Lighting

The brightness of the headlight bulbs ensures that the light has a wide range. The brighter the light, the better and earlier unexpected situations in road traffic can be recognised.

Sufficient light brightness is particularly important for older people, as the lenses in everyone's eyes become somewhat cloudy. On the one hand, this leads to more scattered light in the eye and thus to a stronger sensation of glare. On the other hand, light sensitivity deteriorates, i.e. you need more light to be able to see as well as when you were younger.

Xenon and LED headlights are then a good choice, as they generate significantly more brightness than halogen lamps and illuminate the road considerably further.

In addition to the brightness, the light colour is also an important factor, as it ensures the contrast of the illuminated apron. The warm light of halogen headlights provides less sharp contrasts than that of xenon or LED headlights. With their bluer light, LED and xenon headlights can emphasise road markings and road signs much more clearly.

There are different types of car headlights. Halogen headlights are still the most widespread.

Xenon or LED lights are more modern, more powerful, but also more expensive. These are often not part of the standard equipment, but can be purchased as additional equipment for an extra charge.

Halogen technology is the oldest of the current types of car headlights. Halogen headlights work in a similar way to classic light bulbs, as they are filled with halogen gas (usually iodine). A tungsten wire is heated by electricity to generate light. Compared to incandescent lamps, the wire in halogen lamps gets significantly hotter, which means that the iodine gas prevents the wire from being consumed too quickly. The manufacture of halogen headlights requires precise work, and therefore cheaper models can have a shorter life and uneven illumination.

Advantages of halogen headlights

• Easy to replace
• cheaper compared to xenon or LED
• Brighter light compared to classic bulbs

Disadvantages of halogen headlights

• short service life (200 to 400 hours)
• Lower luminosity compared to LED or xenon

Conclusion:

Despite the shorter service life and lower luminosity compared to LED or xenon, halogen headlights are worthwhile in the long term due to the possibility of independent replacement and the more cost-effective purchase.

Xenon headlights are more expensive than halogen headlights. The xenon light is produced by gas discharge, whereby an arc is generated under high voltage.

Advantages of xenon headlights

• Five times brighter than halogen
• Light colour is similar to daylight
• Less sensitive to vibrations
• significantly longer service life (2,500 hours)
• Lower energy consumption

Advantages of xenon headlights

• Five times brighter than halogen
• Light colour is similar to daylight
• Less sensitive to vibrations
• significantly longer service life (2,500 hours)
• Lower energy consumption

LED headlights have now established themselves as standard in the luxury class. LED stands for light-emitting diode. Before type approval, each headlight must undergo the homologation process together with all other components of a new car model. In LED headlights, the individual diodes are bundled together. It can happen that individual LEDs in the headlamp fail. But when does the car's entire LED headlight need to be replaced Generally speaking, an LED headlight is no longer considered functional if a third of the bulbs fail. However, most common cars can now be converted to LEDs.

Advantages of LED headlights

• Brighter than halogen, but less bright than xenon
• Precise brightness control
• Can be switched on, off and dimmed
• Minimal glare effect
• Long service life (10,000 hours)
• High energy efficiency
• Natural light

Disadvantages of LED headlights

• high price
• Temperature sensitivity

To avoid dazzling other road users, you should regularly check the light setting and headlight range of your LED headlights and adjust them accordingly when loaded. Remember that although daytime running lights increase visibility during the day, they are more than twice as dazzling as dipped headlights in poor visibility and light conditions. You should therefore generally switch to dipped headlights early and preferably also drive with them during the day when visibility is poor.

There are a few important points to bear in mind when adjusting the headlights on your car:

• Correct height: The headlights should be adjusted so that they illuminate the road optimally without dazzling oncoming traffic.
• Even alignment: Both headlights should shine at the same height and in the same direction to ensure even illumination.
• Pay attention to the load: The alignment of the headlights can change when the vehicle is loaded, so it is important to adjust them accordingly.
• Manufacturer's specifications: Follow the vehicle manufacturer's precise adjustment instructions to achieve optimum results.

• The cornering light illuminates the side area directly in front of the vehicle at low speeds.
• It is always connected to the active dipped beam and is activated either by activating the indicator or from a certain steering angle.
• With the aid of the cornering light, people at the edge of the road can be recognised earlier, especially in urban areas.
• It also significantly improves visibility when turning off at night when driving outside built-up areas.

• With bend lighting, the headlights swivel around bends and illuminate the road significantly further than conventional headlights.
• This is achieved by adjusting the headlights depending on the steering angle, speed and/or direction of travel.
• This adjustment means that bends and bends can be better illuminated, which improves visibility and thus increases driving safety.
• Bend lighting systems can be realised either by swivelling headlights or by adaptive headlights.

• Adaptive headlights automatically adjust to the driving situation.
• These headlamp systems can adjust depending on various factors such as steering angle, speed, weather conditions and ambient brightness.
• As a result, adaptive headlights can improve illumination on bends, for example, or illuminate the area in front of the vehicle more broadly at low speeds.
• The appropriate illumination is available for driving in urban areas, on country roads, motorways or in poor visibility conditions.

• Many drivers often forget to switch on their high beam to improve their visibility in the absence of oncoming traffic.
• In recent years, systems have been developed that switch the high beam on and off automatically.
• The static high beam assistant recognises vehicles in front and oncoming traffic with the help of a camera and controls the high beam accordingly.

• The dynamic high beam assistant makes it possible to use the high beam continuously in the dark without dazzling other road users.
• This is achieved by high-resolution front cameras that detect the presence and exact position of other road users.
• This information is forwarded to the headlamp control system, which cuts out or shades the corresponding areas in the light cone.
• This directs the light around other vehicles and road users while their surroundings remain illuminated.
• With high-resolution matrix headlights, it is now possible to control the light distribution so precisely that not just one, but a large number of objects can be specifically and extremely accurately excluded from their own light cone. As a result, the driver hardly notices that parts of the main beam are not active.

• Daytime running lights are used to make the car more visible during the day, especially in daylight.
• It is integrated as standard in new vehicles and lights up automatically when the engine is switched on to improve the visibility of the vehicle for other road users.
• When dusk sets in or visibility is poor during the day, the daytime running lights must be replaced by the dipped headlights.

• The automatic low beam, also known as automatic headlights, supports the driver by automatically switching the low beam on and off.
• This prevents the driver from forgetting to switch on the lights at dusk.
• Nowadays, automatic low beam is either available as standard in modern vehicles or at least as an optional extra.

• The adaptive brake light is a driver assistance system that is activated in the event of braking, especially emergency braking.
• In the event of a heavy deceleration of more than 6 m/s and a speed of more than 50 km/h, the brake lights flash several times per second.
• After the vehicle has come to a standstill, the hazard warning lights switch on and the brake lights remain permanently illuminated.
• This function is mandatory in new vehicles and serves to warn following traffic in good time in order to shorten reaction times and avoid rear-end collisions.