Will Flickering Lights Hurt Eyes? How to Choose Flicker-Free LED Lights?
- 15 May 2024
LED lights have proved to be one of the most significant inventions ever. From aiding in distortion-free nighttime vision to giving a pocket-friendly alternative to tungsten bulbs, its benefits cannot be ignored.
For example, a regular 700-lumen LED bulb has a life of over 25000 hours. On the contrary, a 700-lumen incandescent bulb only works for 1000-2000 hours. This 25-fold difference is why the lighting market is expected to rise to 93.93 billion USD in 2023 and beyond!
However, some cheap LED bulbs also come with a downside – Flickering! It is widely recognized that flickering does harm to the eyes. It is why flicker-free LED lights are gaining popularity these days.
What Is Flicker?
Flicker is defined as the change in the light intensities of the light due to a change in luminance ratio over time. Simply put, it is the unsteady light brightness caused by voltage fluctuations.
The intensity of flickers may vary from 10% to 100% depending on the bulb, current, and dimmer switches. Flickers below 50Hz are perceivable by the human eyes, although some people might not feel them even at the frequency of 100Hz. The range of flickers between 3Hz to 55Hz can cause health problems like
- Migraines
- Vision disturbances
- Photosensitive siezures
- Dizziness
- Decreases performance
- Impaired intellectual levels
Causes of Flickering in Lights
Your bulbs could be flickering due to many reasons. It could be due to the electrical driver, faulty connections, or dimmer incompatibility. So, if your bulb is flickering, look into the following sources:
- Loose Connections: Loose connections result in intermittent current flow to the bulb. This concept means that the voltage delivery of the bulb is not met continuously, which automatically results in flickering. The problem could be at the end of lighting fixtures, wirings, or panels. Fixing them properly could solve the issue.
- Incompatible Dimmer:Dimmers are based on switching the current ratio in lighting fixtures on and off multiple times per second. It matches the current requirements of bulbs to meet the power output. However, this mechanism is not so handy in the case of LED bulbs. This current-power mismatch often leads to the flickering of lights.
Faulty LED Driver: A driver is a connection that connects the LED plates of bulbs to a power source. It converts AC-current to DC-current. Each LED has a specific voltage and current capacity. The drivers that provide constant voltage with the original current are ideal for LEDs. A faulty driver does not fulfill LED bulbs’ voltage and current capacity, leading to flickering.
Culprits Of Flickering Lights
Based on these causes, the main culprits of the flickering lights are the following:
- Dimmer switches
- Heavy electrical equipment
- Variable loads
- Voltage fluctuations
- Resistance welding
With many concerns about the potential harm to health, flicker-free LED light is the ground-breaking lighting solution. But how do you know if your light tubes or bulbs are flicker-free? Here are the testing methods.
Test Methods For Flickers
Flicker-free LED lights use Constant Current Reduction(CCR) dimmers instead of usual dimmers. These dimmers help deliver constant DC-current without any frequency ripples. This flicker-free property can be tested using the following lab tests
- IEEE
- IEC-PST
- CEC JA10
- ASSIST metric
- CIE SVM
How To Test Flicker-Free LED Lights At Home?
One of the perks of flicker-free LED lights is their quick home testing. How? – By using your ordinary smartphone camera! Just click a picture of the fixtures using your mobile. If you see dark and light bands (striations) on the image, your bulb is flickering.
Note: The appearance of striations may also be affected by the type of phone and camera you are using.
LEDIA – The Best Flicker Free LED Lights
From smart under cabinet lights to durable silicon and PVC strip lights, every offering is proceeded with hundreds of tests and adjustments and is produced with harsh quality control.
For decades, we have been a stellar partner for our clients. From customizable lighting solutions tailored to meet unique project requirements to unparalleled customer support throughout every stage of the process, we set the standard for excellence in the LED lighting industry.
With LEDIA, clients can rest assured that they are not only receiving top-tier products but also forging a partnership dedicated to achieving illumination excellence.