CREE LED Headlight Technology to Replace HID Xenon Lighting

Impressive new headlight bulbs that utilize CREE LED technology are gaining popularity as an alternative to aftermarket HID xenon automotive lighting kits. The new CREE bulbs use American made and patented CREE LED technology.

CREE incorporated, a growing North Carolina based public company was founded in 1987 and now boasts more than 3,000 employees. The company manufacture a range of LED products for both indoor and outdoor household lighting applications, display lighting such as road signs, stage lights, large full color video screens, portable lighting such as flashlights and photography studio lighting as well as automotive bulb applications.

The CREE chip LEDs used in automotive lighting use a custom made silicon-carbide platform that’s manufactured in the United States, then shipped to China where it is mounted into a space aluminum bulb housing. The space aluminum housings are manufactured specific to the bulb type and are offered in both single beam and dual beam bulb types.

The single beam bulbs use a single CREE chip LED and produce 3,200 lumens of light per bulb. The dual beam use two reverse mounted LEDs on a single stem. The low beam function produces 2,600 lumens of light and the high beam 3,200 lumens, with both LEDs illuminated.

As with all LED lights the CREE LEDs emit excessive heat while operating, so the bulb has a cooling fan built into the rear of the housing, allowing maximum air flow and heat dispersion. Power consumption is still relatively low though at thirty watts for the single beam and forty watts for the dual beam. The CREE bulbs are able to operate on a voltage of either twelve or twenty four volts, allowing installation in a range of vehicles from motorcycles to passenger cars and heavy trucks.

The main advantage CREE LED headlights offer over HID lights and halogen is brightness. The CREE LEDs output 3,200 lumens compared with 3,000 from HID and just a mere 1,200 lumens from factory halogen bulbs. Much like HID bulbs the CREE bulbs require a ballast to power the bulb. The ballast (also known as a driver) is the size of small cellphone and plugs direct into the vehicle’s factory wiring harness making the lighting upgrade quick and easy.

The upgrade to CREE headlights doesn’t have to be permanent, as there’s no modification to your headlight housing or wiring required. Just remember to keep and store your factory halogen bulbs and should you choose to go back to halogen you can simply replace the bulbs again with the originals.

Aftermarket HID kits have received much criticism since their introduction to the American market in approximately 2004. This is mainly due to the glare when used with reflector type headlight housings that are not properly aimed. The CREE LED bulbs have less glare than HIDs and offer a smoother light output with a color temperature of 6,500K.

The one advantage HIDs have over CREE is the variety of color temperature. This factor along with a significantly cheaper price tag will keep car enthusiasts buying and installing HID kits, however further development of CREE LEDs over the next one to two years may see HID lights eventually phased out.

The author of this article is Luke Ward, a 37 year old motoring enthusiast and proprietor of http://www.motorfiend.com