Bright future

At the Great American Trucking Show, Grote Industries revealed its new composite forward-lighting system. It combines high-intensity discharge (HID) and halogen infrared (HIR) bulbs to provide more illumination at a greater distance with more natural, whiter light while using less power and lasting longer than current systems.

HID lighting lets driver see farther ahead and to the sides with a color that is closer to natural sunlight and thus easier on the eye.

The Grote system uses a replaceable HID bulb for low beams and a replaceable HIR bulb for high beams. HIR bulbs, the company noted, are halogens with an extra exterior coating that gives an increase of about 20% in light output as well as a whiter color than standard halogens.

HID bulbs have no filaments, according to Grote. Instead, they are filled with xenon gas that is excited by a high-voltage electrical arc to produce light. They also last three times longer than standard incandescent bulbs.

Grote said the new system puts out three times as much light as standard incandescent headlamps yet meets all federal glare guidelines. But the HID bulbs use only 35 watts of power rather than the 55 needed by incandescents.