Comparison car Bulbs

The type determines the principle of operation of the autolamp and the features of its design.

— Incandescent. In this case, I mean traditional incandescent lamps, not related to "halogens" (see below). The bulb of such a lamp is filled with an inert gas or vacuum, and the light is provided by a hot thread of refractory metal. The main advantage of such light sources can be called simplicity and low cost. At the same time, both in terms of efficiency and in terms of operating parameters such as brightness and service life, they are inferior to more advanced varieties, therefore, in general, they are considered obsolete and are used extremely rarely for headlights — the main scope of incandescent lamps is auxiliary lighting and dashboard (see. "Destination").

— Halogen. A specific type of incandescent lamp (see above), which differs in the composition of the gas in the bulb — it contains halogen vapors, usually bromine or iodine. This allows you to achieve greater brightness, increase efficiency and service life, while at the same time reduce size and power consumption — all without a significant increase in cost. However in terms of efficiency, such lamps are still inferior to LED models; on the other hand, "halogens" provide a more natural glow shade and are better suited for long-distance work. Due to this combination of characteristics, this particular type of lamp is the most popul...ar as a head light (see "Purpose"); and although xenon lamps are more diverse in the number of models, however, halogen ones surpass them in the overall frequency of use.

— Light-emitting diode (LED). LED lamps are notable primarily for their extremely high efficiency, which makes it possible to achieve high brightness with low power consumption. However such models are distinguished by high cost, and the colour of their glow is more “cold” and less natural than that of incandescent lamps. LED lamps are more expensive than halogen lamps, but they are superior in energy efficiency, which contributes to fuel economy. Therefore, in the role of head light (see "Purpose"), this type of lamp is increasingly common, gradually replacing halogen ones. And in auxiliary lighting, “LEDs” are perhaps the most popular variety. Also note that among such lamps there are models that can work with two options for operating voltage — 12 V and 24 V; see "Voltage" for details.

— Xenon. Classic xenon lamps that have one mode of operation (unlike bi-xenon, see below) and are designed for cars, where two separate lamps are used for low and high beams. In all xenon autolamps, the bulb is filled with xenon, an inert gas containing vapors of specially selected metals, and the light source is an electrical discharge in this gas medium. Such models are quite expensive and complex in themselves, besides, they need a special ignition unit to work (see below), and it is not always supplied in the kit. On the other hand, due to its high brightness and efficiency, xenon is considered the most advanced type of headlight lamps (see "Purpose"); such lamps, among other things, are popular among fans of external tuning. For auxiliary lighting, this variety is not used in principle.

— Bixenon. Xenon lamps (see above), having two modes of operation and capable of providing both low and high beams. The specific method of switching between modes may vary. So, some models use a movable reflector that changes the characteristics of the light beam; in others, two xenon capsules are installed in one flask; in others, two separate bulbs are used, etc. You should pay attention to this option if both the dipped and main beam in the headlight are provided by one lamp. These models are not cheap — more expensive than the xenon / halogen alternative (see below) — but are used much more often due to more advanced characteristics.

— Xenon/halogen. Combined lamps with two separate bulbs: xenon for low beam and halogen for high beam. See above for more details on each of these types; and this option is an alternative to bi-xenon (also see above) for cars where one lamp is responsible for the dipped and main beam. Xenon-halogen lamps are much cheaper than bi-xenon ones, and they are inferior in efficiency mainly when using high beams. On the other hand, the xenon part usually has a shorter life than the halogen part, and if it fails, you will have to change the entire lamp. In addition, the bulbs may not be located on the same axis, which in some cases causes problems with headlight adjustment; and the heat release during the operation of both flasks is quite high and in some cases can even lead to damage to the headlight. As a result, there are significantly fewer combined lamps on the market than bi-xenon ones.

Number of lamps included in delivery.

The headlight lamps (see “Purpose”) are paired and can be supplied either one or two at a time - the latter is ideal if you need to install or replace both lamps at once. Also, paired configurations can be found in models for auxiliary lighting, and sometimes such lamps are supplied in sets of 10 or even 100 pieces - this can be useful, for example, for installing side lights on a bus or truck. But the dashboard lamps are sold exclusively one at a time.

The type of base used in the lamp.

The base is the contact part of the lamp, which is fixed in the socket and is responsible for fixation, electrical connection and the possibility of safe removal. Thus, the type of base directly determines compatibility with a particular cartridge. However, in addition to this, there is also such a parameter as the base of the base. It determines primarily the contact configuration used on a particular base. And in our paragraph it is written as the second value.

In lamps for different purposes (see above), the set of bases used is very different. So, for the head light the following options are used: D1S, D1R, D2S, D2R, D3S, D3R, D4S, D4R, H1, H2, H3, H4, H7, H8, H9, H10, H11, H13, H15, H16, H27W /1, H27W/2, HB1, HB3, HB4, HB5, HIR2, HS1, M5, R2. For markers and other similar lights, in particular, C5W, C10W, C15W, H21W, H6W, P21W, PY21W, P21/4W, P21/5W, P27/7W, PR21W, R5W, R10W, T4W, W5W, WY5W, W16W are used , W21W, WY21W, W21/5W.

If desired, you can find a detailed explanation of each designation in special sources.

The power normally consumed by the lamp during operation. This parameter is often used to evaluate the overall brightness of the glow, especially in the case of lamps for headlights (see "Purpose"): such a specific parameter as the luminous flux, firstly, is less familiar to ordinary car owners, and secondly, in its characteristics are not always indicated. However, it must be remembered that only lamps of the same type (see above) can be compared with each other in terms of power consumption. different types can differ markedly in efficiency and luminosity. But what this indicator directly affects is the power consumption of the lamp and, accordingly, the load experienced by the generator or battery. Modern car lamps have a power of up to 100 W, such power consumption is normally tolerated by the on-board network in normal operation. However, the lower horsepower provides some fuel savings.

The operating voltage of the lamp.

In different types of equipment, the voltage of on-board networks is also different. Therefore, car lamps for passenger cars are designed for a voltage of 12 V, and car lamps for trucks(and other similar equipment, such as buses) are designed for 24 V. However, there are more specific options:

— 12/24 V. Lamps with the possibility of using in both types of on-board networks — both cars and trucks. Such versatility is found mainly among LED models, as well as in some varieties of xenon (see "Type"): these types of lamps are equipped with control circuits in which automatic adjustment to the voltage of the on-board network can be provided.

— 85 V. Value found in models with a xenon principle of operation (see "Type"). In this case, it means the voltage supplied to the lamp from the ignition unit (see below); the ignition unit itself is connected to the on-board network and is usually designed for 12 V. Data on the operating voltage of the lamp itself may be needed if you need to separately select the ignition unit for it.

— 40 V. Another option for increased voltage in xenon lamps; the meaning is completely similar to the 85 V described above, but it is much less common.

Luminous flux produced by a car lamp; for dual-mode models like bi-xenon (see “Type”), the value at maximum brightness is indicated.

This parameter characterizes the actual brightness and efficiency of the lamp; it can be used to directly evaluate and compare different models, regardless of their type and power consumption (but only at the same color temperature - see below for more details). The brightest are headlight lamps (see “Purpose”), in them this indicator can exceed 4000 lm and vary noticeably from model to model. Therefore, when choosing such a lamp, you should pay special attention to the characteristics of the luminous flux. It should be borne in mind that too bright headlights are just as undesirable as too dim ones: high brightness creates not only the risk of dazzling for oncoming cars, but also discomfort for the driver himself. Optimal luminous flux values can be indicated in the documents for the car or for the headlight itself; if such data is not available, you can turn to other special sources.

As for other types of lamps, in models for auxiliary lighting the luminous flux is up to 800 lm, and in lamps for the instrument panel - up to 55 lm. Moreover, in both cases, the brightness is selected by the manufacturer taking into account the specific specialization and location of the lamp, so in such models this parameter is not a key one.

Guaranteed lamp life according to B3 standard. In fact, this is the longest time that the lamp can continuously work with a 97% guarantee (it is impossible to provide a 100% guarantee in principle). This parameter is measured as follows: a test batch of lamps is used until 3% of them fail, the resulting time is indicated in the characteristics.

Other things being equal, longer-lasting lamps naturally cost more, but longer service life compensates for this disadvantage. Separately, we note that you should not confuse the guaranteed service life with the manufacturer's warranty — the conditions and warranty period may be different even for lamps with the same B3.

The level of increased brightness provided by the lamp. This indicator is used by some manufacturers for marketing purposes: it describes how brighter a given model is than some "standard lamps". At the same time, the standards for comparison may be different, and impressive figures (in some models reaching 140%, that is, almost 2.5 times) are not always reliable — that is, a high-brightness lamp will not necessarily be just that much brighter than the “normal” model of the same type and power.

Standard lamp colour.

Note that in this case it is not meant the own shade produced by the lamp (see "Colour temperature"), but the light that will be obtained "in the end" during normal use of the lamp. For example, in auxiliary models (see "Appointment"), designed for brake lights, the colour of the glow is usually indicated as red — this is the standard colour for "stops". In this case, the lamp itself can have a colour temperature of the order of 4000 K (neutral white). Similarly, models used in fog lamps may be yellow, those used in turn signals may also be orange, and so on.

If we talk about the head light, then it is most often made white, and in such models you can determine the shade by colour temperature (see above). If a different colour is indicated in the characteristics of the “head” lamp, this most likely means that it has a coloured bulb, and the light emitted by the headlights will have the same shade. Note that we are talking about a shade, and not about a full-fledged light: for example, purple lamps will illuminate the surroundings with white light with a slight bias towards cold colours. At the same time, such lamps themselves will look exactly purple. Such features are useful primarily for external tuning of cars.