Full Spectrum Room Lighting For Computer

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Lighting-Light-Bulbs-Halogen-Bulbs/Energy-Saving/N-5yc1vZbmg5Z1z0u085

Halogen bulbs have much more of the light spectrum. I have them in my living room dining room. I work at a desk between the L shaped areas of that room.

Halogen bulbs are now energy savers. They do not last ultra long, but they last long enough. They are now more inexpensive.

The LEDs are a lot of blue light. While blue light is not bad for you, more of the light spectrum is probably better for your eyes.

Ultra violet light is not good for us. That is different than blue light, but the two have been conflated.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

I only use SAD lights where I'm working

Yes, Abbie, my understanding is SAD lights are full spectrum lights. I think this is what I'm looking for.

David, I'm trying to get an understanding of halogen. It does look like this is the tubes they use in paint stores to make sure the color matching is correct. Do you use bulbs or tubes? What wattage?

If they are long tubes they are probably not halogen.

Proper color rendition is related to the CRI of the bulb (basically any type). If proper color rendition is important a relatively high CRI bulb is typically required.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/tech/what-is-cri-color-rendering-index

FYI, Verilux (and others) make a wide variety of full-spectrum bulbs and lighting products.

Personally, I use LED bulbs (where I can) in the house. My studio lights are 5500K high CRI fluorescents. In my office, I have a mix of LED bulbs in desk and floor lamps (different color temps in a couple of them to view prints) and a 12" circular fluorescent overhead. I also use multiple circular fluorescents in my kitchen due to the type of fixtures installed. I prefer lower color temps in most of the spaces except for the bathroom and kitchen where I prefer higher color temps. I use a mix of temps in my office as I mentioned above.

Cheers

I've had a few crafters comment on a thread on FB that Ottlite's are the best. I looked them up online. Back in the day when I owned a clothing store, we'd buy these very expensive tubes that were 6500 Kelvin if I remember correctly. The lighting was wonderful. I then used the same thing in my old office. I don't know what they were, but they were long tubes and they didn't come in bulbs at the time. It looks like this Ottlite is what Abbie is talking about and what I was most likely using. We may try David's halogen bulbs from Home Depot to see if it helps with lighting and strain and then see if we need to add an Ottlite floor lamp. I have 65-year-old eyes with the start of cataracts on top of all of this as well. Sheesh. Can't a gal just create some art!? LOL.

I use this: https://www.buybrandtools.com/acatalog/daylight-led-lumi-task-lamp.html
The company is in the UK but perhaps it provides you with the right search terms to find a supplier in the US.

https://products.ottlite.com/c-177-bulbs.aspx

Cheers

Thanks, everyone. Don, it looks like Verilux and Ottlite are about the same thing. I will work on this tomorrow when the companies are open and go from there. I'm thinking I need to get as close to 6500k as I can. I'll do a lamp and switch the bulbs out in the room and see.

Jill, let me know how it goes?

6500k is very blue. i wouldn't call it full spectrum. 5000k is very neutral, looks like the sun, i use it in the workshop. 4000k is warming but also sun like. anything higher and it looks blue and i hate it.

you can get LED shop lights that are 2-4 ft, chain together in any config, and you can just plug them in. or get them as a roll and tape it in place.

the term full spectrum, i haven't seen used in years, only plant lights come up whenever i searched.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07838QM3V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

this is what i bought, they come in different sized packs. other than the substandard clips they come with, the light is bright and nice. each bulb equals about 1 1/2 tubes or so.


----Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Mike, when I looked up the lights you are using, they are unavailable. I really like the idea of tubes because it's a wider light source. How many tubes do you use? Looks like after this research, you're right, Mike, 6500 is too blue. So glad I posted this topic!

Here is an article showing color temperature: https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/understanding-white-balance-and-color-temperature. Apparently 4800k is total neutral white. This is all coming back to me from school when we learned about white balance with 18% grey being halfway between white and black.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYVPZ2T/ref=psdc_5772194011_t2_B01GJVEM4S?th=1 I'm thinking this might work. Just trying to figure out if it's enough light for a 12 sq ft office or if I need more than one. It's 5000k LEDs.

If you want to complicate things even more, in reference to selling on line, the concern is not your lighting or your monitor, but the lighting and monitor of a customer. We have to face the reality that, no matter how much WE sweat over color balance, brightness, etc, an awful lot of customers are shopping with a cheap, unadjusted $100 monitor from Staples, possibly in a room with strange light or sunlight bouncing off the cheap screen. I've seen our images on some of those monitors and it's not pretty, but it is the reality of the situation and it's what we live with.

Personally, I'm pretty darn fussy about color balance, etc, so I've made some effort to find a set of adjustments that work. I do my work on a Mac with a terrific screen, but I try to adjust it so that it's a decent match for what I can print and/or what FAA can print, without any reference to arcane numerical adjustments; it's the eye that counts. Customers are a complete wild card, but I like to think that what I see on my screen and what works for me can be duplicated on printed media. So far, so good, at least prints look like what I expect.

yeah i know those are out, but there are dozens of variations like that one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PG3RLH7/ref=emc_b_5_i

here's one. they differ in length, how they connect (some have more cords or less cords), depends if you daisy chain or not. the only bad thing is - you won't here FM bands on your radio, just static. there are shields for it.

i have them over the bandsaw, and other saws, and it makes a huge difference. the one over the router and sandblaster that has a 6500k. it lets me see the rust because a 3500k, is the same color as the rust. but i like the 5000k the best.

i mostly like that they are the same color and should stay that way. i have normal florescent lights and we tend to buy a different color every time we restock, so the basement has pink, blue, white, etc its really annoying. and in the bathroom all we had was 6500k, during the day you can't tell the lights are on. and at night we all look ghostly and pale.


----Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

missed that other part of the question, for the shop, i already have tube lights, so these fill in the shadows, so its like 1 per area. if i were to do the whole shop, i would want to make long rows from front to back, spread i would say every 3-4 ft. i would have to experiment. i was hoping to change the light over my computer with 1 tube, replacing the 2 i have. but i found it wasn't bright enough. i would need two.

in the shop, you can see the difference when i turn it off, its happiness when its on. i can see again. and because its cheap and easy to put in, i have them everywhere. just make sure the kit has enough cords, the one where they ran out, had a cord for each light. a lot of them have a chain link between them or a splice connector.

https://www.amazon.com/HitLights-Premium-Density-5050-16-4-UL-Listed/dp/B01LBDU0MW/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1NNJ0KROZ9BO3&keywords=5000k+led+tape+light&qid=1580136738&s=hi&sprefix=5000k+led+tape%2Ctools%2C213&sr=1-7
the other kind is this one. its barebones, but you can put it any where. there are connectors for the ends to make right angles. they are very nice. i've seen this type as UV lights for vertical greenhouses.


----Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Retired from portraits, weddings, etc. Studio gone. No need to be concerned like I once was about white balancing. FAA and my other labs do a great job on my print work. I've not been displeased with the colors to speak of.

I like the idea of the link I posted for the light I'm looking at because there are no tubes! They are saying that one light is enough to light this room up. It's 12x12.

I'm doing this for entirely selfish reasons; it's all about me! Our retirement home is small on a little lake. And every room has great light and views EXCEPT my workspace. LOL. So, I'm in desperate need of creating a better mood in here, less eye strain, and more even, natural-colored light. Thanks to this post and the responses here, I think I'm onto something! :) Abbie, stay tuned. I'm ordering today once my husband, who will be the installer, has concurred with my decisions. His desk also sits right behind mine. :)

Mike, those strip lights would be perfect for a kitchen!!! Did you look at the light that I found by the same company since the one you recommended was sold out? Based on your experience, do you think one of those will be enough in our room centered on the ceiling or should I get two running them linear end to end?

its bulky for my needs, but i guess so. LED tends to be brighter than other things. when in doubt, get more. if you only have one now, get one, and if you find your needing more, get more. or you can get fancy and make soffits around the room and have the light shine upwards at the ceiling. it will remove harshness.

the only downside to the bulbs i have - especially naked bulbs, is that the sides should be covered, or frosted. the frosted ones are easier on the eyes but still blinding. i had to add a shield over the first set of lights i got.

originally i got the lights for the blaster, as the 2 little bulbs i had was very dark. 1 2ft light inside and its quite nice. but you have to get them in bulk packs, and all i need now is just one more light that's short for a grinder.


----Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Jill,

I am not the expert my old engineering mentor is. I believe, not entirely certain, LEDs are no where near full spectrum, but halogens are full spectrum.

Also looking at your images, you probably have dimmed your monitor to work. This may cause eye strain. Since I stopped producing images, I have put my monitor brightness up, and the eye strain was greatly reduced.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

Scroll down and check the awesome individual R values for the 99 CRI Waveform Lighting (LED). (You may or may not have to wait a few secs for the homepage animation thingy before you can scroll.)

https://www.waveformlighting.com/full-spectrum-led-lighting

How we achieve full spectrum

LED phosphors are the technological advancement in LED lighting technologies that makes full spectrum lighting possible.

Phosphors convert light energy of one wavelength and redistribute that energy as a different wavelength. For example, a red phosphor will convert blue light energy, and re-emit red wavelength energy.

By carefully adjusting the amount of various colored LED phosphor in an LED chip, an unprecedented level of spectral control becomes possible. Because LED phosphors are in powder form, they can be readily mixed into various color recipes with changes in phosphor ratio resulting in subtle color differences.

Our carefully developed phosphor recipes are the secret sauce to achieving a full spectrum result that truly mimics natural daylight.

Cheers

Absolute Series 99 CRI LED strip lights are not cheap!

https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/led-strips/products/absolute-series-led-flexible-strip-99-cri-16-ft-5-m-reel

https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/absolute-series/products/absolute-series-99-cri-led-linear-module

FYI, all of Waveform's lighting products have detailed spec sheets and comprehensive photometric reports. This company does not produce cheap lighting and they carry a wide range of products.

Cheers

Don,

Certainly an interesting solution.

The local hardware store where I bought four halogen bulbs had them at $5 or so. Standard light bulb size.

The options are endless.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

95 CRI LED A19's (standard bulb size as you call it) will run you about $18 each or $15 each on a 6 pack from Waveform.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/photometrics/TR_4003.65.pdf

https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/a19-bulbs/products/northlux-95-cri-e26-a19-led-bulb-for-artwork-painting

FWIW, LED bulbs are roughly 4X more energy efficient than halogen bulbs and of course they do not produce anywhere near the heat of the equivalent lumen halogen.

Cheers

The LEDs also last about twenty years longer generally.

So I may opt for something like the CRI next.

The price difference is $5 to $60. Not including gas to get to the store for more bulbs.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

Yup, high CRI LEDs are a good choice for many and some put the life expectancy as much as 25X+ longer than halogens. Your mileage may vary but that's a whole lotta packs of halogen bulbs over the years.

Cheers

Halogen lights are 3000K and therefore not full spectrum.

Full spectrum is 5500K, but the industry standard for viewing prints for color accuracy is 5000K. Monitors should be calibrated to the D65 color standard.

One thing that people might be confusing is "full spectrum" and "continuous spectrum"

Incandescent bulbs have a continuous spectrum, meaning that, no matter the color temperature, there are no dropped wavelengths in the output.

LED and fluorescent bulbs have discontinuous spectrums, meaning that there are spots in their spectrums that are missing certain wavelengths.

This can lead to seeing color shifts in certain specific colors.

You can get 90+ CRI with Florescent and LED lights these days. Good LEDs are available from 95-99 CRI which is almost continuous spectrum. This is usually achieved with rare-earth phosphors/tri-phosphors.

These are from the Waveform Absolute Series.







Cheers

.

David Smith's comments are spot on.

A couple more thoughts:
- Consider working in the dark. Then the only light is coming from your (hopefully) color-corrected monitor.
- How you see color is somewhat dependant on your age. For example, most seniors have less light sensitivity to the red end of the spectrum, which means that they don't see red as well as a younger person.
- To find a light bulb that works best for you (if you want to go that route) go to a proper lighting store and try their various light bulbs. Turn on the lights. Pick the one that feels most neutral and most comfortable for you. Light stores are pretty serious about light and a knowledgeable person will help you and make suggestions if you describe to them what you are trying to do.

Hope this helps.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart-100-Watt-A19-Halogen-Light-Bulb-16-Pack-16670/304094509

These have a CRI of 100, at 2700K

Very inexpensive. I like the extra warm light in the room.

Also halogens are not directional. Most LEDs if not all are more direction in their approach to lighting up a room.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

http://givemesight.org/led-light-bulbs-really-best-eyes/

This article is interesting.

This was part of my mentor's recommendation of halogen bulbs.

I know UV is bad for your eyes, but blue light is a little bit mixed because we do not stare at the sun in nature. Out in nature, blue light is different than in doors with LEDs, there is more near infrared light outdoors.

The articles, i am finding say regarding blue light do not give up your LEDs, but kind of steer people not to overload on LEDs.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

2700K light is not what you want to be using in a room where you’re working on images.

DB,

I have zero Halogens in my home and office and probably will never have any. I prefer efficient light to heat and just to give you an idea, the three LED monitors (40", 27" and 22") on my desk and the tower heat that part of my office space up 4 degrees. While it's tolerable in the winter it's not ideal during many months of the summer unless I crank the AC. Adding Halogens to distribute more inefficient heat into my space is not in the playbook. As I mentioned above, in my office I have specific temp lamps/bulbs for viewing prints and they are nowhere near 2700K. Yes, I do prefer lower color temp softer lights in most areas of the house except for the bathroom, kitchen and my office. As I stated above, I have multiple color temps in my office specifically for chilling and others for print viewing.

Also halogens are not directional.Most LEDs if not all are more direction in their approach to lighting up a room

This is just not true. If you want Omni-directional LED lighting then buy it...they are available. Not only that, with many forms of lighting you want directional and I am not just talking about highlighting or track lighting, etc.

I know UV is bad for your eyes, but blue light is a little bit mixed because we do not stare at the sun in nature. Out in nature, blue light is different than in doors with LEDs, there is more near-infrared light outdoors.

Seriously? You are the same guy that pooh-poohed true blue-blocking glasses.

Regarding NIR...

https://www.ies.org/fires/the-science-of-near-infrared-lighting-fact-or-fiction/

If you believe low-level NIR is helpful to you then buy some of these:

https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/infrared-850-nm-ir-led-strip-light

Or better yet, get yourself some NIR light therapy products. Personally, I suggest opening your shades/curtains and let the sunshine in...and get outdoors in the sun for your dosage of NIR whenever possible. Or run those Halogens you trust and have to replace so often...the power company and the retailers will gladly accept your money. ;))

I am not bashing those that use Halogens in their home and office, but they certainly are not my lighting preference considering the wide variety of lighting products available today.

Cheers

Because of this discussion, thank you, I've ordered some overhead lighting to try. I'm not, nor will I ever be, as technical as many of you. I have two different light bulbs mixed in my makeup area right now, as we replace the last of the old bulbs. The color is starkly different. So I am aware of the importance of color temperature in a room.

And although I'm no longer 'calibrating' my monitor, I did check the brightness of my screen as well as the color profile my iMac is using. It is defaulting to iMac's color space. My brightness is turned down to, it looks like, a little less than a third of full capacity. I noticed that when I changed the color profile on the monitor, it significantly changed the color of my image on the screen. Recommendations for a better default or should I keep it Mac? Adobe RGB 1998 was way warmer. Am I opening a can of worms here? LOL.

DS, Don,

I am no longer working on images. I have said that a few times. Perhaps in other threads and once maybe here.

I agree for anyone working on images here, but it is tricky with eye strain. Not to mention eye health.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

Jill,

When I was working on images, I kept my monitor brightness as 80 candelas per mm^2 or whatever it is.

The strain is with pixels forming letters for basic reading. Pixels do not make for fully formed letters.

Perhaps two monitors, if you have the space. One for image processing, the other for surfing the internet in order to read better with a brighter screen.

The jury is still out on how well turning up the monitor brightness will work on my high eye pressure, but so far so good it is somewhat possibly helping.

Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

Abbie, and all, I received and have installed the ceiling lights from my research that I added the link for above. They are GREAT! It is nice, even, bright white light throughout the room. My husband I are both thrilled. The mood is 100% better. I don't feel like I'm working in a dungeon anymore. And there is no longer a color cast in the room bugging me either. My husband said it was easy to install, works with the light switch on the wall, and there are no bulbs to burn out or replace. Yea. :) Thank you, everyone. Oh, by the way, Ottlite told me their lights are between 5000 and 6000 kelvin. I may use their bulbs elsewhere in the house.

I am glad to hear the 5000K LEDs did the trick! Those have the LED strips inside.

Cheers