Re: H I D vs Xenon? - Lighting Message Board

When it comes to modern automotive lighting, there are basically two types of headlight options: Halogen (around for several decades) and High Intensity Dischard (HID) (around for about 10 or so years - I believe the Lincoln Mark VIII was the first production car with this). The primary difference between these two technology is how the actual light source is created.

With halogen, it's done the old fashioned way with a fillament (like a regular house bulb) and it's filled with halogen gas. The halogen gas allows the bulb to shine brighter.

HID lighting does not use a fillament to generate the light. Instead, it relies on high voltage to create an arc between two electroids. In automobile lighting, the bulb is filled with Xenon, a somewhat rare gaseous element. It is important to note that there are other types of HID bulbs used in non-automotive applications that used different gasses (metal halide, high pressure sodium, and murcury vapor are examples used in outdoor lighting - tennis courts/street lights).

Some manufacturers of standard halogen bulbs have decided to also add Xenon gas to their bulbs. However, the amounts added are EXTREMELY small to NONE. Instead, because of the Xenon name recognition, this is a marketing method they use to attract customers. Therefore, what are suppose to be labeled as BLUE HALOGENS (regular halogen bulbs with a coating of blue high temperature transparent paint) are often mislabeled and misrepresented as Xenon or HID bulbs.

Like the previous poster stated, apples to apples, the output of true HID bulbs are three times higher than halogen.

RJ
2006 M3 ZCP (en-route)
2006 325i
2003 Z4 3.0i
2002 330Ci
2001 325i