity LED spotlight is standard?
 

UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
OK, I'm thoroughly confused now. I'm spec-ing out a 2017 Ford Utility, which Unity LED spotlight is standard?

If you are buying from Ford factory with lights already on the vehicle: Unity U-8547 LED is listed as the standard option and the Whelen P46SLC is listed as the "Branded" option. As of right now X-LED spotlights are only available in the aftermarket. The rigid LED is not currently available in any of our lights and the drop in needs to be purchased separately.
 

UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
How does the U-8547 compare to the X-LED?

Both lights are 30 watts, 12 volts, 2.5 amps, 50,000 hours of lamp life, meet SAE spotlight standard and are sold at the same price. U-8547 is 215,000 candle power and has a 4 x 4 beam spread. X-LED is 225,000 candle power and is 9 x 9 beam spread. U-8547 is a drop in unit that can be used to replace an existing halogen lamp, just like switching out a burned out lamp. X-LED has a whiter light than the U-8547, as some have noted it hangs a little to the blue side.

X-LED is built into its own head design. By making the light the full head it allowed us to set the LEDs further back in the head. The light can then be "bounced" around on the reflector creating a hot center with a extra aura of light around the center to match the beam pattern of a halogen. We did this because LEDs are very precise and cut off right at the edge of the beam. This makes a very tight focused beam that is great in some situations. Our main feedback we have received from police departments was that LEDs were too focus for their needs during traffic stops. They wanted something closer to the extra glow that came off the halogen because it would light up more of the car that had been stopped.
 

CHIEFOPS

Member
Jan 24, 2011
1,532
NYC
What's the msrp of the X-LED? Does it make sense to spec the spotlight prep package and then field install the X-LED kit?
 

UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
Since you are going with the Utility I would definitely recommend going with the spotlight prep package. The Utility is one of our hardest installs and Ford has a nice setup for doing it well. It can definitely be done outside the factory, but requires cutting out a hole for the bracket to sit in along with drilling the hole through the post. If you do the prep package all you would need to do is slide the spotlight in and hook it up.

The X-LED spotlight for the Utility is MSRP $525.33 and can be found at that price on our website. You may be able to find a better price through one of our distributors.
 

CEVS

New Member
Jun 1, 2010
264
NJ
The X-LED spotlight for the Utility is MSRP $525.33 and can be found at that price on our website. You may be able to find a better price through one of our distributors.

What's the msrp of the X-LED? Does it make sense to spec the spotlight prep package and then field install the X-LED kit?

We are a Unity distributor, if purchasing the XLED is something you are interested in moving forward with please send me a PM and we can work something out.
 
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UnityUSA

New Member
Nov 25, 2015
121
Chicago IL
Comparison of Unity LED vs X-LED with Halogen for reference. Pictures were taken with the lights at the same distance, aimed at the same target. Lights were about 9.5 feet from board. (Used a setup for testing fog lights, the lines and words just above are for that.)

upload_2016-8-26_10-55-8.png
 
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