Thanks, Faye. I'm wanting a new fixture to go over my kitchen sink that puts out a lot of light. I tried putting higher watt bulbs in my existing fixture but it doesn't make a lot of difference. The ceiling lights in there are recessed cans but the fixture over the sink is "decorative."
Maybe a deco fixture with three LED spotlights would do the trick. One straight down and two lighting on each side. Every girl needs some lighting flexibility. I have track spotlight lighting in my kitchen and pantry room. Bright lighting is essential in my pantry to check the grind of the cornmeal.
. Very true but read those articles in full and then read the articles written by those that understand the important details about available LED lighting and the precautions taken that guard against retinal damage. All the articles you refer to were based on the research of some unknown Spanish or French scientist that didn't take other considerations into mind. The concern is the blue light emission that is misunderstood. The sun also emits blue rays and that is why it is harder to sleep in the light than in the dark. It has been found that people that spend time on their computers, cell phones, and Ipads before bed, have sleep problems as compared to shutting them down 2 hours before bed. These devices all are LED lights and emit blue rays, but at a low level. All approved LED commercial sold bulbs for lighting are designed to not emit harmful rays. One of the things that some show on their box is the light spectrum they emit and those that worry about blue ray damage can pick one that emits more red rays that balance out any harmful blue rays. Unless you stare directly into an unfiltered blue ray emitting light bulb for hours every day, using your computer and related devices will cause more retina damage but they are such a low level that any damage from them is unlikely. Many eye clinics report that they haven't seen any increase in old folks having retinal damage. over what was seen 40 years ago. In fact, some report a decline in those that wear glasses and have a blue light filter in their lens. I have had that ever since they came out with it in my glasses. Florescent lighting is the most damaging to eyesight and those with vestibular problems. I am glad to see stores replacing them with LEDs. While LEDs have a flicker, it doesn't affect my inner ear like the flicker of a fluorescent. If doing intricate work, the old florescent bothered me within minutes and the light of the incandescent was never white enough and distorted the color. Natural daylight is the best because of its blue rays, which artificial lighting lacked before LEDs. With LEDs and their whiter light, I can see color more accurately. I don't like providing links, but since I have basically covered the issue, you might find this article very helpful in understanding LEDs. The numerous links spamming the internet are usually just making a partly true blanket statement that is being repeated over and over by those that haven't done any research. Are LED Lights Safe? Are They Harmful to Your Health? | Waveform Lighting Are LED Lights Harmful To The Eye? | Arizona Retinal Specialists
As Faye stated, the shorter wavelengths of light are the most damaging. The easy obvious answer is to filter them out. This has been done for years with fluorescent bulbs which have dangerously high U.V. light production. By coating the inside of the tube with a phosphor, the U.V. Light excites it and emits at longer, safer wavelengths. Almost every cell and tissue culture lab has bare glass fluorescent type bulbs. They are used to sterilize the rooms during the night with their U.V. light output. Also, plain Jane glass has a sharp transmission cutoff in the deep blue to U.V. Special glass or quartz optics were necessary to provide good transmission of those wavelengths. “These results suggest that LED technology could be a safe alternative to older technologies, but the use of warm LED should be preferred to cold LED, which can potentially cause adverse effects on retinal cells.” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15287394.2018.1510350 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,21&q=led+bulbs+eye+damage&btnG=
OMG--- That's a cool fixture. The ceiling is 9' high so having more of a drop would bring the light closer to where I want it. I do want an area that's "bathed" in light rather than giving that "interrogation room" effect.
Well, being single, I need both effects over my sink. If the bright light isn't enough to get an old man to confess he loves me, then my oversized deep single farm-style sink works well for waterboarding.
Here is the lighting in my kitchen. The lights are pointed at key places like the dishwasher, sink, range, and countertops. I haven't used the built-in overhead sink light since I installed these. I also rarely use the above-range light on the microwave bottom. I get 375 watts of tungsten filament equivalent with just 55 watts of electricity used. I have never replaced any one of the five and they are over six years installed. They are made so no dangerous emissions. I have never had any dizziness working under them as I did with the fluorescent. It was a real mess removing the recessed old light fixture and scabbing in sheetrock and then the challenge of matching the texturing. Some really ugly language slipped my lips, but once I hit the switch and saw the light, I repented. .
The problem with replacing my existing fixture is that the builder didn't center the junction box over anything. It's not centered with the sink or the kitchen window, so I am limited as to fixtures unless I want to deal with ceiling repairs and painting. I have a 6' wide window and the light is installed over one side of it. This is the light over the window, and the rest of the kitchen has recessed cans... I think I'm just going to order some 150-watt equivalent LED bulbs and put in there, and see if that helps. That's the simplest and cheapest "fix". I decided on daylight bulbs in the A21 size so hopefully they'll fit in the fixture. I also ordered some new under-counter lights that are coming today. I have some wired fixtures under my cabinets that I'm going to take down and replace with rechargeable LEDs.
That sounds like a plan. Another good thing about LEDS is you can put a 150 W or larger bulb in a socket with a max incandescent rating of 60 W with no worries.
Interesting you mention shaded fixture. I have an old shaded floor lamp with 3 candlestick-looking fixtures on it. I could not find the candelabra-type incandescent bulbs so I went with dimmable LEDs (I have a 3 way dimmer on it.) So far they seem fine. I keep it on Low. If I put these LEDs on High, even with the shade they are way too bright (keep in mind there are 3 bulbs.) That being said, they better last a long time for what they cost me. Incandescents last years in that fixture, mainly because I put that dimmer on it to attenuate the surge when it's first turned on.
I got the 150w LED bulbs and the under-cabinet lights; both are boxed up to return. The LED bulbs are HUGE and won't fit in my light fixture. I tried some 100 w and they just barely fit, so that will have to do. Honestly not much change from what I had. The under-cabinet lights were too cheesy for words. I can't believe those got such good reviews, but the light they put out was wimpy. So I'll go to Lowes or HD and see what's up. Luckily I didn't rip down my old corded lights.
Just don't look up, or that's the rumor about the LED lights. I just ask Jake a couple days ago to get the damn things off my face, my eu=yes have had enough already.