A Xenon, AKA high intensity discharge (HID) light, is a bright, energy efficient light which is filled with gas. They are common in luxury vehicles which you see on the road today and are popular with those who want to install their headlights themselves.

Xenon headlights

A Xenon, AKA high intensity discharge (HID) light, is a bright, energy efficient light which is filled with gas. They are common in luxury vehicles which you see on the road today and are popular with those who want to install their headlights themselves.

Whilst most headlights use a filament, Xenon headlights are unique in how they produce light. Xenon headlights have a pair of electrodes within them. When the gas is subjected to an electric charge that passes between the electrodes, it produces a very bright white light.

Xenon headlights are popular due to their extreme brightness, often outshining other types of light. They can be so bright on dark roads that they compensate by having levelling systems that automatically adjust the beam pattern when the lights are turned on.

LED headlights

A light emitting diode (LED) is a small light that is long-lasting and durable. LEDs contain microchips that allow electrical currents to pass through in order to produce light.

Their small size is beneficial because it makes them easy to install and allows them to be compactly arranged.

Their small size makes LEDs easy to install. They also come in different colours which allow drivers to customise their headlights, and compared to incandescent bulbs, LEDs are approximately 90% more energy efficient and generate less heat.

Legal and safety requirements for your headlights

In the UK there are laws around headlights meeting certain requirements but don’t worry we have the information you need right here:

• Headlights must be bright enough for you to see 50-100 metres ahead;
• Headlights must not be too bright as to affect the vision of other drivers;
• Headlights must be yellow or white, if they appear too blue then they aren’t road legal.

For your headlights to be road legal, they are required to have passed an inspection. If they have passed the inspection any of the following phrases will be written on them:

• DOT-Compliant – this is the most common
• DOT-Approved
• DOT

If headlights do not advertise that they are certified or approved by the DOT, then they are unlikely to be legal for road usage.

There are things to consider other than brightness, to determine the best headlights. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) states that the performance of headlights can be affected by their design – specifically how they’re assembled and how they’re aimed. Light reflectors and projectors can also affect performance.

Before delivering a rating, IIHS will assess the distance that headlights reach on straight roads and curves, and how well they light the road. Headlights can be deemed good, acceptable, marginal or poor.

There are important safety features that allow you to adjust your headlights whenever necessary, these are: having a separate low beam and high beam, or only one beam; a defined beam pattern with hot spots, cut-off lines, and width of a high standard.

Are you in need of new headlights? Then why don’t you browse through our website and look at the brilliant range Truckspares365 has to offer? We sell front end lighting, from a range of companies such as DAF and SCANIA. You can filter by vehicle brand or product brand to help you find the best headlights for your truck. You can be confident that our headlights will keep you safe and keep your vehicle compliant with the laws of the road.