When cars were first produced, the headlights were as you could imagine, very simple with just a bulb, reflective bowl and a glass front. As the car industry has grown, technology has improved including autonomous features, climate or cruise control and even headlights.
CarCliq lists the different types of car headlights available in the market; how each technology works and whether they are right for you.
CarCliq lists the different types of car headlights available in the market; how each technology works and whether they are right for you.
Halogen Car Headlights
These contain a tungsten filament, which when the current flows through, it becomes hot and produces a light. They are also filled with halogen gas to prevent the bulb from turning black.
This type of bulb is the oldest, however don’t let its age damper your judgement on this light. It’s one of the cheapest, yet still one of the most reliable bulbs out there! However, in comparison to the likes of the LED’s for example, they lack in properties such as light output, efficiency and lifespan
These contain a tungsten filament, which when the current flows through, it becomes hot and produces a light. They are also filled with halogen gas to prevent the bulb from turning black.
This type of bulb is the oldest, however don’t let its age damper your judgement on this light. It’s one of the cheapest, yet still one of the most reliable bulbs out there! However, in comparison to the likes of the LED’s for example, they lack in properties such as light output, efficiency and lifespan
Xenon Car Headlights
This type of light uses an electric arc between two electrons within the bulb, which is filled with xenon gas – this produces a whiter, brighter light than halogen. However, for this reason, they’re only ideal for exterior headlights and not interior and can be expensive to replace.
As far as looks go, the xenon car headlights can modernise your car instantly with their crisp light. So, when you sell your car this can be one of the selling points to the buyer.
This type of light uses an electric arc between two electrons within the bulb, which is filled with xenon gas – this produces a whiter, brighter light than halogen. However, for this reason, they’re only ideal for exterior headlights and not interior and can be expensive to replace.
As far as looks go, the xenon car headlights can modernise your car instantly with their crisp light. So, when you sell your car this can be one of the selling points to the buyer.
LED Car Headlights
LED’s are bulbs made up of light-emitting diodes, and they work by electrons passing through and semiconductors turn them into light – overall producing a lot of light without the use of much energy.
They can range from being fairly simple to one of the most complex (thereby expensive) units in the market. The reason why they’re so expensive, is because they’re not only a great-looking addition to your car, but also in the higher end margin, they have matrix technology. This means, LED lights will have mirrors and sensors to adapt their beams, enabling you to have maximum coverage of the road ahead.
LED’s are bulbs made up of light-emitting diodes, and they work by electrons passing through and semiconductors turn them into light – overall producing a lot of light without the use of much energy.
They can range from being fairly simple to one of the most complex (thereby expensive) units in the market. The reason why they’re so expensive, is because they’re not only a great-looking addition to your car, but also in the higher end margin, they have matrix technology. This means, LED lights will have mirrors and sensors to adapt their beams, enabling you to have maximum coverage of the road ahead.
Laser Car Headlights
Laser lights work by firing a laser at phosphorous, this results in light emission. Once this light is produced, it is released and filtered by passing it through a lense before hitting a reflector and illuminating the road ahead. This new innovation in headlights is almost 4x the brightness of an LED light, and this enables them to be made smaller without impacting light intensity.
These are currently the best type of headlights out there for your car, as they offer the best brightening power and have only been handpicked by premium car manufacturers such as Audi, with the R8 LMX. Another benefit is it will aid drivers with giving them a longer range, bettering visibility and overall road safety
Laser lights work by firing a laser at phosphorous, this results in light emission. Once this light is produced, it is released and filtered by passing it through a lense before hitting a reflector and illuminating the road ahead. This new innovation in headlights is almost 4x the brightness of an LED light, and this enables them to be made smaller without impacting light intensity.
These are currently the best type of headlights out there for your car, as they offer the best brightening power and have only been handpicked by premium car manufacturers such as Audi, with the R8 LMX. Another benefit is it will aid drivers with giving them a longer range, bettering visibility and overall road safety
So, what does the future hold for car headlights? We’ve already mentioned about the great invention of laser car headlights; however, Mercedes have been developing “Digital Light”.
These headlights have been designed to display important road information such as directions, missing road marketing or zebra crossings for pedestrians. We are still waiting for the announcement from Mercedes to say when they will become available.
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These headlights have been designed to display important road information such as directions, missing road marketing or zebra crossings for pedestrians. We are still waiting for the announcement from Mercedes to say when they will become available.
For more CarCliq guides click here
