Car headlights are essential parts of a vehicle, and without them, you cannot drive safely. There are different headlights on a car depending on the manufacturer and country region they were made for.
Yes, your headlight keeps you and the vehicle from bumping into random obstacles during the night. However, even if you buy a used car, you should first check whether the headlights work. Are you planning to buy a vehicle? Check the page of used Daihatsu Hijet for sale if you are planning to buy a good Hijet.
So, when you buy a car, do you check your headlight? Are you aware of the type of headlights? If you are not, then dive in.
Different Types of Headlights
Auto lights are an essential part of your car’s safety system. They provide illumination to see clearly when driving at night or on dark roads. If they are not working, your risk of being involved in an accident increases. Thus, if you have a vehicle, you need to understand the different headlights used in cars.
Tungsten Filament
Tungsten has unique properties that make it an excellent headlight that is corrosion resistant. Tungsten filament bulbs have been used for headlamps for many years due to their lower cost and longer life. They provide good illumination, but they are less efficient than HID, LED, or xenon lights.
So, with the invention of the latest technology, they are no longer used.
Halogen Lamps
It is a bulb that contains gas in an inner glass chamber. When the bulb is hot, it releases energy, making the gas produce light.
Most of the tungsten lamps are usually filled with halogen gas, known as halogen headlights. Halogen headlights have a longer life than Xenon ones, but they do not provide as much brightness or clarity at night as xenon lights or LEDs.
Moreover, they are typically known as the variant of tungsten filament bulbs that give better efficiency by reducing the usage of tungsten lights. Halogen headlights are the most common type of headlight currently being used worldwide. They have tungsten filaments inside them which produce light when they are heated up.
Halogen headlamps offer more excellent brightness than other types of car headlights. They are fitted with thin metal strips containing tungsten. The ribbon is placed in an oxygen-filled container filled with halogen gas.
Moreover, the filament gets heated when the current runs through it to heat the thin metal strips. With this method of operation, the bulb lasts twice as long compared to regular bulbs. Every time the driver turns the headlight on, the gas routes back to tungsten to regenerate the filament. Also, they are more efficient in power consumption but are more expensive due to their reliability.
Xenon/HID Lights
HID stands for High-Intensity Discharge, a lighting technique in which high voltage is passed through metal salts containing halogens and mercury. Moreover, HID Xenon combines a metal halide arc-discharge lamp with an exterior quartz envelope that protects the bulb and reflects light forward.
Xenon lights produce light by directing an electrical current through xenon gas contained inside the bulb. Also, argon gases are mixed with vaporized metals that emit bright light. But, the color of the light can be changed using phosphor.
These lights are other headlights, but they are more affordable and give good enough illumination for daytime driving. In addition, this type of lighting is much more efficient in terms of power consumption when compared to halogen lights. But, compared to LED lights, they might not be as efficient, but they are pretty affordable.
Xenon bulbs do not have a filament that can break, but they are expensive and need to be replaced regularly. Thus, the reason they are used in high-tech vehicles.
In addition to that, one possibility is that HID headlights emit a bluish light that can impair the vision of other drivers. Moreover, HID/ Xenon headlights are also known as bi-xenon headlights because they use two xenon bulbs – one for low beams and the other for high beams. As a result, they produce a brighter light than halogen lights, but this added brightness is not needed in most cases since drivers usually flash their high beams at oncoming cars during the night. HID headlights also don’t automatically switch between low and high beams, but these lights are still costly.
LED Lights
LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes were first used in calculators and watches. Thus, an electronic diode emits light when filled with energy. Light-emitting diodes are small in size with low power consumption rates. LED daytime running lights combine white LED lamps and a yellow lens that helps produce bright white light. This type of light is used as daytime indicator lamps or fog lamps.
LEDs require less energy to produce light, but the amount of power consumed is still high compared to other car headlights. Thus, making them the most energy-efficient bulbs used in vehicles.
BMW and Mercedes Benz pioneered LEDs in cars, as they are known as luxury vehicles. They are frequently used in tail lamps since they emit brighter light.
There is a likely possibility that LED lights will be used widely as headlights in the future. The reason is that, in the future, brightness will be controlled by a sensor that can detect changes in lighting conditions and automatically change the intensity of light. This will bring down power consumption drastically and reduce fuel consumption.
Laser Lights
Laser technology is the most recent advancement and perhaps the most efficient one. Laser is not emitted from the headlights; instead, the laser is used in the place of electricity to excite the gases that can produce photons.
Moreover, the significant difference is that laser lights are more versatile and allow different shapes and designs than LED headlights. Thus, the most efficient advancement that will upgrade the headlights. However, only a small number of laser headlights are being used. Still, many more will be used in the future d because the automobile industry plans to become energy efficient as they use more power with the help of advanced technology.
Laser headlights are more efficient than LED bulbs, and they can produce a much brighter light than any other type of headlight. These lights are also smaller, making them more efficient than any other type of light. But, they are only being used in premium vehicles.
In addition to that, they can also be used with other lights such as LED or HID headlights.
Headlights in Luxurious Vehicle
HID headlights are used in different BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, and Volkswagen models. Such headlights provide more illumination, but they do not last as long as halogen bulbs. Therefore, the reason most luxurious vehicles prefer using LED lights.
Mercedes-Benz has been offering a headlights system with LED lights since 2010, while Audi introduced them in 2009 on their top-of-the-line luxury cars to make them more reliable.
BMW was the first company to use LEDs for its tail-lamps in the seven series model back in 2009. Now almost all BMW cars are equipped with LED lamps as daytime running lights because of the reliability of the vehicles.
Thus, these allow drivers to adjust light settings according to the surroundings and automatically switch from high beams to low beams. In addition, Audi offers a dynamic cornering light system that only lights up the part of the road where the car turns or goes around a bend.
Mercedes-Benz introduced a new type of headlight called Adaptive High beam Assist PLUS for its latest E class model. It is an evolutionary system that uses cameras to detect oncoming cars in the vehicle’s path; then, it automatically switches to low beams.
Thus, it is safe to say that LED headlights are gaining popularity in the car manufacturing industry, and experts predict that LEDs will outcompete other types of headlights in a few years.
Final Thoughts
There are several types of headlights used in the headlights of the vehicle. Moreover, you need to understand the durable ones. So, make sure you fix your headlights if they get damaged to prevent accidents.
