Any type of lighting has the potential to harm our bodies, including LED. This mainly has to do with the way you deal with it. When used as intended, LED lighting does not pose any danger, not even from its light spectrum. Even if an LED lamp breaks, you don’t have to worry about any negative effects. Unlike fluorescent tubes or energy-saving lamps, modern lamps do not contain any toxic substances. Read this blog article to learn more about the health effects of LEDs and other lighting solutions.
Key facts at a glance:
- LEDs are not hazardous to health and do not contain any toxic substances
- Glare and the wrong color temperature can have a negative impact on health
- Dimmable lamps that change the color temperature are a good solution
- Human Centric Lighting is becoming more and more important
LED light and its effects on health
Like any other light, LED light can potentially have negative health effects. However, this only happens in very rare cases – in everyday life you are not exposed to any greater risk under LED lighting than under the light of fluorescent tubes, incandescent or energy-saving lamps.
You should pay special attention to UV radiation in every situation: This can damage both the retina of your eyes and your skin. An increased proportion of ultraviolet radiation is found in sunlight, for example. Therefore, it is not uncommon for sunburn to occur on unprotected skin in summer. The good thing about LEDs: They do not emit any UV radiation and are therefore absolutely risk-free in this regard.
White and blue light
Unlike an incandescent bulb, the spectrum of an LED consists of individual color tones that together produce white light. Depending on the weighting and composition of the individual diodes, it can range from extra warm white (2,700 K and below) to daylight white (6,500 K and above). Targeted color shades are also possible
. A crucial spectrum is blue light, which is suspected of being able to promote so-called macular degeneration – daylight white and cold white light has a higher blue component than warm white or extra warm white. This is a disease of the retina that affects vision. So far there is no scientific proof of the connection between the disease and blue light. Lets know about benefits of LED lighting in buildings.
In addition, if you compare artificial light with natural sunlight, it is likely that the latter is significantly more dangerous for the eyes than lighting from LEDs or other artificial light sources – including fluorescent tubes and energy-saving lamps, for example. In addition, the greatest risk factors for this disease have been shown to be smoking, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet.
LED lamps: risk group 0
chique lighting similar conclusion: it assigns both warm white and cold white LED lamps to risk group 0. This means that the lamps pose no risk to the eyes. In order to get an eye damage, you would have to look into the lamp from a short distance (less than 20 cm) for several hours. This is more than unlikely in an ordinary everyday scenario.
Another risk factor is the intensity of the light: A higher lumen value is potentially more harmful to the eyes than a lower one: You should therefore not look directly into the focused light, such as that emitted by spotlights or floodlights. From a lamp or luminaire, for example a dull LED bulb or an LED panel that emits its light diffusely.
A crucial factor: UGR
Another factor is glare, which can be caused by improper lighting. The so-called UGR value (“Unified Glare Rating”) is of decisive importance, especially at VDU workstations . If a person is permanently blinded, this can have negative effects on health and performance. Constantly wrong lighting leads to headaches, tiredness and sleep disturbances. With the right lighting solution and a UGR value of at least <19 you prevent this and at the same time comply with the directives for lighting in the workplace . LED panels with UGR <19, for example, are particularly well suited for this purpose.
The importance of color temperature for health
The color temperature of one or more lamps affects concentration as well as sleep patterns. Daylight white (6,500 K and more) and cool white light (4,000 K) promote the ability to concentrate and productivity. For this reason, they are often used in industrial and production companies as well as in offices. At the same time, this means that these color temperatures inhibit the production of melatonin in the evening. This can disrupt our natural daily rhythm. Possible consequences are fatigue and sleep disorders, which in turn can have a negative impact on our health.
To support the natural daily routine, you can use warm white (3,000 K) or extra warm white (2,700 K and less) light in the evening. This relaxes the body and prepares it for sleep. Smart lighting is particularly suitable for this. Many products in this category offer the Tunable White feature. This allows you to adjust the color temperature between 4,000 K (cool white) and 2,200 K (extra warm white) – at any time via app or voice command. Routines can also be saved via smartphone or tablet. A lamp shines in cold white during the day and changes to extra warm white light at a certain point in time that you determine.
Another variant of adjustable lighting are the so-called dim to warm lamps. You can use an LED dimmer to dim not only their light intensity, but also their color temperature. A warm white (3,000 K) quickly becomes an extra warm white (2,700 and less) – in this case without a smartphone or tablet. You can find best LED lighting products in Chique lighting LED products online shop.
And what about the harmfulness of the LED lamps themselves?
LED lamps practically do not contain toxic substances. Therefore, you normally do not come into contact with substances that can be harmful to your health – even if an LED should break. Nevertheless, you should not simply dispose of a broken or worn-out LED in the household waste! Why? Because it contains electronic components that can easily be recycled. You should therefore always dispose of LED lamps at a recycling center.
Conclusion: Is LED lighting harmful to your health?
LED lighting has no negative impact on your health. The lamps do not contain any questionable substances, are environmentally friendly and their light – if used properly – does not pose any danger to the eyes or skin.
Make sure you use glare-free LED lighting and choose the right color temperature to support your natural daily rhythm the right decision with LEDs. You can therefore replace your conventional lamps 1:1 without any health risk. And the best thing about it: LEDs save you around 70% of your energy costs thanks to their high efficiency!
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What effects do other lighting solutions have on your health?
Now that you’ve read about the health “risks” of LEDs, let’s look at the common light sources that have been giving us light for many decades. Some of them really have a health risk that cannot be denied: energy-saving lamps and fluorescent tubes.
What influence does the light bulb have on your health?
We all know the traditional incandescent lamp with its beautiful, warm light. Even if it does not have a direct negative impact on our well-being, the indirect consequences are striking: the light bulb is particularly inefficient and therefore has a very short lifespan. Due to the poor environmental balance and the high frequency of replacement, the classic light bulb indirectly causes environmental pollution and thus also has a passive influence on our health. For this reason, this type of lamp has not been allowed to be produced in the EU since 2009 and only remaining stocks can be sold.
How does the fluorescent tube affect your health?
Fluorescent tubes can also have a negative impact on health because their light often flickers. This is particularly visible when switching on a tube. But even during operation, the tube flickers continuously – but our eyes don’t always perceive this. The flickering and the resulting increased strain on the eyes can cause headaches and even migraines. How can you tell if your fluorescent tube is flickering? Turn on your smartphone camera and point it at the tube. If you now see flickering, you should replace the product immediately. Fluorescent lamps also contain highly toxic mercury. If a lamp breaks, the escaping mercury is released into the environment.
Are energy-saving lamps harmful to health?
