LED vs HID vs Halogen

Updated: October 11, 2024

Halogen bulbs: explanation & features

Originally, the front end of vehicles featured bulbs with tungsten filaments. It is the same construction, that’s used in the modern halogen bulbs. Halogen bulbs employ glass bubble filled with halogen, in order to prolong lifespan and performance of these bulbs. Since 1960s, halogen bulbs became more advanced and were installed into headlights of all vehicles as a basic lighting option.

Today, many carmakers install xenon or even LED bulbs into more upscale trim levels. But still, halogen headlights are now the most popular type of headlight bulbs on our roads. Average lifespan of halogen bulb varies from 500 and 1000 hours and highly depends on the manufacturer and technological specs. Power of halogen bulbs today is around 55 watts, yet not all power is converted into light, as these bulbs produce a lot of heat as well.

HID (Xenon) bulbs: things to know

High Intensity Discharge bulbs employ a mixture of gasses (including xenon) and metals to produce bright glow. These bulbs are not just bright, but are significantly brighter, than halogens as they produce 3 times as much light, as halogens do. Also, HIDs require less power to operate, than halogens do. The average for these bulbs is 35 watts. The lifespan of these bulbs depends on the manufacturer and technologies they use to produce these bulbs. But in general they last around 2.000 hours.

LED vs HID bulbs: comparison

HID kit (bulbs & ballasts)

ABOUT STEVEN DAVIS

certified mechanic at Halo Headlights Steven is a certified mechanic and technical writer at Halo Headlights. Steven is excited about fast cars, loud music and car mods. On yearly basis he visits SEMA, as well as other car shows. He has installed thousands of HID and LED kits and did hundreds of custom headlight retrofit projects. Now, he is ready to share his experience with Halo-Headlights.com readers. If you have questions to Steven, just ask your question using the form.