Indoor Sunlight / Daylight with UV-B LED

[Patrick]

As it says in the title : I am thinking of a few options to get a good amount of artificial sunlight into the house. For those dark winter months  . Apparently there is Vitamin D in Sunlight/ UV-B ? .

I was wondering if anybody on this Forum did any research into the topic or even installed something similar in his/her house.

I could not find too much information about it apart from general statements like

-Doctors recommend Sunlight or UV-B lights as a Light therapy

-More Light brings better mood.

But not that I seen any report about people installing anything like this in their house. (For example Repitle UV-B lights as an add-on to the regular lighting or any other crayy idea)

One of my mates bought himself a Huge Standing Lamp with a Sunlight Bulb(no idea what they are called , but has something like 5000K and a "midday sun spektrum" ) and has it on throughout the day in the winter and it is an amazing light inside his Flat . But his pulls electricity like crazy, so I was looking if thats possible with LED as well.

Something like this:

 

So this is my best info so far.

Anyone got anything on this?

Edited February 10, 2019 by Patrick

[Jeremy Harris]

There are certainly LEDs available that emit in the UB-B/UV-C wavelength.  Whether the intensity is enough to promote vitamin D production by the skin is debatable, though.  My own view is that it's doubtful, as the intensity of even a large artificial light isn't likely to compare to that we get from sunlight exposure.  If vitamin D deficiency is a concern in winter, then it would probably be a lot more effective to just take a vitamin D supplement.

 

There's plenty of evidence that having artificial light in winter that has close to the full spectrum of sunlight does have an impact on our circadian rhythm.  Whether it's advantageous to try to maintain a summer circadian rhythm in winter is debatable, but there is weak evidence that some people can be more susceptible to shorter daylight hours, and suffer mild depression as a consequence (what's often called SAD, seasonal affective disorder).   Choosing lights that have as close to the full sunlight spectrum as possible may help, and you can get LED lights with a high CRI (colour rendering index) that have a pretty wide spectral range. 

 

I've no direct experience of using these, and they tend to be quite expensive, but my guess, just from looking at the spectral data, is that they may help those with symptoms of SAD.  I doubt they do much in the way of promoting the skin to produce vitamin D though.

[vivienz]

I have a floor standing full spectrum lamp that I use as task lighting, particularly for sewing. It's actually a medical lamp made by Androv.

 

I've never noticed myself suffering from SAD but I do know that if I work beyond 10pm with the use of this lamp, I struggle to get to sleep at my normal time of 11pm. Usually, I fall asleep very quickly and this is one of the few things that affects me like this.

 

I can't say that I've ever noticed getting a tan from it, mind you.

[Patrick]

Thanks for the advise . These Floor standing lamps are good, but very small. Not very good solution as a general light for the whole House.

@JSHarrisIt is not really an Issue about SAD or Vitamin D defficiency . More  a general wellbeing question. We tend to spend a lot of time inside. We also tend to think A LOT about how to make our houses Warm and cosy , the right tiles for the bathroom and the perfect shape for our Bathtub .

There seems to be a little lack in research into Lighting, even though most people tend to agree that lights and colours can change your mood quite dramatically.

I first came across an Idea like this when I watched  Documentary about Gary Chang a few years ago. He transformed his small HongKong Apartment into a massive House (clever design)

and also took into account lights

(in minute 1.10 onwards you can see a little bit about that)

 

[Adsibob]

On 10/02/2019 at 19:29, Patrick said:

Thanks for the advise . These Floor standing lamps are good, but very small. Not very good solution as a general light for the whole House.

@JSHarrisIt is not really an Issue about SAD or Vitamin D defficiency . More  a general wellbeing question. We tend to spend a lot of time inside. We also tend to think A LOT about how to make our houses Warm and cosy , the right tiles for the bathroom and the perfect shape for our Bathtub .

There seems to be a little lack in research into Lighting, even though most people tend to agree that lights and colours can change your mood quite dramatically.

I first came across an Idea like this when I watched  Documentary about Gary Chang a few years ago. He transformed his small HongKong Apartment into a massive House (clever design)

and also took into account lights

(in minute 1.10 onwards you can see a little bit about that)

 

This is insane! I wonder how much all of this cost!