Introduction to Lighting Technology

Different applications require different technologies in terms of the light source used in various products across the Britax range.
Below is a brief overview of the different types of lighting technology, what benefits each type has, and also how they compare to each other:

Quartz Halogen (QH) & Incandescent

QH and incandescent technology consists of a globe connected to power. They work by running 12 or 24 volt power through a tungsten filament that is surrounded by inert gas (gas that will not burn or ignite) or a vacuum inside a glass bulb. Quite simply, power is applied to the filament, it is heated until it glows and produces light. The inert gas or vacuum sealed inside the glass prevents the filament from burning and destroying itself.

High Intensity Discharge (HID)

HID technology consists of a globe, starter and ballast connected to power. The globe is a quartz tube filled with Xenon gas, with tungsten electrodes housed at each end. The bulb functions by running 23,000 volts through the tube (generated by the starter) that ignites the gas and produces an arc of light between the electrodes. Once ignited, the ballast regulates the voltage back to 85 volts to keep the arc running.

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Light Emitting Diode (LED)

LED technology uses a degree of electronics to precisely manage directional current flow, and are semi-integrated into a housing to control thermal management. LEDs are based on a semiconductor diode. When switched on, electrons cross the gap of the semiconductor and are able to recombine with holes on the other side, thereby releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence.

Performance, Life and Colour

QH, HID and LED have different performance, power consumption, lifespans and colour output.
Standard headlights use 55 watt QH globes and have an average lifespan of 200 hours of operation. HID globes in comparison generate around 3 times the light output of a 55 watt QH, however use a third less power (35 watts), and have a lifespan of about 2000 hours—about 10 times that of QH. LEDs are not as bright on their own, however due to their compact nature most LED devices make use of multiple LEDs to create a light similar to QH while using much less energy: for example an eight LED worklight uses only 18 watts. LEDs have a lifespan of about 50,000 hours—that equates to nearly six years of constant operation!
Quartz halogen globes are reasonably robust in construction, but can suffer from thermal and physical shock that can cause the filament to expire. HID globes on the other hand don’t have filaments and are therefore less prone to environment induced failure. LEDs are solid in their construction and are extremely robust and durable.
QH, HID and LED also run different Correlated Colour Temperatures: QH is around 3500K (yellowish is appearance), HID typically run at either 4300K or 6000K (close to white daylight), whereas LEDs run at around 5000K (also white and close to daylight).