German scientists develop warm LED

Apparently a German team has developed a technique to give LED’s a warm color tone thereby revolutionizing the LED industry and gaining them a science prize nomination.



“LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, have long been used in flashlights and bicycle lights - in applications where the main goals have been brightness and battery efficiency.
Despite its efficiency and environmental friendliness, the bluish tone of LED light has prevented it from becoming more widespread.
But a German invention employing a luminescent material that imparts a warm tone to the light may now make LEDs more of a household item.”

The technique they developed is non-toxic, long lasting and is inspired from alchemy.

When we see bluer spectrums, for example, our brains produce more serotonin, which wakes us up. But too much blue light can lead to sleep problems - so warm light is more relaxing and healthier before bedtime. "With the help of color-controlled lamps, we can adjust the lighting to a person's biorhythm," says Schmidt, explaining his vision.

Here’s the tale:

www.dw.de...

I guess I can stop wearing my sunglasses at night!

I welcome this innovation as I am color and light sensitive, particularly at home.

reply to post by pandersway


I've been using LED bulbs in my lamps for a little over a year now, & I love them! The lamp that can be seen in the right-hand side of my avatar is lit by a warm-white LED bulb that gives almost as much light as a 60 Watt incandescent bulb, but consumes only 7 Watts of power to do it.

I always preferred low-key area lighting in my living room. I have 3 lamps in various areas around the room, & can have all 3 lit, using only 21 Watts instead of 180, as it used to be with the incandescent bulbs. I never liked the fluorescent bulbs that are the most popular replacement, as the light is not comfortable to me, & I don't like the toxicity done to the environment or even to me, should I drop one & break it.
I'm also sensitive to background noises, & have found that the transformer on the base of some of the fluorescent bulbs emits a low, annoying hum.

I had a 7 Watt night light in my kitchen, the type that plugs into an outlet & provides enough light so you don't step on the cat on your way to the sink at night. I got an LED replacement for it that uses 0.85 Watts to provide just a little less light than the other, & it's fine. As you might imagine, the difference in power consumption saves money over time, & the manufacturer claims they'll last 5 years, whether cycled on/off or lit constantly.

BTW, I agree with the article's statement about regular blue-white LED lights being less than pleasant when used for home lighting. I tried a couple of cool-white LED bulbs before switching over to warm-white. The cool-white is enough light to see by, but after a time it becomes like sitting outside under a full moon on a cloudless night. That's pleasant on a nice warm evening, but hard to get used to in your living room.
The warm-white type is so close to incandescent light that it's difficult to tell the difference.

They can be pricey to start with, but should pay for themselves in less electricity used, & less need for replacement over years. I still have 2 incandescent bulbs in my living room ceiling light in case I need bright overhead lighting for something after dark, but seldom use them anymore.

I'll take LED over CFL (compact fluorescent) any day.... uh, night!

reply to post by BuzzCory


I live in an area where most people don't seem to care about indoor lighting, they just use bare light bulbs on the ceiling and I find it really off putting. I'm now planning to get some of these soft LED's and see how they are. Thanks for your words, they are encouraging.