What’s the Difference Between Halogen and Xenon Headlights?
Today, automobiles are equipped with different types of headlights, which contributes to why you get blinded by oncoming traffic. Commonly, manufacturers use halogen bulbs or xenon bulbs that prove drastically different. From its design to its composition, here are the differences between Halogen and Xenon headlights.
How Do Halogen Headlights Work?
Halogen headlights are most common due to their simplistic design and cheap components. The term “halogen” represents a group of chemical elements onthe periodic table, particularly group 7.
Inside a halogen bulb are a tungsten filament and halogen gas. As the tungsten burns off the filament, it gets redeposited to your bulb. Because they need to operate at high temperatures to create an equilibrium reaction, the bulbs must be hard glass or fused quartz.
Commonly people replace their halogen-style bulbs withLED-style bulbswithout knowing the risks of doing so. Due to the construction of halogen housings, the LED light bulbs disperse light unevenly. This is not only unsafe but highly unadvisable since they blind oncoming traffic and surrounding drivers.
How Do Xenon Headlights Work?
Similar to its counterpart, xenon emerges from the periodic table as a noble gas. Xenon headlights are also referred to as HIDs (high-intensity discharge). The xenon bulb resembles the shape of a glass tube containing xenon gas at high or low pressure. When the electrical current hits the electrodes, it causes the Xenon gas atoms to split.
In a xenon headlight, the electric current passes through a dedicated ballast, which is responsible for amplifying the electric current from your vehicle. A xenon bulb requires intense power to illuminate initially, though they are much more efficient than halogens once active.
The Pros and Cons of Halogen and Xenon Headlights
Although halogen and xenon headlights serve the same purpose, they are drastically different in how they function. Because of this, both headlights styles have their perks and drawbacks. Here are some of the pros and cons of each type of headlight.
Pros to Halogen-Style Headlights
Halogens and xenon lights are priced quite differently due to how each headlight is constructed. Halogens tend to be cheaper in all aspects, making them very consumer-friendly. Because they don’t require as much equipment as their counterparts, halogen headlights have fewer components to go wrong.
Cons to Halogen Headlights
Despite being priced cheaper than xenon headlights, halogen headlights still provide adequate lighting without denting your wallet. However, because of the cheaper design, the light emitted from your headlights won’t be as crisp or precise as xenon headlights.
Pros to Xenon-Style Headlights
Due to the higher build quality, xenon headlights provide rich lighting even on the darkest nights. These types of lights tend to offer the best lighting and are commonly found on higher-end vehicles.
Cons to Xenon-Style Headlights
Despite their richness in color, xenon lighting generally requires a little more work on your end than traditional halogen lighting. This is because xenon lighting requires an extremeamount of voltageto illuminate at first, though they are much more energy-efficient once active.
Because of these factors, xenon lighting tends to be more expensive than halogen lighting.
Halogen-Style Headlights vs. Xenon-Style Headlights
Halogen and xenon headlights both have benefits that make one more appealing than the other. Whether you want cheaper replacements or vibrant lighting, the option is available. This is not to suggest putting LED lightbulbs in your halogen housings as they cannot properly disperse the light. Instead, it will blind oncoming traffic, negating the effect of more light from your LED headlights. It doesn’t help if you can see when oncoming traffic cannot.
Keeping up with car maintenance is vital. Why not use an app to keep track of everything that needs doing?
The key is not to spook your friends with over-the-top shenanigans.
My foolproof plan is to use Windows 10 until 2030, with the latest security updates.
If an AI can roast you, it can also prep you for emergencies.
Revolutionize your driving experience with these game-changing CarPlay additions.
Taming data is easier than it looks.
