Halogen, Xenon HID, and LED Headlights Explained

It is essential to have properly working headlights because it assists the driver in detecting uneven road, oncoming traffic, pedestrians, and road hazards. About half of all fatal crashes in the U.S. occur in the dark, and more than a quarter occur on unlit roads, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Headlights play an obvious role in preventing nighttime accidents, but not all headlights perform equally.

If you’re looking to replace your halogen headlights with xenon (HID), or LED headlights, here are some things to know. Keep on reading to find out the advantages and disadvantages of each type of bulb.

LED Headlights

LEDs headlights are the most energy efficient and longest lasting of all lighting alternatives. LEDs are becoming an increasingly popular option as the cost of the components decrease. Another common reason that drivers choose LED bulbs is because of how cool the lights look on the vehicle. 

With LEDs, an electric current passes through a semiconductor (or diode) causing it to emit light. LEDs require relatively little current to illuminate and the energy drawn from the car battery is less than halogen and xenon headlights. Ever accidentally leave your headlights on while you go into the store for just a couple minutes, just to come out and find that your battery has died? Well, this is less likely to happen with LED headlights. 

The rising popularity of LED headlights is also due to ease of installing the LED bulbs. Shop for plug-and-play LED kits that can be installed within half an hour. LEDs offer superior durability and can last as long as 50,000 hours, or almost fourteen years with regular use. LEDs produce instant and constant brightness and do not need to "warm up" like HIDs, making them ideal in case of sudden, unexpected obstructions on the road. Even though LED headlights come with a higher price tag, their durability, efficiency, and brightness makes them the winner in the long run. 

Halogen Headlights

Over 80 percent of cars still have halogen headlights. They are still the factory default for most cars and have a color temperature of roughly 3000K. Hence their yellow glow.

Halogen bulbs heat a tungsten wire filament to the point where it emits light (about 4,500°F) in a process called incandescence. The halogen gas inside the bulb improves performance and longevity. However, the tungsten in the filament eventually evaporates with use, causing the bulb to “burn out.” Halogen headlights produce a significant amount of heat and it is vital to exercise caution when replacing them -oils from the skin can affect the performance of the bulb. Halogens are the cheapest headlight alternative but they also have the shortest lifespan (about 450 to 1,000 hours), so expect to replace them each and every year.

Xenon HID Headlights

HID stands for High-Intensity Discharge, which simply means that is brighter than halogen headlights. An HID bulb consists of two electrodes inside a glass enclosure with ionized gas. Because the glass housing is usually filled with xenon gas and metal salts, HID lights are often also referred to as xenon lights.

HID lights work similarly to halogen light bulbs. In a xenon headlight the two electrodes act like spark plugs, the spark charges de xenon gas and causes it to emit white light that is often slightly brighter than LEDs. Xenon HID headlights last anywhere from 2,000 to 8000 hours.

The downside? HIDs are hotter than LEDs and lose brightness and color intensity over time as internal chemicals degrade. Another disadvantage is that HID bulbs require a ballast to operate, which means you may require additional wiring or modifications to the headlight housing to fit the ballast. Lastly, xenon headlights take a very brief, but noticeably longer, time to reach optimal brightness.