Health and Eye Protection Become Major Trends, Heavy Investment in "Full Spectrum"
After three years overshadowed by the "mask era," people's attention to family and personal health has peaked. Recently, at major lighting exhibitions, a variety of health products are gradually taking the "center stage" of brands. Clearly, the market is entering a real demand for healthy, eye-protective lighting. In this context, the trend for full spectrum is emerging, but what exactly is it?
From a definitional perspective, the dispersion of light by a prism breaks down sunlight into a series of monochromatic lights, and the pattern arranged in order by wavelength is called the "optical spectrum," or simply, the spectrum. The spectrum of sunlight is the most complete "full spectrum."
1. Decomposition of Sunlight
"Full Spectrum" lighting fixtures require a spectral wavelength range that covers visible light and includes a continuous spectrum with a small amount of infrared and ultraviolet light. At the same time, it is required that the proportions of various wavelengths in the spectrum chart are relatively balanced, with a color rendering index close to 100 (Ra > 97, CRI > 95, R1–R15 > 90).
Currently, researchers are generally committed to simulating the 5000K solar spectrum to achieve full spectrum. Such LED fixtures have high color saturation and fidelity, a color rendering index close to 100, and no blue light hazard, among other advantages. Industry professionals consider it to be a mainstream direction for the future of semiconductor lighting technology.
Since the concept of full spectrum became a popular trend, a search on e-commerce platforms reveals many products labeled with "full spectrum" technology. While a large number of products have emerged, there are also many inferior products that are simply riding on the trend. However, these products merely change the proportion of fluorescent powder to increase the color rendering index, and the actual blue light index remains high. Whether they can truly play a role in health and eye protection remains to be seen.
Putting the Concept of "Health" First
Looking at the current environment, all industries are prioritizing health, no longer just paying lip service as before. In recent years, the development of LED lighting has progressed rapidly, from living room ceiling lights costing a few hundred yuan "competing" to eye-protective desk lamps costing hundreds to thousands of yuan, and now "competing" to floor lamps costing several thousand yuan. The biggest selling point that supports this price increase to the thousand-yuan level is eye protection.
The fundamental theoretical basis for full spectrum eye protection is that if adolescents are given sufficient natural light exposure, the probability of developing myopia will be significantly reduced. Scientists from many countries around the world have verified through multiple experimental studies that exposure to higher average daily light levels can effectively slow down the growth of the eye axis.
The intensity of natural outdoor light is normally above 10,000 lux, and even under the shade of trees, it is over 5,000 lux. In contrast, the intensity of artificial light in indoor environments is only over 100 lux. This theory believes that the key factor causing myopia is prolonged indoor study by adolescents.
2. Darkroom Test Report
(Under different testing devices, the product's light efficiency is >100lm/W)
In the process of testing products, it was found that after applying full spectrum technology, there were issues with the light efficiency of the products, and the performance in commercial spaces might be unsatisfactory.
Most commercial track spotlights currently use COB or SMD solutions. From what we have found in actual tests, the brightness of common track spotlights on the market is generally around 50-60 lm/W. According to the current design habits of lighting without a main light, this brightness is actually insufficient for children's or elderly people's rooms. In the usual sense, the brightness might be too low, which necessitates calculating the distribution of light and increasing the number of lights before renovating, otherwise, it can affect people's vision.
Of course, there are also some high-quality lights on the market that can achieve high anti-glare, high color rendering, low blue light, and high brightness, but their prices tend to be relatively high. Since the choice is to develop products in the solar spectrum series, the foremost priority in research and development is certainly health and eye protection.
3. Integrating Sphere Test: 124.7lm/W Spectral Analysis System Test Report
(Taking a COB light source of 4000k12W as an example)
In product development, isolated wide-voltage electric technology is used to address the flickering issue of products, making the light source more comfortable for the human eye to observe.
"Develop full-spectrum commercial lighting products that cater to the usage scenarios in commercial spaces. The economic aspect is a priority, where the product must have characteristics such as high luminous efficiency, high sensitivity, and high color rendering index. With the same opening size, the product provides higher brightness. In places like office buildings and hotels where a large quantity of lighting fixtures are used, it is possible to reduce the number of lights used in the lighting design while achieving the same lighting effect; at the same time, it offers greater flexibility, can be applied to more commercial scenarios, and meets the personalized needs of users.
In addition, full-spectrum lighting fixtures provide light that contains different colors of light across all wavelengths in the visible spectrum of the human eye, offering light rich in color sensation and restoring the most natural and true colors of the illuminated objects. 'Customers will feel the lighting in the commercial space is more comfortable, which not only serves the purpose of health and eye protection but also excellently restores the original color of the products,' said Zheng Xiaohong.
Looking at the overall trend in the development of the lighting industry, healthy lighting will undoubtedly be an important direction for future development. The full-spectrum concept is gradually becoming known and accepted by the public. With the continuous introduction of national policies and standards, full-spectrum lighting may become the next blue ocean in the lighting industry.
