What is the difference between xenon and hid headlights

The newer LED and Xenon HID lights use a different system, and are much more efficient, producing more light, and less heat, from a given amount of electricity. Incandescent light bulbs typically put the filament in a vacuum to preserve it, but as used in car headlights, they are filled with special gases in the halogen family usually iodine or bromine.

Halogen reacts to the hot filament to help create a larger amount of light that is much whiter in color, because the filament burns hotter. Burning hotter allows them to five off more light, but it also means the halogen bulb must be made of special glass and handled carefully so as not to leave fingerprints on it that can cause a hot spot.

One fingerprint on a halogen bulb can cause it to fail within minutes once it is turned on. Xenon HID headlights are not the same as a halogen unit. Instead, a spark is created inside the HID bulb between two electrodes, but requires a much higher voltage in order to make the jump.

HID headlights create a much more powerful light - measured in thousands of lumen - for a given amount of wattage used. A ballast is used to step up the 12 volts from the car's electrical system to 24, volts of electricity, which creates a potent spark and ignites the Xenon gas mixture. Once the spark is lit, the voltage is dailed back down, but still in the thousands of volt range. Discover how to change the headlight bulbs on your car!

Halogen does not emit as much light as a HID light, and road vibrations will cause the halogen incandescent filament to slowly decay and burn out. But, halogen headlights are dirt cheap because they have been made for more than 50 years. When the high voltage is applied across these the gas inside them gets ignited producing an arc between the two tungsten electrodes. The lights emitted by these lamps is almost similar to the natural white light and also has a cool radiance.

There are several advantages of the high intensity discharge lights. The light given by them is more efficient for the defined power rating. These lights are stable when the temperature varies, thus, are more suitable for outdoor use. The pressure in these lamps is lower as compared to Xenon lamps. On the contrary, the major drawback of these lights is that they can sometimes prove to be hazardous for the front drivers when the beam from their light falls on the rear-view mirror.

They are also less efficient in fog or poor weather conditions. Xenon lamps are a kind of HID lamps. In these lamps, the gas chamber contains the Xenon gas in major proportion.

The gas is ignited by striking an arc between the two provided electrodes. These lamps need electronic ballast for proper functioning. The light emitted by them is similar to daylight and is efficient than the conventional lamps. The advantage of these lamps is that they are more efficient with less power. They make the signboards and markings visible for safe driving. Xenon HID lamps are electric gas-discharge lamps that contain xenon, a noble gas which ignites when applied with high pressure.

On the other hand, xenon gas-filled bulbs are basically halogen lamps made to imitate a xenon HID bulb. A tungsten filament serves as the lighting element in a xenon bulb. Top-shelf xenon HID bulbs are known to last for the life of the car, while xenon gas bulbs only have a 6-month life span. By: Editorial Staff Updated: Jan-4, D2S Street legal even if color temperature exceeds Kelvin Not street legal if color temperature exceeds Kelvin.

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