Are your automobile’s headlights leaving you in the dark?
I recently discovered a technology in incandescent lighting called “Halogen Infrared Reflecting”, or HIR for short. It’s not new, but it isn’t well-known, either. It was developed several years ago by GE. They no longer are making automobile headlamps using this technology, but Toshiba Philips does. They are said to produce as much as 80% of the light output of those wicked-bright HID lamps, but with NO increase in power consumption! They are a lot cheaper, too, roughly 5% of the cost of an HID upgrade kit, and with no retrofit hassles - they just plug in.
9005/HB3
9011/HIR1
65
65
1700
2350
Standard Halogen high-beam lamp
Halogen Infrared Reflecting high-beam lamp
These lamps are made in both low-beam and high-beam types. I have found that now I rarely need to use my high-beam lamps, especially around town - the low-beam HIRs are usually enough, but I do like having the extra light available when I need it. Trust me - they are startlingly bright! You really do have to see them to believe them. And the best thing is, because they are a fits-in-place replacement for the standard headlamps, aim and focus are not effected. You will NOT blind oncoming drivers (as long as your headlamps were correctly aimed in the first place).
Here’s a quick little anecdote: A good friend of mine is a locomotive engineer. One day we were chatting about stuff, and I brought up these HIR lamps. He was curious to see them, but I thought, “He won’t be impressed.” (If you’ve ever been “lit up” by a locomotive headlamp at night, you’ll know what I mean.) Anyway, I had the chance to show him one evening. At the time, I had only installed the high beam lamps in my car, so first I turned on the low beam (9005-standard halogen) lights. When I flicked on the 9011 HIR1’s, he literally jumped back and said, “Oh, sh*t!” He actually touched the headlamp cover to see if it was getting hot! That’s when I knew these things were truly bright.
But hey - don’t take my word for it. Here are a few links to what others have to say about HIR technology: (Be aware, the photos do NOT do them justice.)
