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impvan · 9th February 2019, 14:43

It's not really a gimmick. If anything, Xenon filament lamps have the more valid name...

Xenon-filled filament headlight bulbs allow the filament to burn hotter and therefore brighter, without the lamp itself turning black. The Xenon gas is fundamental to the light output.

Xenon discharge bulbs, or HIDs, only use Xenon for the initial few seconds of light (e.g. when you flash the lights). Once the bulb's halide compounds are warmed up by the Xenon arc, the halides take over and the Xenon does buggger-all.
You can see the effect if you have warm-coloured HIDs: flashing the lights gives a cool white light, but actually /using/ the lights gives a warm white light.

The answer is to forget the whole Xenon thing. You've either got filament/incandescent bulbs, or you've got HID/discharge bulbs.

9th February 2019, 14:43	#10
impvan Avid contributor ZT-T Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: In the trees, near Caernarfon... and frequently Aberdeenshire, and sometimes Romania.. Posts: 143 Thanks: 5 Thanked 36 Times in 29 Posts	It's not really a gimmick. If anything, Xenon filament lamps have the more valid name... Xenon-filled filament headlight bulbs allow the filament to burn hotter and therefore brighter, without the lamp itself turning black. The Xenon gas is fundamental to the light output. Xenon discharge bulbs, or HIDs, only use Xenon for the initial few seconds of light (e.g. when you flash the lights). Once the bulb's halide compounds are warmed up by the Xenon arc, the halides take over and the Xenon does buggger-all. You can see the effect if you have warm-coloured HIDs: flashing the lights gives a cool white light, but actually /using/ the lights gives a warm white light. The answer is to forget the whole Xenon thing. You've either got filament/incandescent bulbs, or you've got HID/discharge bulbs. Last edited by impvan; 9th February 2019 at 14:44.. Reason: naughty word trap.