The emergence of ever new sources of illumination has generated a lot of controversy about the dangers of their radiation for human vision. Luminescent, like LED lamps, nowadays have both supporters and opponents. Many generally believe that any artificial lighting fixture is a threat to the eyes. But is this really so and how dangerous can this or that shade be?
The article will examine in detail the question of whether cold white light harms a person, whether there is a difference between it and a warm shade for the body, and which emitters should be used in everyday life.
Varieties of lamps and their effect on humans
Among the known light sources, three main groups can be distinguished:
- filament emitters;
- luminescent;
- LED light.
In order to more fully disclose the topic, you should study them in detail, sorting out the advantages, disadvantages and characteristics of each separately.
Ilyich’s bulbs and devices operating on a similar principle
Gradually go back in time when there was no alternative to filament emitters. They have been upgraded. So there were halogen lamps, DRL, DNaT. However, such emitters had a rather short service life with high electricity consumption and low coefficient of performance (COP). Most of the energy was spent on heat.
It is heating that can be called the most important drawback of such emitters - quite often they became the cause of the fire. However, their temperature shade was the closest to sunlight, called warm.
Fluorescent tubes and CFLs
Almost a breakthrough for their time were lamps that consume several times less electricity without losing light flux. Such emitters quickly gained popularity. We are talking about luminescent emitters. Initially, these were long tubes. However, their use was mainly limited to offices and stairwells of porches. In residential premises, such devices were quite rare. However, everything changed with the advent of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which are popularly called energy-saving. In order to install them in place of ordinary ones, equipment replacement was not required. It was enough to unscrew the old ones and screw new ones in their place.
The main problem of fluorescent lamps is the need for special disposal. They should not be thrown away with household waste. The point is the mercury vapor contained inside the flask, which is poisonous. But this is not the only minus of fluorescent lamps (LDS) or CFL. When igniting the vapors of heavy metals during the passage of electric current through them, an ultraviolet glow occurs, which is converted into a visible light for a person with the help of a special layer that covers the tube from the inside. The same phosphor protects a person from harmful radiation. However, over time, this layer begins to crack, as a result of which the infrared glow begins to affect vision.
Today, energy-saving cold white light bulbs, simple LB fluorescent lamps and warm-tone emitters are available.
LEDs and their features
A relatively new and safest form of artificial lighting. The minimum energy consumption and long service life of these emitters contribute to the increasing popularity of such elements. The range of color temperatures of such devices is quite wide, which allows you to choose any shade of LED lamps from cold white light to natural warm.
The positive quality of such emitters can also be called the fact that they can be disposed of as ordinary household waste. These are environmentally friendly devices, the production of which does not use harmful substances.
The dependence of shades on the color temperature of a fluorescent lamp
The unit of measurement for this parameter is Kelvin (K). If we talk about the general indicators of color temperatures, then we can note the following indicators:
- cold white light - 5,000-6,600 K and higher;
- neutral - 3 600-4 800 K;
- warm - 1 800-3 400 K.
However, these indicators can only be attributed to fluorescent light sources. As for the LEDs, here the line is much wider.
Separation of color temperatures of LED elements
Here, each of the three standard shades can be divided into several separate ones. If you draw parallels with natural phenomena, then they can be compared with:
- cloudless sky (10 000-15 000 K), which is called the temperature of cold white light;
- a light shadow from the clouds (7,000-7,500 K);
- cloudy weather (6,000-6,500 K);
- midday sun (4,500-5,500 K);
- morning / evening sun (3,500-4,500 K);
- sunset (2 800-3 200 K).
But the most pleasant for the eyes is the shade of the candle flame, which has a color temperature of 1,000 K. It turns out that the radiation of a cold white fluorescent lamp can only be in one range, while LEDs differ in degrees from each other. This allows you to expand the selection and purchase a lamp of that shade that will be more comfortable for the eyes.
In the next video, you can see the difference between warm and cold glow.
Flickering light source and what it affects
Another positive quality of LED-elements is an even glow. LEDs of cold white light or any other shade are not subject to flickering, harmful to humans, except when connecting incompatible equipment to them. We are talking about installing dimmers on LED-lamps, not intended for regulation. As for cold white fluorescent lamps, their flickering often occurs due to the "fatigue" of the tube itself or the electronic ballast (electronic ballast).
Such violations in the operation of the light source lead to rather unpleasant consequences, among which are chronic fatigue, irritability, frequent headaches and depression. With prolonged exposure, eye problems are possible, which is especially dangerous for people over 40-45 years old. This is exactly the line after which doctors do not recommend making a correction, which means that restoration of vision is almost impossible.
Cold white light bulbs: effects on the body
It seems to many that warm shades are more pleasant for the eyes and have less negative impact on vision. In fact, everything is not so simple. Here a lot will depend on the lamp - what type it is. LED cold white light affects the human body much less than luminescent. However, it is worth noting that neither one nor the other (with proper operation) does much harm to health. Another thing is that the shade affects the mood at a subconscious level.
The sun's rays are necessary for normal human life - this is laid down by nature. For this reason, it is more pleasant for people to be under artificial radiation of warm shades. However, numerous polls have revealed an interesting trend. Those who first installed emitters with a color temperature of cold-white light in their apartment or private house are unhappy with the result. However, if more than 10 days have passed since the replacement of the lamps, users no longer want to change them to warmer tones.
Household use of devices of various shades
When organizing lighting in a home, it is not necessary to install emitters of one specific color temperature. Various variations on this parameter will allow you to highlight individual areas of the room. For example, using a combination of LED strip of cold white light and spots with lamps of warm colors, you can divide the living room into a working part and a relaxation area. In this case, no one will interfere with each other. One person will work calmly without straining his eyes, the second will watch TV in soft warm light.
Before you buy emitters, it makes sense to think about in which rooms you need to install lamps with a high color temperature, and where it is better to install devices with a warmer shade. From this will depend on how high-quality rest will be from everyday work, what atmosphere will prevail in an apartment or a private house.
Some tips for choosing emitters
Cold white light lamps are suitable for the entrance hall, study, lighting of the kitchen working area. Allowed the installation of such emitters in the pantry, bathroom. For the bedroom, living room and dining area of the kitchen, it is better to choose warmer tones. It will also be useful to install a special regulator - a dimmer, which allows you to dim the light. But you should understand that not all lamps can work with such a device. Therefore, if a dimmer is installed instead of a switch in the apartment, you must make sure that the corresponding box on the LED lamp box is marked.
As for conventional and compact fluorescent lamps, they will not work through a similar regulator. If an LED strip is used, then to control the strength of its luminous flux, you can use a special controller with a remote control. With it, you can adjust not only the intensity of the glow, but also (when using RGB tape) change the color.
Particular attention should be paid to the type of lamp. No matter how profitable the acquisition of a fluorescent emitter may seem, it is better to dwell on the LEDs. In favor of this statement is the fact that all over the world CFLs are currently being replaced in LED kindergartens and educational institutions with LED elements.
The psychological state of a person: dependence on color temperature
Scientists have proven that cold white light increases efficiency and reduces eye strain when reading or writing. However, this statement is true only under the condition of its short-term impact on humans. The body is designed in such a way that it needs certain cycles of work, rest and sleep. So, with an excess of cold white light, a person first begins to quickly get tired, resulting in sleep disturbances, irritability.
Warm tones in the morning and evening normalize the body's cycles, contribute to relaxation and rest. Scientists recommend turning on such a soft backlight even when watching TV in the evening.
Due to the fact that artificial LED lighting does not contain ultraviolet light, it is also used for medical purposes. The name of this recovery is light therapy. Today, such treatment is used quite widely. Something similar to the effect of light therapy can be observed at home, when a person comes home from work with absolutely no mood. However, if he literally half an hour sits in an armchair under warm soft lighting, his health improves.
Color rendering index: what is it
This term refers to the coefficient of change in the perception of color under artificial lighting. For example, if lamps of warm shades are installed, in their glow bluish objects will appear greenish, dark blue black, and purple red.
Incandescent lamps have a reference color rendering index. In their light, the shades of objects are not distorted at all. For modern LEDs, this parameter is at the “very good” mark and slightly differs from the reference one. A couple of steps below are luminescent emitters. But the worst color rendering index has DRL and DNaT - distortions in their glow are quite significant.
Final part
Do not worry and think that lamps with a high color temperature are more harmful to the body than emitters of a warm shade. You just need to properly organize the lighting, distribute the elements in different zones, which are more appropriate for them. This is the only way to be sure that lighting will contribute to the normal cycles of the body, if necessary, maintaining efficiency or allowing you to fully relax.