Car Lighting

By Author: Sam Downs
Total Articles: 3764
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As with the different types of lighting technology available for the homes such as the incandescent and fluorescent technology, car lighting has its own set of technology that is not necessarily uniquely used in cars but proves to be very efficient in car lamps. The three major light technologies widely used today are that of LED (Light Emitting Diode), Halogen, and HID (High Intensity Discharge) /Xenon lamps.

Today, the most popular lighting technology in use is that of the HID/Xenon lamps for car headlights. HID lamps rely on an electrical charge that ignites gas in a closely sealed envelope. Simply, the technology used in HID lamps is very similar to the natural lightning phenomenon that can be observed in the sky. HID does not require a filament to create light; instead it ignites an electrical discharge between two electrodes in a tiny capsule that contains gas. HID is called Xenon lighting since the gas that is present in the tiny capsule is Xenon. HID is preferred over Halogen lamps in that it is a very durable type of lighting since road vibrations tend to damage the filament in a halogen lamp. Apart from ...
... this, the color emitted by HID lamps closely resembles that of daylight making it brighter than halogen lamps. Also, HID is more power efficient than Halogen since it gives more illumination at half the power it requires. HID also requires no maintenance and will last for the entire life of the vehicle.

Next in line is the Light Emitting Diode (LED). Mostly, LED lighting is used for decorative purposes in cars since they come in different colors and are not as bright as HID/Halogen Lamps. Often used for brake lights, signal lights and sometimes as tail lights, LED lamps have low power consumption and may last for the lifetime of the car. However, LED is every sensitive to overheating yet can withstand the cold and road vibrations. As a totality, LED lamps are indeed a wonderful addition to your car accessories.

Last but not least is the Halogen lamp. Before Xenon was introduced in the market, the Halogen lamp was widely used and largely preferred by the buying market. Comparing the typical halogen lamp to an incandescent lamp will show you that indeed halogen is more efficient and gives a brighter output than an incandescent bulb. Although they use a similar way in creating light, which is through a filament, the halogen lamp lasts longer than a typical incandescent bulb. In car lighting technologies, halogen is a popular choice since it is relatively cheaper than HID lighting.

These are the current car lighting technologies that are available in the market and who knows what the future holds. All we can do now is wait and see for future modern lighting technology.