Don't be a deer in the headlights when it comes to choosing

Currently the most popular headlights in the automotive world are halogen headlights because of their incredibly long life and cheap production cost, but not many people know about the other kinds of headlights that you can get to replace your halogen lights. These better options are more energy efficient and last longer than halogen lights, saving you money in the long run. Before you change out and upgrade your current headlight, you should consider your options and what will be better for your car and wallet in the long run.

Below is a comparison of three major headlights used in the automotive industry: halogen lights, high intensity discharge (HID) lights and light emitting diode (LED) lights.


Halogen Lights 

Halogen's come in all shapes and sizes 

Though the most popular headlights in the automotive industry since their creation in the 1800’s, halogen lights have a large number of disadvantages. The biggest problem with halogen lights is that while generating light, they waste a lot of heat, which represents a large amount of wasted energy. Although halogens last for good amount of time, around 1,000 hours of run time under normal conditions, having to replace them more often than the other options can cost you more money over time.

Another major problem with halogen lights is how they react to various substances. You should be wearing gloves when you change the glass or else the salt and moisture in your skin can damage the glass bulb which will cause the light to fail and you’ll have to buy another bulb to replace it.

High Intensity Discharge Lights (HID)

Vision X HID 8500 Series headlight 

Since appearing in the mid-1990’s, HIDs have quickly become the second most popular headlights in mainstream car models. Under normal conditions, HID headlights are good for around 2,000 hours of use compared as little as 500 hours of a normal incandescent halogen bulb. Becoming more popular recently, HIDs have also become available in a number sizes to be used with various types of cars.

Although a little more expensive because of the materials the lamps are made of, HID lights are a great choice because of their long life and durability. For example, the HID 8500 Series from Vision X has an operation time of 2,500 hours and 3,500 lumens. Lumens are the amount of light emitted per second. Halogens only produces around 1,400 lumens, 2,100 lumens less than HID lights.

Light Emitting Diode Lights (LED)

Halogen headlight (left) vs. LED headlight (right)

Just like the HID headlights, LED headlights require very low power to work which is one of their biggest draws making them last anywhere between 25,000-100,000 working hours. When it comes to generating light, they are not as powerful as HIDs but they are better than the halogens and will likely improve in the future. First created in 2004, LEDs have made progress and their small size also allows them to be manipulated into many shapes and sizes.

If you have any questions or concerns about what headlights would work best for your car feel free to contact us at Torklift Central today.

Torklift Central
315 Central Ave N. Kent, WA 98032
[email protected]
877-343-6933
www.torkliftcentral.com