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Most cars (except your Porshes' and BMW's) use a Halogen gas base or Advanced Incandesent headlighting system (much like the common light bulb) which has been around for years. For the last fifteen years or so, we've all seen those cars with the "Intense" Blue Headlights driving around leaving us to think to ourselves "Wow, those look pretty cool.....wish I had a set of those on my car".Well, those lights you're talking about are "High Intensity Discharge" Lights. A lighting system that's only been around for about two decades or so.
It's really quite interesting.
HID lights are the most efficient lighting sources available today. They create up to one-third less heat and last up to 24 times longer than incandescent or Halogen gas based light sources. HID is a technology that requires an electrical charge to ignite an arc between two electrodes and in turn ignite xenon gas that is contained in a sealed bulb.
In the beginning there were some drawbacks to HID lighting systems.
Despite their advantages, these lights did have some special considerations. Like fluorescents, they needed special ballasts. They had a warm-up time of three to seven minutes, and a restrike time (the delay between off and back on again) of five to ten minutes. With new developements over the past two decades (i.e. special controllers and Xenon Gas), HID Light sources are the most energy efficient on the market today.
Here are the three types of HID lights:
High-Pressure Sodium Lights
- These lights are the most efficient and economical of the commonly used high intensity discharge (HID) lights. Because of their warm golden light and limited color rendering, they are most suitable for outdoor situations. They are most frequently used as security and outdoor lighting, or in indoor areas, such as warehouses, where color rendering is unimportant.
Mercury Vapor Lights - These lights are most frequently used outside for parking and security lighting. The lights have a white or blue-white light and limited color rendition. These are the least efficient of the HID lights (slightly less than fluorescents) and should be replaced with more efficient metal halide or high-pressure sodium lights where possible.
Metal Halide Lights - Metal halide lights provide the best rendering of all HID lights. They can be used for merchandise display, entry lighting, or in any situation where color rendition is important, and are frequently used for indoor security and sports lighting.
It's really amazing the way technology changes things. So far the most powerful and efficient light source on the market today. And thanks to mass production, energy standards, and conversion kits made by reliable companies, the prices of HID headlights are going down so even your teenagers second hand used car will look "cool" while driving down the street.
Dale Anthony is a Publisher for AutoAnything which carries a variety of KC HiLite HID (High Intensity Discharge) Lighting systems, Installation and Conversion Kits to shift your Driving Experience into the "Cool New Blue" Interested? Find Out More: http://tinyurl.com/22znkj
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