Do upgrade car bulbs generate more heat?

Upgrade Car Bulbs

For those without factory fitted HID lighting, upgrade performance car bulbs are the only legal way to realise lighting gains. First time buyers of upgrade headlight bulbs often ask if they will generate more heat. The perception is that more light equals more heat. This can be the case with certain types of bulbs.

The two most common methods of lighting gains are explained below:

Higher Wattage

It is possible to achieve a greater light output, by increasing the electrical power demanded by the bulb. This is referred to as ‘Wattage’ the standard UK wattage for vehicle lighting is 55w. To achieve a light gain, this wattage can be pushed in excess of 100W by some manufacturers.

There are many problems associated with this high power demand.  As UK standard wattage is 55W; your vehicle will be manufactured to this specification, and will only cope with small tolerances in demand.

If these bulbs are fitted, the power demand would most probably overcome your system, causing wires to ‘burn out’. Furthermore these bulbs are not designed for road use, therefore are not legal on UK roads

Although this type of bulb will give a significant light gain, they use a rudimentary and inefficient design. The bulb is filled with a halogen gas and the filament is made to burn hotter to achieve extra light. This WILL generate more heat which may cause problems for those vehicles with Plastic lenses.

Xenon car bulbs

Not to be confused with HID (High Intensity Discharge) bulbs, Xenon bulbs are a technology that have been around for a few years now.

Xenon bulbs, whether for styling or performance, use the standard wattage as specified by vehicle manufacturers, therefore are road legal. They will not demand more electrical power than your vehicle can cope with and will not generate more heat.

Lighting gains from xenon bulbs are achieved through innovation. The bulbs are filled with a pressurised Xenon/halogen gas mix, rather than just pure halogen gas found in standard bulbs. The Xenon/halogen gas mix allows a redesigned complimentary filament to burn more efficiently. This produces a brighter whiter light with a longer projection than that of standard halogen bulbs.

Which products to buy

Xenon bulbs fall into two markets, those who want a styling product and those who are looking for performance.

Xenon upgrade products such as Osram Night Breaker Plus and Philips X-Treme Vision will offer you light increases of up to 100% along with a much greater projection on the road.

Xenon Products such as Philips Blue Vision Ultra or Osram Cool Blue Intense will offer you a light colour and intensity, closest to the look of factory fitted HID lights, yet still giving up to 30% more light than standard.

Photo credit: jkirkhart35