Bright but brief: Halogen lamps disappoint in their durability

By dpa | 19 November 2018


BERLIN: When buying halogen headlights for your car, it appears that drivers will have two choices: the brightest lights possible or the longest lasting lights.

Indeed, combining performance with durability for halogen lights seems to be beyond the reach of motorists, according to German car magazine Autobild, citing a study by safety experts Tuev Rheinland.

After examining 21 examples of H4 halogen lamps costing between 3 and 39 euros (between RM15 and RM187) per pair, Tuv concluded that the products didn't last beyond a few years usage.

Manufacturers of long-life products, which can often be identified by additions such as "longlife" or "ultra life" in the product name, are only able to give a guarantee of up to four years on their halogen lamps.
Philips Vision halogen headlamp.
Philips Vision halogen headlamp.

While LED lamps are longer-lasting, laws in some places such as EU countries prohibit their usage as a substitute for halogen lamps in car headlights. When it comes to changing a headlight bulb, motorists should remember to change the bulb on the other side too.

The better-made bulbs are usually made so carefully that their lifespan is close to the other bulb in the pair, so if you break one, the probability is very high that the other will follow soon afterwards.

It is important to note that, after changing the headlights, they must be tested to ensure that they do not hinder the vision of oncoming drivers.

Likewise, the location and dimensions of the filaments in the lamps must be accurate to a tenth of a millimetre, otherwise nothing or not enough of the light will hit the street.

This, predictably, makes it difficult for motorists to judge the precision of the lamp with the naked eye. The good news though, is that the price tag is not a good gauge on the quality of the lamp.

The best 10 lamps in the test cost between 6 and 39 euros (RM29 and RM187), while the worst lamp cost 10 euros (11 dollars).

The test winner was the Philips Vision for 18 euros (RM87), followed by three products: Cartechnic for 12 euros (RM58), Philips Longlife Ecovision for 17 euros (RM82) and Philips X-Treme Vision + 130 per cent for 34 euros (RM163).

Below this, tied with a commendable score of 44, were the budget options made by Unitec (6 euros or RM29) and the Narva H4 Standard (9 euros or RM44).

READ MORE: The race to make car headlights brighter and smarter

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