The Dark Side of LED Lighting

a reply to: Realtruth

Plants require a full spectrum of light in their life cycles, how is plants can be grown solely under LEDs if filters don't work? Why would LEDs only emit blue light in the spectrum? I'm not convinced by this article at all so far.

a reply to: Realtruth

I just recently purchase reading glasses with a blue light filter. I've noticed a huge reduction in eye strain when I have them on. It's like night and day difference! I would definitely recommend them to anyone who spends a lot of time in front of a computer. I just wished I knew about them sooner.

originally posted by: surfer_soul
Plants require a full spectrum of light in their life cycles, how is plants can be grown solely under LEDs if filters don't work? Why would LEDs only emit blue light in the spectrum? I'm not convinced by this article at all so far.

To be fair, the current batch of LED grow lights are not the best, the technology has not been perfected. Yet.

But it's coming, most likely by the end of next year.

originally posted by: surfer_soul
a reply to: Realtruth

Plants require a full spectrum of light in their life cycles, how is plants can be grown solely under LEDs if filters don't work? Why would LEDs only emit blue light in the spectrum? I'm not convinced by this article at all so far.

Depending on the plant type. and No plants do not require full spectrum lighting there are countless documentaries and studies on this.

I serviced a full industrial lettuce growing facility here in Detroit that uses only Red LED's.

Here is something from YouTube, the guy is a bit silly, however his controlled environments are excellent for spectrum LED growing.

Plants require a full spectrum of light in their life cycles, how is plants can be grown solely under LEDs if filters don't work? Why would LEDs only emit blue light in the spectrum? I'm not convinced by this article at all so far.

Depending on the plant type. and No plants do not require full spectrum lighting there are countless documentaries and studies on this.

I serviced a full industrial lettuce growing facility here in Detroit that uses Red LED's 95% of the time.

Here is something from YouTube, the guy is a bit silly, however his controlled environments are excellent for spectrum LED growing.

originally posted by: Realtruth
I serviced a full industrial lettuce growing facility here in Detroit that uses only Red LED's.

Urban gardening is the next big industry vertical. While the legalized cannabis industry is great you cannot eat your weed for sustenance* and growing vegetables indoors, particularly repurposed warehouses and such is going to be huge.


*I know people are going to tell me they've tried but it's not exactly an AMA recommended diet.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

It's going to be interesting seeing this area evolve, because they'll be able to dial-in the proper amount of minerals, and nutrients needed for a well balance plant, or veggie.

It's already happening, but still a work in progress.

a reply to: rickymouse

Rickymouse, you can perhaps answer a question that I've had develop recently. My Windows 10 upgraded recently and I've noticed that after it starts up sometimes there is a definite lowering of intensity over the whole screen. It gets a yellowish cast to it. I noticed the same thing on my GF's Win 10 powered unit also.

I did see something on my machine the other day that talked about a lowering of the screen's emissions at certain times of the day. But I have no idea where I saw that info or what it was exactly explaining. (I was hot on chasing something else.)

Hey does anyone else have issues when they look at those blue Christmas lights that people use?

a reply to: Realtruth

Absolutely.

Certain blues have always appeared blurry to me, and I struggle to focus in on them.

Light in the blue end of the spectrum and above has more UV. It's the shorter wavelengths of UV that are the most damaging to living cells like in skin, eyes and I have here a specialised flourescent lamp for erasing those old EPROMS with a quartz window - hairdressers used to have such lamps in cabinets for sterilising combs and razors because it can destroy a micro-organism in minutes.

White LED lamps use the same principle as flourescent tubes with the LED producing a strong UV output which activates the phosphor coating surrounding it to produce the desired 'colour temp' visible light output but there can be some leakage of UV depending on the quality of manufacturing. BTW those 'dichroic' halogen downlights have far more UV output than any LED lamp does, especially the types that are 'open' IE don't have a filter over the reflector.

LEDs are monochromatic by nature (like a laser) so the spectrum of white light from a white LED is dependant only on the type of phosphor used. All the specific colour LEDs (EG IR, red, green, yellow, blue, UV etc) are the natural colour frequency of the LED junction material combination and doping.

a reply to: Realtruth

Dr. Mercola loves scare tactics and alternative medicines.

I've used LED lighting for years, and spent many more looking into LED-lit computer screens. My eyes have not deteriorated any worse than they already were.

I switched to LED lights a couple of years ago.

I ADORE them!!!

The very bestest part is the outdoor LEDs don't attract bugs so I can go in & out at night without letting in battalions of bugs. I miss the bats, but they can go visit the neighbors.

Way cheaper to run than the sodium outdoor lights I used to have.

Plus Dr.Mercola?
I spit in his general direction. His quackery is off the charts.

I can't use LED now, but I can't use CFLs either because they have mercury in them and the flicker causes migraines.

What am I supposed to use, man, harsh language?

a reply to: Realtruth

its improper to blame the blue hue on led lighting, it is not led's fault.,
LED's are capable of emitting whatever spectrum of color the manufacturer wants them to, the fact they are mostly being set to blue is not the fault of the technology, it is the fault of the manufacturers,
this article should read the danger of the manufacturers of LED bulbs,

i say this because truly LED bulbs are the best option we have as a society, for cost for energy efficiency for brightness and for health (when not set to blue), they dont emit mercury like fluorescent, they dont burst when they expire, they last much longer then all the alternatives, they are not a dangerous pollutant for the earth they are the most effective at all .


yet we are trying to slander the technology because they're being set to the wrong color by the manufacturer?

a reply to: ketsuko

use LED's they are the best, just check the hue setting on the bulb before purchase, get the ones that are not near the blue spectrum, my entire house has nothing but LED's they are all on the spectrum that makes them appear as incandescent.

this article is a hit piece against the technology because it is costing the manufacturers of the other types of bulbs huge losses, this was the only way they could slander it, blame the hue setting.

hell you could fork out a small amount more to get the smart led bulbs which allow you to modify the hue setting at your leisure with your smart phone. personally i just bought the cheapo versions that have incandescent hue, they last much longer then actual incandescent and you cant tell a difference

originally posted by: Aliensun
a reply to: rickymouse

Rickymouse, you can perhaps answer a question that I've had develop recently. My Windows 10 upgraded recently and I've noticed that after it starts up sometimes there is a definite lowering of intensity over the whole screen. It gets a yellowish cast to it. I noticed the same thing on my GF's Win 10 powered unit also.

I did see something on my machine the other day that talked about a lowering of the screen's emissions at certain times of the day. But I have no idea where I saw that info or what it was exactly explaining. (I was hot on chasing something else.)

I noticed a difference in the picture on the screen starting about maybe a week or so ago. I actually set my graphics properties this week because of it. I wasn't sure if it was because of a windows upgrade or the firefox upgrade that the computer did. I had to change the hue, the brightness, and the contrast to get rid of some of the weirdness. If it was firefox, it would not have effected the desktop though, so it could have been something to do with a windows upgrade or possibly because the power went out a few times and it may have done something weird to the settings. I also noticed that Spider solitare needs permission to open up flash.

I'm sorry, but this is too funny...

All these people here basically saying, "Yeah well...I never liked LEDs anyway!"



Man, you guys realize LEDs can be made to be whatever color or "temperature" you want, right? They make all kinds. The ones in my apartment I can make blue, red, green, yellow...They even flash to music if I want to have a Kettu dance party.

I can have them simulate a sunrise, or "passing clouds" with a daylight spectrum. Yep, there's an app for that!

And best of all, after the initial upfront cost, they cost pennies to use compared to even CFLs.

The best LED lights for a home are 2.4-2.5k in my opinion. Another overlooked thing to consider is that some LED bulbs will flicker. The way to tell if they flicker is to spread your fingers out and wave them about, if it looks like a slide show, it flickers.

AugustusMasonicus, nothing has really blown my mind lately, yellow and green (not DPSS) laser diodes came close though. Liquid LEDs that can not burn out would be mindblowing though.

a reply to: Realtruth

We have had multi frequency LED's (not just blue) for years. It has taken years of development to extend the reach of LED's beyond the red output of the original LED's.

Yes folks, the very cheapest LED's are red!

LED's for internal lighting are usually white light LED's, which are a two (or more) frequency affair, usually of blue and yellow. You can tell they are white light LED's because they aren't blue, it is that simple.

The blue light output of LED lights is far less than you'd get outdoors from natural sunlight.

So what Mercola and his "photobiologist" are saying is BS.