General questions
Questions about health
Technical questions
General questions
Question: Is full spectrum light also good for animals,
pets and houseplants?
Answer: Yes, there are numerous books that document the
positive effects of full spectrum light on plants and animals (see “Recommended
literature”).
Question: Do you get a tan from full spectrum light?
Answer: No, the amount of UV associated with the luminous
intensity of full spectrum lamps is too low to cause the skin to tan,
and consequently it also does not cause sunburn.
Question: What are the important areas of use for full
spectrum lighting?
Answer: Accent on biological effects and increasing
the general wellbeing of mankind:
care for the elderly and geriatrics
childrens rooms
classrooms
countering SAD seasonal affective disorder
gym and wellness areas
hospital and nursing
light therapy
medical doctors ( waiting rooms )
offices
shift working
Accent on accurate colour rendering, high contrast
and an improved indoor climate as well as increased performance and vigilance:
architecture and engineering offices
artists
banks
building centres
cosmetics studios
dentists
exhibition stands
fashion boutiques
fashion studios
greenhouses
interior decorators
metal processing plants
paint shops
print offices
surface engineeering
tailoring
Question: Can I dispose of the full spectrum energy
saving bulbs and tubes in the usual way with my household rubbish?
Answer: Like all energy saving light bulbs and fluorescent
tubes, energy saving light bulbs and fluorescent tubes must also
be disposed of properly in hazardous waste.
Question: Where can I get more information about full spectrum
lighting?
Answer: Recommended literature about health and light:
Light – Medicine Of The Future
How we can use it to heal ourselves NOW
Dr. Jacob Libermann, O.D., Ph.D.
Bear & Company Publishing – ISBN 0-879181-01-0
SUNLIGHT
Dr. Zane R. Kime
World Health Publications – Penryn, CA, USA
Winter Blues
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, MD
Guilford Press – New York, NY, USA – ISBN 1-57230-395-6
Health and Light
The effects of natural and artificial light on living beings
John N. Ott
Ariel Press – Columbus, Georgia, USA – ISBN 0-89804-098-1
Questions about health
Question: What are the benefits of full spectrum light
for me and my health?
Answer: Numerous books (see “Recommended literature”)
document the fact that full spectrum light can be a help in the following
situations:
Season Affective Disorder (depression caused by lack of sunlight)
Improvement of the sight as a result of very sharp contrast and improved
colour rendering
Improvement of concentration and performance in schoolchildren
Reduction of caries
Lowering of the cholesterol level
General wellbeing
Full spectrum light is also used as a prophylactic for daily light therapy.
Question: Is full spectrum light absorbed by the eyes or
via the skin?
Answer: For full spectrum light to be effective, it is
crucial that the light is absorbed by the eyes. Prof. Dr. Fritz Hollwich,
Director of the University eye Hospital in Münster, made the discovery
that only about 25 per cent of the light that is absorbed via our eyes
is used for vision, passing along the part of the optic nerve that deals
with vision. The remaining 75 per cent travels into the brain and hypothalamus
– the body’s main control centre – via the part of the
optic nerve that deals with energy. This controls our nervous and endocrine
systems, also affecting among other things the whole of our glandular
and hormone system. At the same time the hypothalamus is responsible for
controlling many functions which are typically defective in people who
suffer from depression.
The UV component of the light works primarily through the skin, where
it stimulates the synthesis of Vitamin B.
Question: Should I protect my eyes from full spectrum light
by wearing sunglasses?
Answer: Basically we recommend that people who wear glasses
should remove these during light therapy so that the UV component of the
light which is important to our bodies is not filtered out. The UV component
associated with the luminous intensity of full spectrum lamps is very
small.
In any event you should consult your doctor, particularly if your eyes
are very sensitive to light.
Question: What proportion of UV should full spectrum light
ideally contain?
Answer: Everything depends on the correct dosage. A certain
amount of the right components of UV radiation is very important for our
health (cf. Dr. Zane R. Kime: “Sunlight Could Save Your Life”).
Since the hole appeared in the ozone layer, more and more very short-wave
UV-C rays have been hitting the Earth's surface.
Previously we had been protected from these by the atmosphere. The damage
that they cause is generally bringing UV light more and more into disrepute.
About 4% of the total brightness of light emitted by our lamps (measured
in lux) is UV-A and UV-B, which means that they fall below the legally
prescribed limits for fluorescent tubes and energy saving light bulbs.
Approx. 6% of sunlight is UV.
However, the main difference is that our lamps have a luminous intensity
of 2,000 lux maximum at a distance of ½ metre, whilst the sun has
a luminous intensity of between 50,000 and 100,000 lux depending on the
time of year. In addition our lamps do not include a UV-C component.
The intensity of full spectrum light and thus also the effect of the UV
component is therefore much less.
However, if you have any doubts you should consult your doctor.
Question: Does full spectrum light also help in cases of
SAD, the depression caused by a lack of daylight?
Answer: This term coined by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal describes
a form of depression that is characterised by symptoms such as
extreme variations of mood
a reduction in energy
over-eating
increased need for sleep
weight gain
a reduction in sexual drive
occurring typically in the winter months
According to a study by Dr. Leora N. Rosen in collaboration with the NIMH,
the Psychiatric Institutes of America, the New York State Psychiatric
Institute and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, SAD occurs more
frequently in the northern latitudes than in the south (cf. Dr. Norman
E. Rosenthal “Winter Blues”).
Dr. Rosenthal has carried out a double blind study on the treatment of
SAD in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Wehr. The results showed that all
patients who spent time under full spectrum light felt considerably better,
whilst patients with normal artificial light showed no improvement.
Question: How important is UV light for plants and life
in general?
Answer: In the early 1950s Walt Disney asked the well-known
photographer and biologist John Ott to make a time-lapse film of an apple
from the bud to the ripe fruit. It was to be used for the film "Secrets
of Life", released in 1957.
For time-lapse photography it is extremely important that the object does
not move, and so a glass box was built around the apple in order to protect
it from the wind. At the end of the filming all the apples on the tree
were beautifully red and juicy – only the apple in the glass box
looked small, green and sickly. This was clear evidence of the importance
for plant growth of the UV light that was filtered out by the glass.
Question: Question: Does full spectrum light improve reading
and vision?
Answer: Everyone will know from their own experience that
they can see and read better in sunlight than in traditional artificial
light. Under full spectrum light, colours are rendered true to the original
and the contrast is very sharp and flicker free. Consequently eye fatigue
is reduced and reading or seeing – e.g. when working with very small
components – is made easier.
Question: Can I alleviate the consequences of jet lag or
shift work with full spectrum light?
Answer: Our bodies need clear information about day and
night in order to regulate our growing and sleeping phases and the biorhythms
associated with these. During periods of darkness more melatonin is produced
and this gives a signal to the body that it is time to sleep. On the other
hand, bright full spectrum light suppresses the production of melatonin
and puts people into an obvious state of wakefulness. If parts of the
light spectrum are missing, the body is left in a twilight state, not
fully awake and not sleeping.
Technical questions
Question: What is full spectrum light?
Answer: Like sunlight, full spectrum light contains the
full colour spectrum of the rainbow – both those components which
are visible to us and those which are invisible. At the same time it is
important that it contains the visible colours in relatively equal proportions
and that the spectral progression is continual (i.e. that there are no
gaps in the spectrum).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA has laid down the following
criteria for full spectrum light, cf. Dr. Jacob Liberman, "Light
– Medicine of the Future", page 209:
Colour temperature 5,500 – 6,500 degrees Kelvin.
Colour rendering (Ra/CRI) greater than 90.
Question: How exactly is the spectrum of full spectrum light made up?
Answer: The spectrum of our light bulbs goes from
300 to 800 nanometres. This range is made up as follows:
300 – 320 nm UV-B
320 – 380 nm UV-A
380 – 420 nm violet
420 – 490 nm blue
490 – 575 nm green
575 – 585 nm yellow
585 – 650 nm orange
650 – 750 nm red
750 – 800 nm infrared
Question: In what wattages are your full spectrum daylight tubes available?
Answer: They are available in the following wattages:
T8 Diameter 26 mm
18 W length 600 mm
36 W length 1200 mm
58 W length 1500 mm
T5 Diameter 16mm
14 W length 549 mm
21 W length 849 mm
24 W length 549 mm
28 W length 1149 mm
35 W length 1449 mm
39 W length 849 mm
54 W length 1149 mm
80 W length 1449 mm
Question: Are your full spectrum daylight tubes dimmable?
Answer: Yes, they are dimmable.
Question: At what room temperatures can I use your light tubes?
Answer: Our tubes can be used at room temperatures from - 15 to + 50 degrees Celsius.
Question: What colour is the light from your full spectrum
daylight light bulbs?
Answer: Our full spectrum daylight light bulbs have
a colour temperature of 6,000 degrees Kelvin. That means that the light
is white, like the midday sun.
Interested? Request more information!
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