Sun lamp, full spectrum, what?

September 13, 2024 1:51 AM

I want to make a little cosy-corner in my office where we can take meetings and get some light therapy. What sort of ceiling bulb or tube should I use?

We live in a terribly dark winter country so it should give some benefits of daylight, but be safe to use for an hour or two at a time.

posted by Iteki to Science & Nature (7 answers total)

there's extensive discussion on meaningness
posted by HearHere at 3:15 AM on September 13, 2024 [3 favorites]

My experience is that almost nobody really likes 'full spectrum' light - it's an ambiguous term but nevertheless it usually does mean the light looks very blue, compared to a more typical sun spectrum.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:08 AM on September 13, 2024

"Daylight" bulbs do feel bright like daylight; they are bluer than a normal household light. The higher the color temperature bulb, the more it's going to feel like a harsh florescent light from the 1980s. But, that's just the color, they're not really that much brighter than any other bulb of the same lux.

My amateur personal opinion: MORE and VARIED light is more important for winter blahs than the color of the light. My home office has three daylight bulbs in the overhead fixture, and two free-standing lights with 2 warm bulbs in each in the corners, which makes the room feel bright, but the different colors from different angles help make it feel more natural than a bunch of one color light coming from one direction, it's difficult to not have light shining right on you no matter where you are in the room and it reduces shadows.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:37 AM on September 13, 2024 [2 favorites]

It's very hard to get meaningful lux without literally having a bulb in your face; I agree with the suggestion above to get more light throughout the room.

When I lived in a windowless warehouse for a short while, I really appreciated having a light on a timer that lit the whole room as sort of a "sunrise/sundown" indicator (this can be any sunrise/sunset time you like, especially in the winter). Somehow me not having to turn the light on myself had to be part of the routine in faking daylight. What was also really helpful was a 10 gallon aquarium with it's own light and a bunch of aquarium plants in a corner of my space. It gave me a "window" into a little green and sunny room that was really helpful. No need for fish if you feel you don't want to worry about their care; real plants usually come with snails so you'll probably end up with some of them cruising around. Not having fish means much less upkeep of filters and stuff. Aquarium lights now are available with built in full day lighting that mimics dawn, noon, and dusk. Get some low light plants that grow more slowly and don't require extra inputs other than a few fertilizer tabs, and a bubbler for oxygen in the water overnight and appealing noise.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:32 AM on September 13, 2024 [2 favorites]

My sister-in-law bought some bright work lights that she put on top of some bookshelves in her office, facing against the wall, so the light was kind of bouncing off the ceiling and the wall. It was impressive and I went and bought two similar lamps when they were on sale. It’s a type of light therapy, but not a traditional one. I would not call it cozy but it’s definitely effective in lighting up the space. Check your inbox for another suggestion.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:52 PM on September 13, 2024

Sulfur lamps have the closest spectral output to sunlight by far, with the exceptions that they produce very little UV and not much infrared, both of which are desirable characteristics:

The sulphur lamp is remarkable in several respects:

Sulphur bulbs are twice as efficient as other sources of high quality white light.

They produce almost no ultraviolet light and very little infrared; this makes them easier to use with plastic fixtures or fibres.

The full-spectrum light that is produced is extremely good for visual acuity and feels much like sunlight.

The bulb is very simple, a hollow quartz sphere with sulphur and argon gas, so it is environmentally benign and does not degrade in use.

The light source is very bright so the light can be efficiently distributed over large spaces.

The light output and colour does not degrade over time, and it is fully dimmable down to 30%.

They’ve been around for more than 25 years, so the initial patents must have expired by now. But the bulbs never burn out, and I suspect that the modern iteration of the Phoebus Cartel is responsible for the fact that we don’t see them — and see by them — all over the place right now. LG bought the patents back in the 2000s, but if they ever did anything with them, I haven’t hard about it.
posted by jamjam at 3:37 PM on September 13, 2024 [2 favorites]

The Phillips Co has an explainer on light bulb color here. Despite the multitude of choices described there, my local hardware store only has too choices: warm and cool.

Over the years of incadesant lighting, home furnishing adapted to the yellowish color, so some things don't look so good under cool (ironically meaning 5000K) light.

You might look into "smart" light technology which gives you power to change brightness, and maybe color, remotely. I really don't know if there is something there to help you, though.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:48 AM on September 14, 2024