![]() ![]() Halogen bulbs require large reflective housings, but HID lights can be made much smaller, allowing auto designers and aftermarket customizers the chance to create interesting shapes to enhance the look of your vehicle.Īdvice, how-to guides, and car care information featured on and AutoZone Advice & How-To’s are presented as helpful resources for general maintenance and automotive repairs from a general perspective only and should be used at your own risk. The final advantage of HID headlights is style. HID headlight bulbs are more expensive than halogen bulbs but are almost always less expensive than their LED counterparts. The frequency of an HID bulb will also tend to be whiter than a halogen, producing light that is comparable to daylight, rather than the yellowing coloration of most halogens. HID headlights are almost the inverse of that, converting more than 70% of their energy into light, and wasting less than 30% to heat.Īnother advantage seen in HID headlights is their ability to produce high amounts of light when compared to halogen bulbs. A typical halogen bulb will convert about 20% of its energy into light, with the other 80% becoming waste heat. HID headlights are much more efficient than halogen bulbs, producing more light with less power, reducing the strain on your vehicle’s electrical system, and improving fuel economy over the long run. Some of the xenon in an HID bulb gets destroyed in the process of producing light in this way, so HID bulbs do have an expiration date, but you will typically notice a gradual reduction in light production as your HID bulbs begin to fail, as opposed to the abrupt failure you will often experience with a halogen bulb. HID bulbs differ from halogen bulbs in that the electrical arc travels through gas instead of moving through a tungsten filament. The electricity coursing through the xenon gas excites the molecules in the gas, causing it to produce light, which is projected forward by the bulb. These electrodes are housed within a quartz chamber that is filled with xenon gas. The electricity flows to the first electrode and the electrode causes the current to spark across to the second electrode. Your car uses a 12-volt electrical system, but an HID bulb requires higher voltage to start the arcing process, so the ballast increases the voltage temporarily to get the bulbs started and then regulates the voltage going forward. The process starts with the ballast, which is an electronic device that can alter the voltage being sent to the bulbs. If you’ve ever seen a neon sign in a local shop, you’ve seen the same process at work, with an electrical current arcing through a noble gas, in that case being neon.Īn HID headlight uses the same fundamental principles as those neon store lights, but with the intent of projecting the light forwards, rather than lighting up an “Open” sign. The simple version is that HID headlight bulbs create light by arcing electricity through Xenon gas, between two electrodes.
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