A headlamp is a lamp connected to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the highway ahead. Headlamps are additionally typically known as headlights, however in probably the most exact utilization, headlamp is the term for the machine itself and headlight is the term for the beam of gentle produced and distributed by the machine. Headlamp performance has steadily improved all through the car age, spurred by the good disparity between daytime and nighttime traffic fatalities: EcoLight solar bulbs the US National Highway Traffic Security Administration states that just about half of all visitors-related fatalities occur at midnight, despite solely 25% of site visitors travelling during darkness. Different automobiles, corresponding to trains and aircraft, are required to have headlamps. Bicycle headlamps are sometimes used on bicycles, and are required in some jurisdictions. They are often powered by a battery or a small generator like a bottle or hub dynamo. The primary horseless carriages used carriage lamps, which proved unsuitable for journey at velocity.

The earliest lights used candles as the commonest kind of fuel. The earliest headlamps, fuelled by combustible gas reminiscent of acetylene fuel or oil, EcoLight solar bulbs operated from the late 1880s. Acetylene fuel lamps had been well-liked in 1900s as a result of the flame is resistant to wind and rain. Thick concave mirrors mixed with magnifying lenses projected the acetylene flame gentle. Numerous car manufacturers provided Prest-O-Lite calcium carbide acetylene gasoline generator cylinder with fuel feed pipes for lights as standard tools for 1904 cars. The primary electric headlamps had been launched in 1898 on the Columbia Electric Car from the Electric Automobile Firm of Hartford, Connecticut, and had been optional. Two components restricted the widespread use of electric headlamps: the brief life of filaments in the tough automotive surroundings, and the issue of producing dynamos small enough, EcoLight LED bulbs but highly effective sufficient to produce ample current. Peerless made electric headlamps commonplace in 1908. A Birmingham, EcoLight solar bulbs England agency referred to as Pockley Automobile Electric Lighting Syndicate marketed the world's first electric car-lights as a complete set in 1908, which consisted of headlamps, sidelamps, EcoLight reviews and tail lights that were powered by an eight-volt battery.

In 1912 Cadillac built-in their automobile's Delco electrical ignition and lighting system, forming the modern vehicle electrical system. The Guide Lamp Company introduced "dipping" (low-beam) headlamps in 1915, but the 1917 Cadillac system allowed the light to be dipped using a lever contained in the automotive reasonably than requiring the driver to stop and get out. The 1924 Bilux bulb was the first trendy unit, having the sunshine for both low (dipped) and EcoLight outdoor excessive (predominant) beams of a headlamp emitting from a single bulb. A similar design was launched in 1925 by Guide Lamp referred to as the "Duplo". In 1927 the foot-operated dimmer switch or dip swap was launched and grew to become standard for much of the century. 1933-1934 Packards featured tri-beam headlamps, the EcoLight solar bulbs having three filaments. From highest to lowest, the beams had been known as "country passing", "nation driving" and "metropolis driving". The 1934 Nash also used a three-beam system, although in this case with bulbs of the conventional two-filament type, and the intermediate beam mixed low beam on the driver's aspect with excessive beam on the passenger's aspect, in order to maximise the view of the roadside while minimizing glare towards oncoming traffic.

1952 "Autronic Eye" system automated the selection of excessive and low beams. Directional lighting, utilizing a change and electromagnetically shifted reflector to illuminate the curbside solely, was launched in the uncommon, one-year-only 1935 Tatra. Steering-linked lighting was featured on the 1947 Tucker Torpedo's heart-mounted headlight and was later popularized by the Citroën DS. This made it possible to turn the sunshine within the route of travel when the steering wheel turned. The standardized 7-inch (178 mm) round sealed-beam headlamp, one per aspect, was required for all vehicles offered within the United States from 1940, just about freezing usable lighting expertise in place until the 1970s for EcoLight solar bulbs People. In 1957 the legislation modified to permit smaller 5.75-inch (146 mm) spherical sealed beams, two per side of the car, and in 1974 rectangular sealed beams were permitted as properly. Britain, EcoLight solar bulbs Australia, and some other Commonwealth nations, in addition to Japan and Sweden, additionally made extensive use of 7-inch sealed beams, though they were not mandated as they had been in the United States.