The Dark Side of LED Lighting

If we can save a few pennies, then it must be good for us right?

Light is truly a phenomenon we need to pay attention to because it's why we are here, but there is a dark side with the advent of LED technologies dominating the current market. I highly recommend fellow ATS'ers delve into these new warnings and dig deep into the eye-opening research that is being released, on LED lighting.

We can lose our sight apparently with LED technology and more.

We have jumped into LED lights without truly questioning, if they are beneficial for us physically and mentally. How many hours a day do we spend in the presence of LED tech these days times 24 hours, times 365 days a year?

A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Vision says prolonged exposure to blue light with a wavelength between 400–470 nanometers can “induce severe damage to the retina.”

Even brief periods of exposure to blue light in this range can damage the retinal pigment epithelium. Damaged RPE eventually leads to photoreceptor cell death,” the study says. If enough photoreceptor cells die, total blindness can occur.

The Dark Side of LED Lighting

One of the world’s top photobiologists has been trying to warn the public for years about the dangers of the government-mandated phasing out of incandescent lighting.

While LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are up to 95 percent more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, we are paying for that savings with our health. A physician and lecturer at Wismar University in Germany, Alexander Wunsch is an international consultant to governments, medical facilities and the lighting industry.

His message, though often ignored, is clear: blue light, isolated from all the other colors on the light spectrum, is damaging our retinas and disrupting our endocrine systems, resulting in all sorts of physical and mental illness.

It’s not a message the LED industry, governments looking to cut carbon emissions, or consumers saving money on electricity want to hear. But, as this Harvard Medical School report says, it is “backed up by study after study.”

There's always a solution, but we need to "Deny Ignorance" and get some understanding.

What to do?

Here's what they recommend.

While cool LED bulbs emit more blue light than warm LED bulbs, the label “warm” can be deceptive. They give out a warmer “looking” light because the blue light is masked with a yellow or orange filter, but they do not emit a red wavelength.

When buying bulbs, look at their CRI or color rendering index, Munsch says. Sunlight, which is the gold standard, has a CRI of 100. So do incandescent bulbs and candles.

If you must buy LED bulbs, look for a CRI of 97, which is the closest they come to natural light. LEDs are the most dangerous at night, Munsch says, as there is no counterbalancing red light.

The biological risks of artificial light are somewhat mitigated if you have plenty of sunlight streaming through windows, but if that’s the case, why have lights on at all?

Munsch says being in darkness after sunset is optimal. Candle light is enough for orientation, he says, but if we must do activities that require more light, he highly recommends getting our hands on incandescent bulbs

RT

a reply to: Realtruth

First thing i noticed is that this Dr sounds exactly like the nihilists from the big lebowski. Further commentary soon.

This caught my interest because i recently changed all of my workspace lighting to LED. I don't like it very much. It puts a blue hue over everything and changes the "feel" of these rooms. I thought i would get used to it after a couple of weeks, but it still feels "fake".

Also, it is nearly impossible to take pictures of my work and get a good representaion of the colors in my photos. It saps the color and makes photos look bland.

a reply to: Realtruth

They should do studies worldwide comparing those who spend long periods in locations with leds and those who spend less. Outdoor workers vs office workers for example.

One thing is true, they certainly have pushed leds in Europe, to the point where the old incandescent bulbs are illegal almost now.

a reply to: Realtruth

He is probably onto something.

However this can probably rectified by using some filters to keep the harmful part of the light from reaching us.

Oh wow, now this is interesting as I have been an advocate of LEDs simply for those reason involved with efficiency.

originally posted by: grey580
a reply to: Realtruth

He is probably onto something.

However this can probably rectified by using some filters to keep the harmful part of the light from reaching us.

Unfortunately it appears that filters don't work. What we need is a full spectrum light source.

While cool LED bulbs emit more blue light than warm LED bulbs, the label “warm” can be deceptive. They give out a warmer “looking” light because the blue light is masked with a yellow or orange filter, but they do not emit a red wavelength.

originally posted by: Jonjonj
a reply to: Realtruth

They should do studies worldwide comparing those who spend long periods in locations with leds and those who spend less. Outdoor workers vs office workers for example.

One thing is true, they certainly have pushed leds in Europe, to the point where the old incandescent bulbs are illegal almost now.

The sun light can be really bad for us. It can kill us even. I know of fishermen here where I live who have got skin cancer on the backs of their necks because of the intensity of the Sun when out on the ocean.

Evolution and diversity itself may well use the background radiation to keep disturbing the DNA very slightly into mutations; some that are better and some worse. The mutations that improve the species' ability to survive obviously are rewarded by their own effectiveness.

There is nothing truly and completely non toxic about life. Toxicity is a part of it. We just have to find the right balance. The pros of LED energy saving may mean less power stations and less nuclear reliance, less pollution all round, but perhaps having their own side effects.

Or they will turn you into a insomniac ats member with hypertension, when they murder your carcadian rythmn before bed time every night.

I hate driving at night anymore. Drivers with those fancy BAF blue headlights give me cause to close my eyes upon approach.

LEDs do however enable my solar panel to operate/generate juice in-doors...

a reply to: Realtruth

If this is true, you would think the LED plasma screen manufacturers would build blue light screens right into the surface of the display. The health issue would cost them billions in sales at some point without precaution.

I can't believe they could be worse than horrible florescent lights.

The color, the hum,,, ugg

He is probably right, however the biggest danger is from non-standard fitted cool blue auto lights that are extremely eye damaging, in fact I got a hit from one that was sitting asymmetrically at a junction as I went by, and it has affected, probably permanently, a tiny portion of my right eye although not in the focus area, machanics have had the same thing happen.

The warm LED's for the home are less likely to do the same damage, and probably less than certain Halogens for the same use.

All the LED lights we buy are the warm kind. AND THEY NEVER GO ON SALE FOR CHEAP

It makes me frustrated when I am buying bulbs. For old people, LEDs are not good, they are bad for eyes. Our eyes do not heal as quick, but think of this, if young people are always exposed, will their vision go early since their stem cells are being hurt all the time.

I also had to pay way more to get a better monitor that was not so bright, my daughter steered me into buying a monitor that does not make your eyes sore, her desk has six big monitors on it, there must be twenty six monitors in her business she owns. Everyone else has two or three on there desk. Her and her employees monitors are all the kind that is better on the eyes. But also way more expensive to buy.

Take the time to notice how most of Television programming and video games is 90% blue and 10% yellow

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I can't believe they could be worse than horrible florescent lights.

The color, the hum,,, ugg

I hate that hum. Also, fluorescent lights are not that efficient, the transformer in them also requires power. I am going to get rid of a lot of them in the garage and in the shop, I can do better with good quality LEDs in those places. In our kitchen and computer room and the wife's sewing room and our bedroom all lights are still regular incandescent bulbs.

Mercola is a quack.

LED lights can be made for a wide spectrum of light wavelengths.

Yep cheap bulbs look bad and feel unnatural since we are tuned through biology for the sun and fire.

Cheap incandescent bulbs can be hard as well. CFL 'S are terrible as a waste factor.

It's not a mystery here. Red incandescent bulbs will also feel strange. Or working in black light.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch"...comes readily to mind.

There are a lot of different options when it comes to LEDs. Most don't spend much time on it, and will frequently just by the direct, screw in 120v replacements.

The research on "blue light" has definitely been gaining some momentum. With everything from filters to software. Some are even built directly into the displays and some can be downloaded.

I don't think it will be too long before its "handled," but until then, people are definitely being prudent to do their research.

a reply to: Realtruth

They make LED lights that are in the warmer range of light as well...the consumer just needs to understand why each one is okay and when/where they should be used.

Intensity of the light matters, too.

And to be fair, I think that most packaging notes the color of light on the Kelvin temperature scale, not the CRI scale.

I tend to try to keep my lights in the 2,700-3,500 range, trying to keep the ones in the higher range in the lights that we tend to have on during the day, and the lower-range bulbs in lights that we have on at night. Disregard that "LED" isn't on this graphic.



ETA: I even have turned on the night mode (or whatever it's called) on my iPhone so that it 'yellows' the light automatically when the sun goes down.

Just wait til LED lights take down the Internet!

Don't believe me? The latest LED technology uses Power Over Ethernet (or POE). Meaning LAN switches usually used for computing operations can now provide the source of power for lighting, and this concept is gaining traction too. So now, if you overload your lighting, you can take your network down. Scale this technology up to national proportions...BOOM...bye bye Internet.