In fact HID (also known as Xenon) produce 3 times the light output of halogens of equal wattage. Whilst HID driving lights have been around since the early 1990’s, they are far superior in light output and luminous efficiency when directly compared to halogens, and a slight higher luminous efficiency when compared to LED. High Intensity Discharge (HID) Driving Lights.

CONS: Emit yellow light, very inefficient, low light output, lack distance.

PROS: Cheap to buy, High CRI (Colour rendering index).

The only advantage of incandecents as of today is its higher colour rendering index (CRI) when compared to LED or HID, however LEDs are closing the CRI gap at a rapid pace, and oem of todays cutting edge LED emitters have negligible difference in CRI score. Halogen bulbs have the lowest luminous efficiency (Lumens produced per 1 watt of nput power). Halogen lights typically consume 55w to 100w per light, however much of its energy consumption is wasted in producing heat. Halogen Lights are identifiable by the very 'yellow' light temperature omits.

As current from the battery passes through this thin ﬁlament, it causes resistance, which produces heat which in turn creates light. Halogen globes have a physical ﬁlament that glows to produce light.

Today’s halogen light technology has been around since around the 1960’s, making it the oldest among the 3 in terms of technological advancement. The main reason halogens are still offered for sale by some retailers is due to their cheap manufacturing costs, and mainly targeted at price conscious consumers.

Heat output hid vs halogen