Three types of car headlights. Is it better to just choose the brighter one?

People often say that halogen lights appear yellow, and should be replaced with the brightest LED headlights. But when you turn on these lights, the oncoming car might also turn on their high beams, and in the end, you’re the one who suffers.

While LED lights are now standard on most high-end models, that doesn’t mean halogen and xenon lights have no merit. Before LEDs were invented, after all, it was these types of lights that ruled the automotive lighting world.

Currently, there are three types of car lights on the market: halogen lights, xenon (HID) lights, and LED lights.

To understand which type of light is better, it’s important to consider two aspects: color temperature and heat dissipation.

The higher the color temperature, the more glaring and colder (bluer) the light, which can be uncomfortable or blinding to pedestrians and other drivers, causing temporary blindness. 

Color temperature table

The better the heat dissipation, the longer the light’s lifespan.

Halogen Lights

Working Principle: Halogen gas, like iodine or bromine, is added to the bulb. At high temperatures, the sublimated tungsten filament reacts with the halogen gas, and the filament heats up to a white-hot state, producing light.

When the tungsten cools, it re-solidifies on the filament, forming a balanced cycle that prevents the filament from breaking prematurely.

Halogen lights have a yellowish hue. 

VW Tiguan Headlight

Advantages:

• Inexpensive, commonly installed on budget-friendly models.
• Low color temperature with a yellowish light color.
• Strong color rendering and penetration, performs well in rain or fog.
• Longer wavelength, which penetrates rain and fog better.

Disadvantages:

• Low brightness, easily damaged, with an average lifespan of only 500 hours.

Xenon Lights (HID)

Working Principle: A starter and electronic ballast raise the voltage above 23,000V, ionizing the xenon gas and forming an arc of light between two electrodes.

Advantages:

• Wide color temperature range (3000K-8000K), offering more options.
• High brightness and low power consumption.
• Fades out gradually when turned off.

Disadvantages:

• Slow ignition, with a delay of 2-10 seconds.
• Large light emission area, with scattered light that requires a lens for focusing.
• Typically lasts around 3,000 hours.

LED Lights

Working Principle: When current passes through the chip, electrons in the N-type semiconductor and holes in the P-type semiconductor collide intensely in the light-emitting layer, releasing photons and converting electrical energy to light. This is achieved through light-emitting diodes.

Advantages:

• High brightness, wide range of colors.
• Different voltages produce different colors.
• Low power consumption, fast response time, environmentally friendly.
• Generally lasts around 50,000 hours.
• Nearly all high-end models are now equipped with LED lights.

Disadvantages:

• High cost and poor heat dissipation.
• Bulbs are placed at both ends, so lenses are needed to focus the light.

Summary

Lifespan: LED > Xenon > Halogen
Price: LED > Xenon > Halogen
Brightness: LED > Xenon > Halogen

In general, entry-level models come with halogen lights, while high-end models have LED lights. If you want to upgrade from halogen to LED or xenon headlights, you can’t simply replace the bulbs without adding a lens.

Overall, LED lights are gradually replacing halogen and xenon headlights, though these two types still have their own advantages. LEDs are great but costly, with a pair costing around a thousand yuan. Halogen lights may look a bit yellow, but they’re more friendly to pedestrians, and xenon lights, with their slow startup, won’t blind others suddenly. If you’re looking for truly dazzling headlights, then laser lights are the way to go.