There was a time when the only thing that used to light the way for vehicles was candle-light brass lanterns or gas-burning lamps. Yes, that’s true! Headlights became prevalent in cars only in the 1920s. However, today it seems really difficult to imagine a time where cars were without headlights because they are such a natural part of a car. This should make us feel really lucky to be born in the 21st century because with all the technological development in the automobile industry, it is a great time to live in as motorists.
Things have come a long way for headlights since lamps and lanterns were used to see the road. From lantern headlights in the 1880s to the first electric headlight in 1898 and then the sealed beam and halogen lamps in the 1960s and 2000s, headlamps have undergone a massive transformation over the years. Nowadays, there is a diverse range of headlamps in the market with distinct advantages and debatable disadvantages. However, all of them are bound to get replaced at some point. But the wide array of choices might confuse you as to which headlamp to buy for your vehicle.
As mentioned earlier, technology has really changed the way for the automotive lighting industry. Energy-saving options are coming into the picture with 55W halogen bulbs and 15W laser headlights. 1200LM halogen bulbs and laser headlights show us how technology is also making the light more efficient. The long-range lighting distance of headlights makes night driving much safer than it was in the pre-headlights era.
In addition to that, long lighting distance also enables you to accelerate more and drive at a higher speed. Halogen bulbs have a 100-meter lighting distance and laser headlights have a lighting distance of around 600 meters, making them one of the best options in terms of lighting distance. The durability of traditional sources of vehicle lights was always a problem that has been solved and tremendously improved by modern headlights. Even the short lifespan that some of the options have is much more than any traditional option. For example, the halogen bulbs have a short lifespan of 500 hours compared to other modern options like laser headlights that have a lifespan of 50000 hours. Still, it is higher than most of the traditional headlamps used.
Headlights are something we normally tend not to think about until it’s too late. However, we need to find a replacement which could be useful on one of those days when you promised your friend to attend his/her birthday party! Also, choosing the right headlamp for your car could be overwhelming due to the availability of such a large number of options. This article would introduce you to the major types of headlamps available in the market with a review of each one of them that also details out their specifications. We hope that this article helps you to choose better and buy the best-suited headlamps for your vehicle.
Table of Contents
| Halogen | LED | HID | Laser | |
| Power | 55W | 35W | 30W | 15W |
| Lumen | 1200LM | 3000LM | 3000LM | 12000LM |
| Current | 4.2A | 3.2A | 2.7A | 1.3A |
| Starting Time | 1 second | 5 seconds | 0.1 second | 0.001 second |
| Lighting Distance | 100 meters | 300 meters | 300 meters | 600 meters |
| Lifespan | 500 hours | 3000 hours | 30000 hours | 50000 hours |
| Benefits | Reasonable, Plug-and-Play Design, Standard Design, Standard Beam | Extremely Bright, Long Distance, Color Options | Energy-Efficient, Low Power, Long Lifespan | Extremely Bright, Energy Efficient, Long Lifespan |
| Drawbacks | Excessive Heat, Excessive Energy Consumption, Short Lifespan, Low Brightness | Costly, Glare Light | No Light Standard Available, Fan Necessary, Canbus Issue | Expensive, Lack of Universal Applicability, Gets Hot |
Halogen headlights are formed interestingly. The lights have a combination of gases like argon and nitrogen trapped within a heat-resistant glass envelope containing a tungsten filament. The heat-resistant property of the glass envelope makes it capable of resisting very high temperatures preventing the bulb from succumbing to overheat damage.
When connected to the car, the bulb receives an electric current from the battery of the car, which heats up the Tungsten filament to about 2500 degrees, making it glow. This filament glow is then refracted and spread by the headlight glass to provide the desired light. The halogen light bulb’s lifetime usually comes to an end because of the Tungsten from the filament getting evaporated, thus leaving the filament and getting deposited on the glass. This makes the filament weak, which subsequently causes it to break, making the bulb useless.
If you are someone who doesn’t put in a lot of driving hours in the dark and doesn’t wanna burn a hole in your pocket due to spending on a pair of headlights, you should definitely go forward with these headlights. However, if you do tend to drive in the dark almost regularly, you might want to consider some of the other options on this list.
Halogen bulbs produce and emit bright white light, which instantly lights up without any flickering or any other kind of delay. This provides drivers with sufficient light to drive long hours in the night or in snow or fog. Especially for compact vehicles, the light beams produced by these bulbs have a sufficiently long range allowing the vehicle to move at a comparatively higher speed without compromising on safety.
This is probably one of the biggest advantages of these bulbs. The low cost of these bulbs makes them an attractive buy as the low price automatically means that the replacement cost of these bulbs is pretty low. The average cost of one of these bulbs is around $15, which means just $30 for a pair, which lasts for about two years! That is indeed a very low cost to maintain your car headlights and ensure that they continue to produce good quality light. When compared to other bulbs in this category, halogen lamps are probably the cheapest option available.
Every headlight bulb needs to be replaced at some point or the other. The change-out process for halogen bulbs makes it very easy to replace them. It basically involves three steps:
This is assuming that you can access your headlight bulbs without removing the car bumper. Even if your vehicle does require removing the bumper to access the lights, the cost of labor for such an operation is meager and requires a small amount of time.
Halogen bulbs are definitely not the most durable ones you’ll find on the market. However, they have a reasonable lifespan of 450-1000 hours, which is pretty decent compared to their price. The mileage that these bulbs provide could be estimated as follows. If you drive your vehicle for 30 minutes per day in the dark, then a pair of these bulbs could last for approximately three years. Even if you drive somewhere around 60 minutes after sundown, these bulbs could work for more than 18 months.
Halogen lights have been popular throughout the world for nearly 40 years. The low cost of halogen bulbs and their variety in colors and brightness have made them really popular across Europe and North America. They are also the most universal headlight bulb because they are manufactured in different sizes, making them available for a variety of vehicles.
One of the drawbacks of halogen lamps is the heat they dissipate. They create a large amount of heat while producing light, which is nothing but waste energy that contributes to the decrease in these bulbs. This is also unavoidable because the heat is a direct result of the production of light. This removes them from the list of eco-friendly headlight options.
One needs to be careful while handling halogen bulbs because of how they react when exposed to different substances. For example, you need to avoid touching the glass of the bulb while installing it. This is because the grease from your hands might transfer to the bulb’s glass resulting in unevenly increasing the amount of heating in the bulb’s structure. This could cause the filament of the bulb to rupture much sooner than its lifespan. Thus, it is advisable to clean the bulb with a cloth after installing it in the headlights of your car.
Halogen lamps work well and are widely used due to the various advantages associated with them. They provide bright illumination at an affordable cost. They are cheaper to manufacture, which is why they are made in various sizes to fit in vehicles of all kinds. This also explains the geographical accessibility that they have all around North America and Europe, in which they are manufactured makes them available for a wide range of vehicles. They also support the low-beam and high-beam settings of the car, making them versatile. However, the fact that they produce excess heat which damages the bulb and that they are sensitive even to the touch of your hands is why they are not the primary choice for someone looking for a high-quality, long-lasting headlight bulb.
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They are also more powerful and last up to 5 times more than the halogen lights. In terms of the light, they produce, LED headlights could be out in between halogen and HID lamps. However, the light emitted by LED lamps is more focussed, and it is even possible to create different shapes from them. Due to their small size, LEDs allow manufacturers to customize them as per the shape of different vehicles, thus eliminating the use of dome reflectors.
LEDs have a rather unusual process to generate light. The negative electrons in the semiconductor material used, move against the direction of the semiconductor holes. Whenever a high energy electron recombines with a low energy hole by entering it, a photon is released, which is basically a packet of light. This process is known as electroluminescence. The repetition of this process thousands of times over in a single second produces the light that is emitted by an LED. This justifies the name Light Emitting Diode which is the full form of “LED.”
LED lights require very little energy to light up. They draw a small amount of energy from the car’s battery, which makes them extremely energy efficient and easy on the car’s motor. The power saved on the headlights could be used by the car’s motor for other car functions. Since the LED lights don’t drain the car’s battery, it also helps to keep the engine healthy. The low energy requirement for LEDs might even help you save some small amounts of fuel.
As mentioned above, LEDs require little power to function. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean a compromise in the light that they produce. They also don’t need workup time to switch on and can instantly produce bright light as soon as they are switched on. The light emitted is enough to navigate through dark or misty routes, easily ensuring driving safety. One can also choose to accelerate the vehicle a bit more due to the improved and far-sighted visibility of LED headlights.
The light that LEDs produce is much more focused than the light produced by their HID counterparts and can also be shaped and bent in a variety of ways. The small size and lightweight of LED lights make it convenient for manufacturers to produce these lights in a variety of designs. This also allows the manufacturers to customize these lights at a low cost for various vehicle models.
Unlike halogen lights, LEDs themselves don’t heat up, but they do have a complicated issue associated with heat. Then tend to trigger heat in surrounding assemblies and in connected wiring harnesses. This implies that LEDs need more cooling to operate than halogen and xenon headlights. It is also probably one issue where the HID lights have a one-up over the LEDs since they do not produce such heating situations. These issues were the reason why earlier, LEDs were only used as tail lights because tail lights involve comparatively less complex circuits. They also are used as a ‘driving aid’ and don’t require the energy required by the headlights that are continuously used while driving in the dark.
One of the major downsides with LED lights is the cooling system that accompanies the lights. It is a bit difficult to fit LED lights in a car because the cooling system that comes with them is supposed to be put in the engine bay. However, this is a contradiction because the engine bay is actually where the temperature generally rises. When the lights and motor runs, the cooling system could face challenges to try and stay cool. This due to the LED headlight being awkwardly refitted.
LEDs are definitely more expensive than the conventional halogen headlight lamps. Thus, whether or not to spend such an amount on these lights completely comes down to your personal needs and the time you spend while driving in the dark.
LED lights are very manufacturer friendly in terms of their small size and compactness. This makes it ideal for manufacturers to produce customized bulls for various vehicles that suit their design and functionalities. But the cooling system tends to take the cost of manufacturing higher. Another thing that makes LED lights stand out is the extremely low energy that they require to function. This also makes them less prone to short circuits due to power fluctuations. Due to requiring much less energy, they tend to last longer. Also, the bright light produced by these lights gives a serene and classy look to your headlights. You might also wonder why don’t LED daytime running lights or LED tail lamps use heat sinks. This is because they aren’t the primary source of light in the dark. Thus they hardly require any power making the heating through them not much of a problem.
LEDs are suitable for drivers who spend a moderate amount of time driving in the dark but can afford to spend decent money on their headlights. However, your investment would land you with a decent pair of headlights that produce bright, white light and have a long lifespan.
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The HID lights work similarly as the neon tube probably found in your basement. It consists of an enclosed tube filled with gases and an electrode at each end. There is also an electric current passing through the tube. The process of the production of light in HID headlights takes place in three steps-
When it comes to vehicle applications, HID lamps use transparent quartz housing, tungsten electrodes, and a mixture of gasses stimulated by the high-voltage electric current that passes between the two electrodes.
The power that HID headlights draw from the car’s battery to light up is much less than what is used by the halogen bulbs. This results in much less strain on the car’s energy supply, making more energy available for other functions of the car. This means that the engine of the car would tend to be more efficient while HID headlights are used. The other sections of the car would also tend to last longer in the presence of HIDs because more energy is available to them for their functions. However, after they are switched on, HID bulbs do take a few seconds to reach full brightness.
The light beam of Xenon lights travels farther and covers a broader area than halogen bulbs. This is why, in some vehicles, HIDs are installed to function as low-beam lights. In contrast, halogen lights are used for high-beam purposes because they light up instantly. Advanced HIDs also have a dual-beam function called bi-xenon. This allows light to change from high to low and vice versa by the flick of a mechanical shutter inside the projector. It provides the driver with more control over the different amounts of light that they might need at a particular point in time.
The Xenon HID headlights are probably the brightest of all the options available in the market. The bright illumination provided by them is also one of the whitest of the lights produced by various headlights and could be even compared to natural daylight. This makes driving in the dark really comfortable for the drivers as they can clearly see the way ahead without much strain on their eyes. The broadness in the luminescence also adds up to the high-quality light that the HID headlights provide.
The lifespan of the HID headlights can be estimated by considering the following scenario- if you spend 90 minutes on an average driving in the dark regularly, it would add up to somewhere around 520 hours in a year. This is a relatively higher number when it comes to driving in the dark, and even then, your HIDs could last up to 4 years, even though we consider the Xenon lights.
HIDs are undoubtedly one of the best options available in the market when it comes to headlight bulbs. But, those features do come at a cost, and we mean literally because HIDs are expensive or at least they used to be. HIDs are, therefore, perfect for people who don’t want temporary fixes on their car and want something durable. The high price of the HIDs makes them suitable for people who drive after dark for many hours. However, if you are not that much of a night driver, you might want to avoid spending so much on buying a headlight with some extra features.
This is another drawback of the HIDs. Xenon lights can reflect intense glare towards oncoming vehicles as well as through the rearview mirrors of the vehicles ahead. This has even resulted in aftermarket HID kits being declared as illegal in certain places. It is thus advisable to check the laws in your area to ensure if such lights are allowed on vehicles. Also, purchase these lights from a licensed dealer and take the help of a professional to install them to avoid any kind of discrepancy.
HID lights are undoubtedly one of the brightest options available in the market, but they definitely are priced accordingly. The efficiency of these lights makes them an attractive option along with the range of the light they produce. They cover a broader beam of light as compared to halogen lights, thus covering more area. However, a couple of their features makes an argument against them. For example, the glare that they reflect could be dangerous in extremely sunny weather and might make other drivers uncomfortable. Also, some xenon headlights could even harm the driver’s health due to certain toxic materials like mercury that the headlights contain.
These headlights are ideal for someone who wants a pair of headlights that provide bright light and last for a long time. However, one must be careful while using these headlights due to some of the drawbacks they possess.
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Phosphor is the primary material used in the luminescence of laser lights, while actual lasers play a minimal role. The cars manufactured by BMW use this system in their headlights. Three blue lasers are positioned at the back of the headlight assembly. They fire their laser beams on a set of tiny mirrors that reflect and focus their energy on a tiny lens containing yellow phosphorus gas. When coming in contact with the laser beam, this substance is about to create a bright light, which is reflected through the headlights. Thus, the light generated by this process is used as the headlight and not the laser beams themselves.
Laser lights produce about 1000 times the intensity generated by LEDs while consuming only half as much power. This clearly shows how much more efficient they are when compared with LEDs.
The light produced by these headlights takes the help of lasers, and a fact about laser light is that it can travel at the speed of your car. The advantage of this could be realized by considering the following- a driver who is traveling at the speed of 60mph would have a good 25 seconds to respond to something that is spotted at a distance of 1970 feet as if he/she is using laser lights in their vehicle. However, if any other headlight is used, which can reach only half the distance compared to laser lights, the driver would have only 10 seconds to respond in a similar situation. This 15-second window could be crucial in cases where the driver has to make a quick decision as to what is to be done when something is spotted in the middle of the road.
Laser lights come in a wide variety of colors, offering diverse color choices. The light is in close range with natural daylight because of having the color temperature in the range of 5500K to 6000K. Another thing that is to be considered is that laser light generates 170 lumens of light per watt as compared to the 100 lumens per watt generated by LEDs. This clearly puts laser light ahead of LEDs in terms of light production.
The small size and the flexibility of the laser lights allow manufacturers to easily customize laser lights that are complementary to various vehicle models. They can also be designed in various shapes and sizes easily, allowing manufacturers to experiment with new and more aesthetic designs. This has clearly been one of the biggest reasons for laser lights gaining popularity.
The engineers and manufacturers take into consideration that the laser beams that are being used to produce light in laser lights should not be exposed. That is why laser beams have been equipped with a mechanism that automatically shuts off the laser lights’ functioning if they get damaged. This prevents the laser beams inside the headlights from coming out and causing any damage to anything present in the surroundings.
This is probably the only big drawback that these lights have- their price. Laser lights are the most expensive headlights that you’ll find on the market. You could maybe relate this to the fact that it is usually the expensive brands like Audi and BMW that use these kinds of lights in their cars. A pair of these lights will cost you around $10000 on an average. This is definitely huge when it comes to buying a pair of headlights. BMW uses six lasers per lamp in their cars, whereas Audi uses four per headlamp. The heat generated by these lights is also more than that generated by LEDs or HIDs, which puts them at a disadvantage.
Laser lights are probably the brightest headlights that you’ll come across in the market. But, they are the costliest too. However, their features justify their higher cost. In fact, they eliminate many drawbacks that their counterparts have. They have an intense, far-reaching light, much brighter than the other headlights on this list. Like LEDs, they are small-sized and compact, which allows manufacturers to produce a variety of designs and produce these lights in various colors. They also take safety precautions to prevent exposure to laser beams that might cause any damage.
All things considered, the laser lights are pretty much the best option from this list in terms of features. However, their cost is what makes them an option that not everyone would choose to buy. Hence, go for these lights only if you regularly drive in the dark. If that’s not the case, you might want to consider other options, given that they cost much less. But, if you want the best in class, no matter what the cost, laser headlights are the ones for you.
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Headlights are undoubtedly one of the most important parts of a vehicle. Various factors determine whether a particular set of headlights are good or not. The best one for you will only be determined by your preferences and the requirements of your vehicle.
Laser lights probably produce the most amount of light, approximately 1000 times more than produced by LEDs. HID lights also produce bright, white light that helps drivers to see clearly at night. They also use much less power than what is used by halogen lights. Halogen lights provide a decent amount of light but aren’t as durable as the other options on this list.
Halogen lights emit heat, which results in energy wastage. LEDs also have some heating effect on their surroundings as they trigger heat in surrounding assemblies, which leads to them getting heated up. They thus require more cooling than HIDs or xenon headlights that have almost negligible heating effects.
Out of all these options, laser headlights are probably the most costly due to the wide array of features that they have. HIDs and LEDs come next, costing more than the conventional halogen lights. Halogen lights are the cheapest option available as the material used to make them costs much less than the materials used to make other lights. Also, halogen lights have been around for longer than any of the other lights on this list, which makes them easily accessible, reducing their cost.
A person who drives after hours in the dark frequently might want to go with one of the higher-priced options like laser headlights or LEDs that offer increased durability. Though one might want to know that currently, laser headlights can’t be used for both low and high beams. They require a regular LED or HID system to work in tandem.
For someone, who is not that much a frequent driver in the dark, the halogen lights are probably the best option because of their low cost and decent lighting capabilities. They do require some careful maintenance, but the low price would allow you to use the saved money for all those purposes.
Now that you understand how the different types of headlights stack up against each other, choose the headlight most suitable for your needs! We hope this article has brought you closer to your decision.
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