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Why Are Xenon Lamps No Longer Popular?
Xenon lamp (High Intensity Discharge Lamp) refers to a high-pressure gas discharge lamp that is filled with a mixture of inert gases including xenon and does not have the filament of a halogen lamp. It is referred to as HID xenon lamp, which can be called metal halide lamp or xenon lamp. It is divided into automotive xenon lamp and outdoor lighting xenon lamp.
Xenon lamp (High Intensity Discharge Lamp) refers to a high-pressure gas discharge lamp that is filled with a mixture of inert gases including xenon and does not have the filament of a halogen lamp. It is referred to as HID xenon lamp, which can be called metal halide lamp or xenon lamp. It is divided into automotive xenon lamp and outdoor lighting xenon lamp.
The light-emitting principle of xenon lamps is to fill a UV-cut anti-ultraviolet crystal quartz glass tube with a variety of chemical gases, most of which are xenon and iodide, and then use a booster (Ballast) to instantly boost the 12-volt DC voltage on the car to 23,000 volts. The high-voltage amplitude excites the xenon electrons in the quartz tube to ionize, generating a light source between the two electrodes, which is called gas discharge. The white super-strong arc light generated by xenon can increase the color temperature of the light, similar to the sunlight in the daytime. The current required for HID to work is only 3.5A, the brightness is three times that of traditional halogen bulbs, and the service life is 10 times longer than that of traditional halogen bulbs.
It was first used in aviation transportation. There are two types of xenon lamps that are widely used on the market, one is automotive lighting and the other is motorcycle lighting. However, it has been used in large quantities in automobiles for more than ten years. It was developed by Hella in the early 1990s. Due to its high technical content, xenon lamps are more expensive than ordinary halogen lamps and incandescent lamps. But why are xenon lamps no longer popular in the market?
- Technology maturity
With the continuous development of LED technology, LED headlights have significantly improved in terms of brightness, color temperature, energy consumption, and lifespan. In contrast, the advantages of xenon headlights in these aspects gradually weaken. In addition, the installation and maintenance of LED headlights are also more convenient and faster, making LED headlights more competitive.
- Cost factors
Although the initial purchase cost of LED headlights is high, with the continuous improvement of production technology and the development of large-scale production, the cost of LED headlights has gradually decreased. In contrast, although the initial purchase cost of xenon headlights is lower, the subsequent maintenance cost is higher, making the overall cost relatively high.
- Environmental protection trend
As global environmental awareness continues to increase, people pay more and more attention to energy conservation and emission reduction. LED headlights, as a low-energy, low-pollution lighting technology, are in line with the current environmental protection trend. However, the high energy consumption and high pollution of xenon headlights are contrary to this.
- Demands from emerging application fields
With the development of emerging application fields such as autonomous driving and vehicle networking, the requirements for automotive lighting technology are becoming increasingly higher. LED headlights, as a highly integrated lighting technology, can meet the needs of these fields for intelligent, miniaturized, and efficient lighting. However, xenon headlights are difficult to meet the needs of these emerging fields due to their own limitations.
