Colour Temperature Misconceptions
A common misconception on HID lights is the meaning of the kelvin rates, most people think going to a higher rate will give them a brighter bulb when actually it refers to the color temperature of the light that is being emitted.
For instance a lot of customers ordering the 30000k bulbs believe that its the brightest option for them, when actually its something non related to brightness , Higher color temperatures (5,000 K or more) are called cool colors (blueish white); lower color temperatures (2,700–3,000 K) are called warm colors (yellowish white through red).
The Best HID kits range from 3000k a yellow tone to 8000k a blue tone, it really depends on the preference of the costumer whether the costumer would like something similar to a halogen bulb, or wants a different look.
Remember the HID headlamp light sources (bulbs) offer substantially greater luminance and luminous flux than halogen bulbs — about 3000 lumen’s and 90 mcd/m2 versus 1400 lumen’s and 30 mcd/m2, no matter what color temperature you chose.
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Don’t Get Left Behind With Halogen Bulbs!
The same basic sealed-beam incandescent-bulb headlights that illuminated the road in front of the Ford Model T in 1908 were standard equipment for many vehicles until the early 1990s. These headlights were simple, and they served the automotive industry well for half a century. Fifteen years ago, lighting technology took a leap forward with the invention of “high-intensity discharge” (HID) automotive headlights. In North America, they first appeared on the 1991 BMW 7 Series. Today, as costs decrease, HID headlights are becoming available on at least some models from nearly every major manufacturer.
Colour Temprature (‘K’) vs Brightness
It is a common misconception that higher colour temperatures (K’s) produce brighter lights. This is not true. The colour temperature only determines the colour but not the brightness of the HID light. The Colour Temperature is simply a scale represented by the Kelvin Temperature Chart (hence the abbreviation “K” or “K’s”) as decpited above that measures the colour of the light output. Typically, the higher the colour temperature, the closer you get to achieving bluish to purplish light colours.