A guide to car headlight bulbs
It can get quite overwhelming and confusing to understand which car bulb is the right choice for you. We understand that many vehicle owners are unaware of the type of bulb they need and how it can best suit their requirements. Most people cannot comprehend the difference between LED, Xenon, Halogen, or HID kits for cars. All most, all drivers just want to get the car headlights changed or installed without them getting involved in it. But it’s really not good for your vehicle.
Having innovative, contemporary, and proper functioning headlights is crucial for safety on the road. Always remember to fix the faulty car headlight as soon as possible as this can lead to legal implications and can hinder your safety precautions. The local laws have made it compulsory to have both the car headlights to be working in good condition. They not only secure the car and driver but also provide safety to the pedestrians and animals on the road too.
Visiting a shop is a much easier option but you are not aware of the objective behind that salesperson’s advice. It can be to achieve the sales objective of that month and you might be just another scapegoat. Thus, their advice might not suit your car and you will lose out on energy and money in the long run.
We are here to the rescue!! Here’s a quick and easy-to-understand guide that can help you learn the basics of car headlight bulbs. You will now easily recognize the differences among the different car headlights and will appreciate each of them better.
Types of Bulbs
That one bulb inside the basic setting of the car headlight is what makes all the difference in the world. The three most commonly used car bulbs are used by automakers across the world :
Halogen — One of the frequently used car headlight bulbs is the Halogen bulb. A filament inside a glass element that burns in the vacuum to generate light is based on the principle of a household bulb. Due to their low retail cost and maintenance, they are used by most automakers and on low-end cars.
High-Intensity Discharge (HID) or Xenon — An HID bulb is the most obvious choice for anyone looking for an upgrade for their car headlight bulbs. First introduced in the 1990s, they became an instant hit. Used for high-end cars like Mercedes, Audi, and BMWs, the light produced by them is much brighter when compared to halogens.
If your vehicle comes with an HID or Xenon light you can either upgrade with HID and now with LED car bulbs too. If you want to upgrade your halogens to HID, you need an HID conversion kit. This is necessary as the HID bulbs require a different current flow.
An HID bulb does not consist of any glass filament like a halogen bulb. They emit light by burning xenon gas inside the glass and have a longer shelf life that requires lesser wattage while running.
LED — The latest and the coolest addition that gives efficiency and looks to your vehicles is the LED car headlight. Though they might be available since the 1990s, we could only see their use in tail lights, cabin lights, and many other applications for cars. LEDs gained popularity only after the early 2000s as car headlights.
They are the simplest and most unique way to illuminate the road ahead and are the brightest among the other headlights. They do not require any special wiring and ballast, that are durable and efficient. If you want to upgrade to LED car bulbs, you will need a headlight conversion kit to install LEDs. Though LEDs are expensive than others they are the most durable among the lot.
Wattage
It does not matter the type of bulb your car comes with, all they need is electricity to get them operational. This means they have wattage — the higher the wattage, the higher will be the intensity of the light. For example, a normal halogen car bulb comes with 55 watts of power. Therefore, you can only replace it with a 55-watt bulb. If by any chance you need to replace the bulb with a higher watt bulb, you will need a relay to supply the power. A higher watt will strain your car’s electrical system by overheating the wires and causing much more damage.
Kelvin Rating
The color of the light that is emitted by the car headlight is determined by the Kelvin rating. Though many car owners do not consider it an important point of discussing and understand but this rating holds a very important place while choosing the correct car headlight. For reasons like local motor laws, legal issues, or government regulations it is necessary for us to understand what ratings each light color holds.
Following is the list of different Kelvin ratings emit –
6000K to 10000K — Blue light
3800 to 4000K — White light
10000k to 12000k — Purple light
2500K to 3500K — Yellow light
The brightness of the light depends on the type of color and not on the Kelvin ratings. Therefore the light with a low Kelvin Rating might provide a higher bright light as in the case of White light. The lights with higher Kelvin ratings like blue and purple will not be as bright as their low Kelvin rating counterparts (White and Yello lights). Most car headlight bulbs come in the range of 3400K — 5000K to comply with safety and legal regulations.
Types of Headlight systems
There are two types of basic headlight systems — Reflector and Projector headlights.
Reflector Headlights — These headlights come with a light source, mounted in a parabolic reflector. This helps in amplifying the light that maneuvers it to a glass lens having series of small or grounded mini lenses. These mini lenses then direct the light through a reflector that aids in properly illuminating the road ahead.
Projector Headlights — These lights have a lens in front of them. The lens helps direct the light on the road. They produce a brighter light and they have a cutoff shield that directs the light towards the road and not on the oncoming drivers. These headlights come with a magnifier that increases the brightness of the headlight.
There is a varied range of car bulbs (headlights and fog lights) available in the market. Your car design will dictate the type of bulb you will need. Small and affordable cars are mostly equipped with Halogen lights, mid-range cars come with HID bulbs, and while the sportier and luxury versions are likely to use LED headlights.
LED car headlights like OSRAM’s LEDriving HL H4 Gen2 helps to preserve the battery that makes it lasts longer. Such lights have an extensive shelf life than Halogens which ultimately saves money. Halogens need to be replaced multiple times due to their low technological advancements. They have antiglare properties that help in smooth night driving too. They produce crystal clear light and are advantageous in better illumination. Due to the current flowing only in one direction in the LED system and the current requirement is very little, the energy drawn from the battery is low. Thus making it a favorite among the manufactures.
