The characteristics and lifespan of different car lights

Knowing the lifespan of different car lights allows you to anticipate the replacement of this accessory. This offers the driver better safety, especially when driving at night. Note that this lifespan is not the same for all types of bulbs. It varies according to technology, conditions, frequency, duration of use, and manufacturing quality. You will therefore have to choose the most appropriate bulb technology among the numerous models of halogen, Xenon or LED. Here is what you need to know about them.

Halogen bulbs

The halogen headlights are old-style incandescent bulbs. This is the oldest and most popular model. They work like those used inside houses, using a filament to produce light.

The halogen bulb is composed of a glass capsule. Inside, a gas called "halogen" both increases the internal temperature and creates a chemical bond with tungsten to obtain a brighter light. In the center of the bulb is a straight tungsten filament made up of several coils stacked over a length and diameter predefined according to the lifespan and power of the bulb: 35w, 55w, 60w, 65w, 100w, etc… Under tension, the spiral filament will oppose strong resistance to the electric current, which will cause heating and melting of the filament. The tungsten vapors in combination with the halogen gas thus create a very powerful light.

The incandescent bulb is a technology that is disappearing from the automotive industry. Indeed, the filament creates about 90% wasted heat and only 10% light. The halogen technology suffers a large energy loss due to red and infrared electromagnetic waves. This phenomenon is the cause of its high electrical consumption and short lifespan. These traditional filament bulbs have a lifespan that varies from 200 to 600 hours. Note that halogen bulbs are also very fragile and do not handle shocks and vibrations well.

Xenon bulbs

Among different car lights, xenon bulbs are mostly used on high-end vehicles. Unlike halogen bulbs, xenon bulbs do not have an incandescent filament. They use xenon gas instead of a halogen gas such as iodine or bromine. Xenon is a very rare gas on earth from the noble gas family and is inert in most chemical reactions.

The xenon bulb or discharge bulb has a complex operation and cannot work without an electronic management module called "ballast ". Equipped with a safety system, it acts as a "starter" amplifier and electronic regulator. At ignition of the bulb an electric discharge of about 25 000 volts is generated by the ballast and applied between two electrodes. An electric arc forms and ignites the xenon gas trapped in the small glass bubble which gives it its particular slightly blue lighting tint. A current of 85V is maintained to keep the electric arc at the predefined power. It is thus possible to play with power to obtain a more or less white light with a slight blue or even purple tint depending on the power of the applied current.

This explains the natural color of xenon headlights since they emit blue-colored light unlike halogen bulbs which emit rather yellow light and for which white/blue lighting color is obtained using a colored filter incorporated at the factory around the bulb.

In summary, xenon bulbs are complex technology but were truly revolutionary in their time in terms of energy efficiency power or lighting color. Their hue is closer to daylight unlike that of the halogen bulb. The xenon bulb does not lose energy heating a tungsten filament—it simply creates an electric arc to ignite xenon gas which requires less electricity consumption. The xenon headlights therefore last longer than tungsten-halogen bulbs i.e., about 1000 to 2500 hours for xenon and only 200 to 600 hours for a halogen bulb.

The main quality of xenon is its luminous intensity with its 3000 Lumens and minimal electrical consumption of 35W compared to only 1500 Lumens with a halogen bulb and 55 Watts consumption. The xenon technology offers drivers better visibility and a clearer light beam. Note that xenon headlights < span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> certainly have good energy efficiency but suffer large electromagnetic losses especially in violet and ultraviolet.< p >< br >< h2 >< span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> Different car lights : LED bulbs < p >< br >< p >< span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> LED stands for Light-emitting diode in English or diode électroluminescente in French . A < strong style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> LED bulb < span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> is an optoelectronic system that emits light when traversed by an electric current . It converts electrical energy into light with precise chromatic radiation . Unlike xenon and halogen , all magnetic waves emitted by LEDs are within the spectrum visible by human eye . < p >< br >< h3 >< span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> The origin of LED headlights < p >< br >< p >< span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> Originally , < strong style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> LED technology headlights < span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> were reserved for hyper sports cars and ultra high-end cars : Audi , < a href = " https://www.lexus.fr/ " rel = " noopener noreferrer " target = " _blank " style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); " data-bcup-haslogintext = " no "> Lexus < span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> etc . Sometimes they were only used for  ; < a href = " /en/categories/kits-et-ampoules-led-1/feux-jour-led-angel-eyes-33 " rel = " noopener noreferrer " target = " _blank " style = " color :dodgerblue ;" data-bcup-haslogintext = " no ">< strong > daytime running lights < span style = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); ">,  ; < a href = " /en/product/ampoule-led-py21w-bau15s-ultra-clignotant-109?variant=121 " rel = " noopener noreferrer " target = " _blank "style = " color :dodgerblue ;" data-bcup-haslogintext = " no ">< strong > turn signals < strongstyle = " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); "> ,< spanstyle= " color :rgb (31 ,38 ,56 ); ">  ;