Alternatives to flickering LED lights?

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Beauty_pact
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16 Dec 2012, 12:05 am

I recently bought LED lights from IKEA, and found them to be utterly unusable. They flicker like crazy, and it was the same with ALL of them. I have noticed that the LED screen of my mobile also flickers; especially when it dims down to a lower brightness; this makes me feel tired, and otherwise uncomfortable, if I am exposed to it for too long. The IKEA lights, however, were very bad; they made me feel ill in a strange way that I have barely ever experienced, before. Maybe that feeling is the same that epileptics feel, before getting an attack... maybe. They also made everything feel choppy, as I moved; as if I was in a slideshow, sort of - this clearly is because since they flicker, they keep having the light on and off, constantly. I quickly realized it was the LED lights, though, and all uncomfortable feelings went away, as soon as I switched to regular lightbulbs. I am sure that there are some who tell themselves that I may have been imagining this, since they never have experienced problems with flickering, themselves, but I have always had problems with flickering; while I have never gotten an epileptic attack, I have always become very tired from screens with a poor refresh rate - old TV's with just 50Hz refresh rates made me beyond tired, for example... 60Hz was better, but not before 85Hz did it start to feel okay, for me.

Despite that there are so many people with various sensitivities to flickering, they have now made lightbulbs illegal, in the EU, and other parts of the world, as well. What are people with these problems supposed to use as a light source, from now on? Candles...? Because halogen lights, that do not flicker, apparently still are legal, in the EU (or so I think I heard), but they have a far too bright light - for me, even these 15 Watt lightbulbs are too bright. I suspect that there has been lobbying going on for this (due to lack of patents on lightbulbs), when even people with grave sensitivities such as epilepsy are left out in the cold. The EU is very corrupt, after all.... I can't imagine what this worthless organization is good for, overall... next year, they may even be passing changes to laws regarding GMO, which, if passed, will lead to a greatly increased spread of genetically modified, highly poisonous plants, into the food supply, that actually modify your genes.... =_= control the food, and you control everything, after all.... that is the Monsanto vision that I suppose the EU now, too, will start to embrace. :/ Okay, that is not about LED's (about something infinitely worse, though)... but I just really am hating the EU, these days.... I am so glad that Sweden never entered the Euro - at least there is hope of leaving this USA-wannabe thing, in the not too distant future, then.... -_-;

Anyway, so.... on to my purpose of starting this thread.... what are you supposed to use, if you cannot use LED's...? Any suggestions...? In my case, I need lights that give off a very low light... comparative to 15 Watts, maximum (preferably even lower). I hope there is some sort of solution, or else I think that I actually *will* have to start using candles..... >_<



BTDT
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16 Dec 2012, 2:29 am

The flickering is caused by an AC power supply--not the LEDs themselves. Powering the LEDs of Direct Current, such as a battery, or an AC supply that has been rectified and filtered into into a DC source, should eliminate the problem.



Oodain
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16 Dec 2012, 2:42 am

also even a properly designed led bulb will flicker if a damper circuit is installed it messes with the rectifier and can produce flicker and blinking all the way down to a single herz or so, i then put it in my kitchen where there is no damper and the bulb powered fine.


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iceb
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16 Dec 2012, 2:45 am

I would gone to an electrical wholesaler like CEF (City Electrical Factors) and examine what they have on offer LED is not the only light source available and they usually have many in display in demonstration fittings. compact florescent use a HF ballast and filcker well above perceptible frequencies I also suspect many LED lamps have DC or High Frequency control circuitry that would not have that problem.

Also none of these types of lamp will work properly if a dimmer circuit instead of a switch is used.


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undercaffeinated
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16 Dec 2012, 2:49 am

I'm assuming you're referring to LED light bulbs for lamps or regular light fixtures. BTDT is right that LED lights that rectify and filter the power for the LEDs won't flicker much, if you can find such bulbs. Otherwise you could try compact fluorescents if they're still available in your area -- the ones I'm using don't seem to flicker noticeably like the larger tube-style fluorescents do.