Which lamps are harmful to health? Safe light: which light bulbs are most acceptable to the eye? Ultraviolet radiation

Ecology of consumption: We understand what kind of light bulbs there are and what to do with them after they have served their life

Let's figure out what kind of light bulbs there are and what to do with them after they have served their life.

What types of light bulbs are there?

Modern light sources can be divided into hazardous and safe for disposal. Safe lamps include incandescent, halogen and LED lamps. The age of popularity of incandescent lamps is coming to an end due to their inefficiency and short service life, but Russia is slowly switching to energy-saving light bulbs, using the Ilyich light bulb “the old fashioned way.”

Russians are distrustful of the presence of mercury in the body of energy-saving lamps and the specificity of their light. LED lamps are by far the most environmentally friendly, but do not attract buyers with their high prices (only 4-6% of the Russian lighting market).

These light bulbs can be thrown away with regular trash, as they are made from safe materials, and the concentrations of halogens are negligible. It is worth noting that light bulbs are not suitable for recycling in glass containers because they have a different structure than bottle glass.

Dangerous lamps. These are energy-saving (fluorescent) light bulbs. They consume much less electricity than incandescent lamps (about 5 times less, with a service life 10 times longer). However, such lamps, having completed their service life, pose a powerful threat to environment due to the mercury content in one of the components of the design - the phosphor (from 5 mg to 1 gram). What to do with them? Such lamps must be handed over to specialized collection points.

How to properly dispose of a dangerous lamp and what will happen to it next?

You can donate energy-saving and simple mercury lamps at any health care center in your area; they are required to accept them in accordance with the decree of the Moscow Government.

Please note that not all organizations do this free of charge. You can also donate light bulbs to IKEA Khimki for free. Light bulbs must be transported carefully, although they are quite difficult to break. Avoid sharp drops and impacts of lamps.

What is the fate of mercury lamps after you put them in the collection point container? The lamps are sent to specialized recycling centers.

“The lamp is divided into components: base, glass, phosphor,” explains Konstantin Tinyakov, a specialist at the Ecotrom research and production enterprise. – The base and glass are used as recyclable materials. The phosphor is preserved in a special way and given to special organizations, which subsequently remove mercury from it. The company recycles about 7 million of these lamps per year."

A dangerous light bulb has broken: what to do?

Toxic vapors of this metal, settling in the body, can cause chronic mercury intoxication: after some time, a metallic taste appears in the mouth, headaches, problems with the kidneys, skin, and teeth.

How to remove a broken mercury lamp? The first step is to open the window and leave the room for 15 minutes. Then, after wearing disposable plastic gloves, carefully collect the fragments using stiff paper and place them in plastic bag(to collect small fragments, you can use adhesive tape or a sponge, which later also needs to be placed in a plastic bag). After this, carry out wet cleaning premises.

What can't you do? Use a vacuum cleaner, brush, broom. It is also not worth disposing of mercury-containing waste into sewers or garbage chutes.

Can't collect mercury yourself? Call the emergency services team using the single number 112 mobile phones or 01 – from city.published

Electricity prices are now such that, willy-nilly, you begin to think about saving. The easiest way to lower your energy bills is to reduce your lighting costs. It is this that “eats” most of the kilowatts in an ordinary apartment or house. We will discuss which lamps are better for the home and according to what parameters in this article.

On store shelves you can see different lamps. Let's take a closer look at those that are installed in private houses and apartments.

Lighting in the house should be cozy, comfortable... preferably economical

Incandescent lamps

The oldest lighting devices are more than a century old. They provide light that is pleasant to the eye, but during operation they get very hot, as they have low efficiency - about 97% of the energy is spent on heat generation. Therefore, lighting using conventional incandescent lamps is expensive. It is for this reason that many decide to replace them with more economical ones, while deciding which lamps are better for the home and for the wallet.

There is another unpleasant property of incandescent lamps - their service life is not very long. On average it is about 1000 -3000 hours. Since the price of these lighting fixtures is low, it is a small burden on the wallet. However, frequent replacement can be nerve-wracking - you have to always have a couple of pieces in stock.

A widespread trend - traditional incandescent lamps are being replaced by more economical ones

It is also worth taking into account that, due to the design features, they are produced only with a screw base, but they operate from a 220 V network and do not require any converters or special devices. Due to the large amount of heat, they are not used for lighting furniture; they are not compatible with all suspended ceilings, and they are not at all friendly with suspended ceilings. In general, this is a classic lighting, but not ideal.

Halogen

Halogen lamps are a type of incandescent lamp. They differ in that the flask is filled with halogen vapor (most often iodine or bromine), which increases the service life by 2-3 times. The design allows them to be made not only with a screw base, but also with a pin base. Different shape Bulbs and the use of reflective coating allow you to make light sources with different scattering angles. Therefore, at one time, they were widely used as built-in ceilings or furniture.

Halogen incandescent lamps - a more “advanced” option

Since these are also incandescent lamps, they have almost the same disadvantages - significant heat generation. And that's the problem. But the energy consumption is less (about 2-3 times). So they are more economical compared to the classic design. But they have an additional disadvantage - they do not tolerate contaminants on the flask. A fingerprint can cause burnout. Therefore, installation must be done with gloves.

Luminescent: tubular and compact (housekeepers)

The operation of these lighting devices uses another principle - the property of certain phosphor substances to emit light under certain conditions. Structurally, it consists of a glass tube coated with a phosphor. Inside the tube there are electrodes and a certain amount of mercury vapor. An electric charge is created on the electrodes, the energy of which is converted into light radiation using a phosphor.

To create and maintain electric charge Fluorescent lamps need a starting and regulating device - a voltage transformer and a starter. In the standard version, these devices are mounted on the body of lamps, which can only work with this type of lighting fixture.

Available in two types:

If we talk about comparison with incandescent lamps, they are 3 times more economical and hardly heat up. A serious disadvantage is that due to the pulsation, the light is unpleasant for the eyes and potentially hazardous to health (leads to increased fatigue and can cause a bad mood). In this type of lighting fixtures, it is almost impossible to get rid of pulsation. What can be done is to minimize it and, by adding one incandescent lamp, reduce the negative effect to a minimum.

Many are also concerned that the flask contains mercury vapor inside, which carries a potential danger. This is briefly about the main disadvantages, then we will consider in more detail the pros and cons of fluorescent lamps.

LED

This is the third type of lamp that uses semiconductor devices - LEDs. They do not require any special atmosphere, so their flask is not airtight, and this is more a tribute to tradition than a necessity. All the LEDs need to operate is a constant voltage of 12 V or 24 V. So operation is not difficult - to connect to a 220 V network you need a voltage converter (power supply, adapter). In LED lamps for standard luminaires, this converter is built into the housing, so they can easily replace conventional incandescent lamps.

Briefly about the properties. They have high efficiency - they require 7-8 times less electricity than similar incandescent lamps, and have a much longer service life (according to manufacturers' requests, they can work for 25-35 years). Disadvantages - they are expensive, it is difficult to determine the quality, low-grade ones have strong pulsation, which negatively affects the eyes and well-being, and often fail. Because choice LED lamp- a difficult matter that requires certain knowledge. But the bills actually become significantly smaller.

Which lamps are best for home

All these lighting devices are used to illuminate residential premises. It is definitely impossible to answer which lamps are best for the home - they all have advantages and disadvantages. If your main concern is eye comfort, the answer to the question “which lamps are best for the home” is incandescent. But at the same time you will not be able to save on lighting. The situation is a little better with halogen ones. But the lighting from 12 V halogens is more pleasing to the eye, which requires transformers. Those that operate on 220 V have too bright light.

When it comes to saving on electricity bills, LED bulbs are the best. This is undeniable. But you need to buy with knowledge of the matter - so that they are good quality and they worked for a long time, but these are expensive. But, even under such conditions, they are beneficial, since they really help to significantly reduce energy consumption. A

Why LED and not housekeepers? Let's compare their properties.

Comparing fluorescent and LED light bulbs

When people have a desire to reduce their electricity costs, they begin to think about replacing incandescent lamps with more energy-efficient ones. These are considered energy-saving (compact fluorescent) and LED. To understand which lamps are best for your home, you need to take a closer look at their advantages and disadvantages.

Having decided to replace incandescent lamps with more economical ones, you need to decide the question: which lamps are better for the home - LED or compact fluorescent

Housekeepers

This is what compact fluorescent lamps are called. They were the first to appear on the market (compared to LED ones), which is why this name was assigned to them. Let's start with advantages:

At the time this was a very good offer. The ability to receive “warm” and “cold” light, to save on electricity - all this led to the popularity of fluorescent lamps energy saving light bulbs.

But flaws they have serious:

There are many shortcomings, and almost all of them are serious. They are the ones who stop many, even despite the savings.

LED

These light bulbs are made on the basis of semiconductor elements - LEDs. A certain number of them are installed in a single housing and connected to a power source. Power supply is from a constant voltage of 12 V. In order to use lamps in standard lamps, a rectifier and a circuit that lowers the voltage to 12 V are built into the housing (both of these devices are often called a driver).

LEDs generate heat when operating. To remove it, a radiator is built into the body. And the bases of these lamps are different. They can be installed instead of incandescent lamps different sizes, halogen, tubular fluorescent.

If we compare all four types in terms of power consumption with equal luminous flux

Advantages LED lamps:

• They consume 7-8 times less electricity than incandescent ones, and 2-3 times less than fluorescent ones (housekeepers too).
• They have a long service life.
• Not afraid of vibration and shock.
• Lights up immediately after switching on.
• They have a wide range of operating temperatures -40°C to +40°C.
• Can be of any shade (any color).
• There are dimmable ones (changing the brightness of the light).

The advantages are impressive. The efficiency and service life are particularly impressive. But the figures stated by the manufacturers (about 25-35 years) must be treated with skepticism. They are for ideal conditions, which in our realities are practically unattainable. The warranty period declared by the manufacturers actually indicates the service life. This is the time they will most likely work. But even despite this, the period is considerable - 2-5 years.

Without shortcomings it didn't work either:

• High price. 4-5 times more expensive than energy-saving ones and 20-40 times more expensive than incandescent ones.
• Low quality LED lamps have significant pulsation.
• Without a diffuser, the light will blind the eyes, which is why most LED lamps are made with milky glass. Those in a transparent flask can only be used in conjunction with matte shades.
• LEDs are afraid of overheating. When the critical temperature (about 90°C) is exceeded for a long time, they lose their brightness. Therefore, use LED lamps in luminaires closed type unreasonable.

When compared with the properties of fluorescent lamps, LEDs clearly have the advantage. But everything is not so rosy in reality.

Which lamps are better for the home: LED or fluorescent?

In fact, LED lamps are better in all respects. But eating it hurts “BUT”. These must be high-quality LED lamps. The thing is that the manufacturing technology is simple and does not require highly complex or very expensive equipment. It is difficult to make LEDs, but it is not difficult to assemble an LED light bulb from them. That’s why there are a lot of fakes and low-quality goods on the market. They use cheap, low-quality crystals; the driver is made to be the simplest, which does not suppress flicker and quickly fails.

The difficulty is that it is impossible to determine “by eye” the quality of LEDs or the same driver. Some experts are able to distinguish good LEDs by appearance. But in lamps they are hidden under a frosted bulb. Having set a goal, their quality can be checked by indirect signs - by measuring illumination, pulsation, and assessing color rendition. But the quality of the parts used in the power supply cannot be assessed. You will only find out when something burns out.

All this leads to the fact that many consider LED lamps unreliable - they burn out quickly and are expensive. So it turns out that there is no saving. And there are also problems with flickering... It seems so, but this is only true if you buy cheap LED lamps. Branded lamps really serve for years without problems and produce an even light that is pleasing to the eyes. So the main task is to find good quality LED lamps. And then you will know exactly which lamps are best for your home.

Instead of the bottom line: replacing incandescent lamps with LED ones will save on lighting bills only if they are used for a long time, and this is possible only if they are of high quality. High-quality light bulbs are not cheap. So, perhaps, this is the case when saving during the purchase is not worth it.

Every year, LED lamps for home lighting are becoming more and more popular. They are the most economical in terms of electricity consumption. Their manufacturers guarantee the complete safety of such lighting devices, but skeptics, as usual, have their doubts. Who is right?

What is an LED lamp?

A modern LED lamp (LED lamp) is a rather complex device. The source of light radiation in it is LEDs - semiconductor devices that convert electrical power into light. But LEDs cannot be connected directly to the network, so each lamp contains inside a board with built-in LEDs, an electronic driver (power converter), and a metal radiator housing for cooling. WITH outside there is a base for connecting to any standard lamp and, very often, a translucent light diffuser.

A light-emitting diode (LED) is essentially a crystal capable of emitting light under the influence of an electric current. The color of the emitted radiation depends on the material: gallium arsenide produces red, gallium phosphide produces green, and zinc selenide produces blue. How do we get the white light we are used to?

There are several ways. Firstly, white light is a mixture of light waves of different ranges, so if red, blue and green LEDs are densely placed and their radiation is mixed using an optical system, the result is white light.

Secondly, there are phosphors - substances that can absorb and transform light. If three layers of phosphor are applied to the surface of an LED emitting in the ultraviolet range, each of which produces blue, green and red light, respectively, the result will be white light, close to natural light.

What is a radiation diffuser used for? LED emitters shine predominantly in one direction and produce narrowly focused light. This is good for a flashlight, and also good for illuminating a work area, but diffused light is required to illuminate the room evenly. To do this, use a special transparent or matte diffuser lens.

What is a driver and why is it in a light bulb? For normal operation of the LED, stabilized energy must flow through it. electricity, independent of supply voltage fluctuations. A special pulse electronic device performs this task, thanks to which the LEDs do not burn out instantly.

What are the advantages of LED lamps?

The popularity of LED lighting is increasing every day, despite their high cost. This suggests that such LED lamps are superior to all other types in many respects. What are the advantages?

• Consume little energy. This significantly reduces energy costs and makes it possible to make flashlights and emergency lighting lamps that do not require frequent replacement of the power source.
• Long service life. Manufacturers claim that the service life of their products is more than 10 years of continuous glow.
• Does not contain mercury. Disposal of such lamps does not harm the environment.
• Warm up instantly. When turned on, they light up immediately and do not require time to reach full brightness.
• Low weight and volume. LEDs are small in size and can be used to construct both large lamps and Spotlights, installing them in hard-to-reach places and portable devices.
• Impact resistance. LEDs are not damaged by shocks and impacts, so the lamps can be installed in any location.
• Work well at low temperatures. Unlike other lighting devices, LEDs work without problems in the cold, which is convenient for street lighting.
• Almost no heat is generated. This allows you to embed LED light bulbs almost anywhere: in a closet, in the ceiling or in a baseboard; they do not cause fires due to overheating.

LED lamps have many advantages, they are economical, designers love to use them, as they allow the most daring ideas to be realized. But every device also has its drawbacks. It's hard to believe that LED bulbs are perfect.

Disadvantages and features of LED lamps

LED light sources also have disadvantages, but these are not always disadvantages of the lamps, sometimes it is simply their illiterate use. The properties of any lighting device must be taken into account in order to get a good result, and not a problem.

• Price. This is a significant drawback of LED lamps. The cost of production is decreasing every year, but it is still high compared to other types of lighting fixtures.
• Degradation phenomenon. Lamp manufacturers claim that their service life is more than 10 years, but they give a guarantee for 3-5 years! The fact is that there is a phenomenon of degradation, i.e. the quiet dying of LED crystals. The luminous flux gradually decreases, and in some cases changes in the phosphor are also observed. The rate of degradation depends on the quality of the material and increases with increasing ambient temperature. An LED whose brightness has decreased by 30% during operation is considered faulty. Light bulbs that have lost their brightness can be used quite successfully in the toilet or pantry for a long time.
• Glow color. Many people complain about the unpleasant spectrum of the glow. They feel uncomfortable if workplace illuminated with bluish or bluish-white light. As you know, the shade of lamp light is determined by the color temperature. For the convenience of customers, manufacturers mark their products not only by indicating the color temperature in degrees on the Kelvin scale, but also put a mark on the image of the color scale on the packaging. This mark indicates the color of the light - warm yellow, cold blue, the most comfortable is white light with a yellowish tint. When buying a light bulb, you should choose the one that is most familiar in color and will not cause any discomfort.
• Narrow beam pattern. LEDs provide directional light. If in table lamp screw in an ordinary incandescent lamp, it will illuminate the entire table with diffused light, the middle of the table will be illuminated better, but the edges will also be clearly visible. The LED lamp will give a very bright circle in the middle of the table, the edges will be lost in the darkness. Such sharp transitions are harmful to the eyes. The problem disappears if you choose a lamp with a matte cap - a radiation diffuser.

Are all LED lamps safe?

Any household appliance and device for the home should be as safe as possible. Is it always LED lights absolutely harmless? Unfortunately, not always. And the reason is simple - not all lamps are of high quality. Some manufacturers try to make extra money by simplifying the technology as much as possible and sell cheap, low-quality lamps. Why are they dangerous?

Ultraviolet radiation. Does it exist?

Household LED lamps do not emit ultraviolet light. Is it good or bad?

Ultraviolet light is considered harmful. The main source of ultraviolet radiation on Earth is the Sun. It emits waves in different ranges spectrum Long-wave ultraviolet radiation is mainly absorbed by the atmosphere; mid-wave radiation is imperceptible to the human eye and is absorbed by the corneal epithelium; short-wave ultraviolet radiation can penetrate to the retina. Tanning occurs under the influence of ultraviolet radiation. Germicidal blue lamps emit ultraviolet light and kill harmful bacteria, but should not be looked at to avoid damaging your eyesight. UV radiation is beneficial for fruit growth and ripening.

If there is practically no such radiation in LED lamps, is this a plus or a minus? The debate continues among experts to this day.

And there are also ultraviolet LEDs coated with a phosphor that produces white light. They are cheap to make and are produced by many manufacturers. The phosphor absorbs ultraviolet light. But all or not all? What if the LED is of poor quality? Is the presence of a small amount of radiation in the ultraviolet range bad or, on the contrary, good, since it is closer to natural light? There is no definitive answer yet.

LED lamps flickering

Good LED lamps do not flicker, unlike conventional lamps. daylight. Why do they talk about flickering? The voltage converter uses a special microcircuit that generates a series of short pulses with the necessary parameters. Conscientious manufacturers install ripple smoothing at the output of these converters, but with cheap drivers the manufacturer can save money. The light will flicker. This is not perceived by normal vision, but prolonged work in such lighting can lead to deterioration of vision.

How to determine whether a light bulb is flickering or not? The eyes will not notice this, but if we look at the lamp through a digital camera, we will immediately see a pulsating light on the screen. This stroboscopic effect can be seen in this short video, where a demonstration stand with LED lamps turned on in a store was filmed with a regular camera. Some of them flicker, others don't.

What is the harm from flickering? Pulsating light causes constant contractions of the ciliary muscle, it gets tired, which leads to the development of myopia. Some people complain of watery eyes, eye fatigue, and drowsiness when working in flickering lighting conditions.

How to choose a high-quality LED lamp?

There are few rules:

• Never buy cheap. Prices from manufacturers of high-quality lighting devices are approximately the same. Manufacturing technologies are slightly different, but this has little effect on the cost. If a store offers LED lamps with the same parameters, but with a large difference in price, then confidently pass by the cheap ones if you value your eyesight.
• Never buy many lamps at once. There is no point in purchasing light bulbs for the whole house at once. Even if they offer a discount. The color temperature of LED light sources is different, they also differ in dispersion. It is better to choose the degree of blue or yellow tint individually. There is always somewhere to screw in a poorly chosen lamp. If the choice turned out to be correct, then you can safely take the same ones in the required quantity.
• Check for flicker. Taking a phone with a camera with you is not a problem, nor is looking through it at the switched-on lamps. But, if this is not possible, then it is better to buy one, turn it on at home and watch through the camera. It flickers - hang it in the hallway or in the bathroom.

LED lighting sources are confidently conquering the world, they have many advantages, but, like everything new, you need to get used to them and learn how to use them correctly. And never buy cheap, low-quality fakes.

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Cancer danger carries ultraviolet radiation emanating from lamps . Researchers from Stony Brook University in New York came to the conclusion that the use of energy-saving lamps is harmful to health, reports CBS Miami.

The fact is that this type of lighting emits ultraviolet radiation in doses that damage skin cells. This leads to their death, skin aging, and eventually to melanoma, one of the most dangerous types of cancer.

Lamp manufacturers have admitted that they emit ultraviolet radiation, but in acceptable doses. But, according to researchers, the protective coatings of these lamps are riddled with microcracks, which make intense radiation possible .

Today there are 2 types of energy-saving lamps: collagen and fluorescent. The most dangerous of them are fluorescent .

Experts advise excluding 100-watt light bulbs of this type from sale. Lamps with an energy intensity of 40 and 60 watts are considered less harmful.

Energy-saving fluorescent lamps, which shine more intensely than usual, are harmful to people with hypersensitive skin. This was recently announced by scientists from the British Association of Dermatologists.

Fluorescent lamps can aggravate existing skin diseases in a person and cause skin cancer, writes Daily Mail.

Energy saving lamps can cause Mercury poisoning!

Until recently, energy-saving lamps were advertised as a safe and cost-effective alternative to conventional lamps. However, scientists have made a discovery: these light bulbs emit dangerous amounts of mercury, writes The Daily Mail.

The concentration of toxic fumes around a broken savings light bulb was 20 times higher than the permissible limit for indoors. Lamps are particularly dangerous for pregnant women, infants and young children. .

Conventional lamps do not contain mercury, however, neither do halogen lamps and LED lamps. As for energy-saving ones, they do not have a protective shell, and they burst when they get too hot. According to data obtained by scientists from the institute Fraunhofer Wilhelm Klauditz, eco-bulbs emit approximately 7 micrograms per cubic meter of air. But the official permissible limit is 0.35 micrograms .

Mercury is a substance of the first class of danger. It can cause serious poisoning and damage nervous system, liver, kidneys, lungs...

Honest scientists about energy-saving lamps:

“Don’t read the media, especially ours. This is an ordinary fluorescent lamp, it contains mercury vapor, instead of a huge starting choke - in the base there are transistors, for which you actually pay (you can open the base with a knife out of curiosity), the phosphor glows - a white coating in the bulb, under the influence of UV radiation of mercury vapor . The lamp is not ideally sealed, mercury comes out of it (breathe deeper), so the luminosity slowly drops...

The phosphor spectrum is more similar to the sun, but not ideal. Then the built-in capacitor dries out (in cheap ones, sometimes it is not installed at all), flickering of 100 Hz begins, it seems not to be visible, it is felt like rapid eye fatigue when reading books. Better than halogen. But normal, i.e. with protective glass from UV and an opening of 90 degrees, otherwise we usually sell 30 and 45, it shines but does not illuminate.”

“..energy-saving lamp” is a fool's errand for ignoramuses - it will not save its cost over its service life, but it was thrown into the garbage chute - the entire entrance inhales mercury, in the base (disassemble it out of curiosity) there is lead, and a bunch of electronics.

If it breaks, you need to ventilate the room for at least 15 minutes. And you can’t throw it away with regular trash. If white electric light seems deathly to you, it’s for a reason. It has been confirmed that halogen and LED lamps are dangerous to health, as they reduce the production of a hormone that regulates the biological clock and has an antitumor and immunostimulating effect.

It has long been known that so-called white artificial light, which is actually blue light with a wavelength of 440 to 500 nanometers, suppresses melatonin production in the brain's pineal gland. The result is disgusting, since melatonin regulates the biological clock and affects the immune system, and also prevents the development of tumors.

The degree of influence of “white” light on our health is constantly growing due to the spread of lamps emitting it, which are used in residential premises, offices and on the street; Thus, heavy-duty lamps in stadiums emit “white” light.

The researchers took as one the level of suppression of melatonin production caused by sodium lamps producing yellow light. high pressure. Compared to the latter, halogen lamps inhibit melatonin secretion more than three times more strongly, and LED lamps more than five times (per unit power).

Scientists urge changes in the legislation of countries interested in the well-being of their citizens; Now sodium lamps as sources of street lighting are being replaced by halogen and LED lamps, which are more harmful to health, and regulations do not limit the harm in any way.

In particular, the laws of most regions of Italy mention such a thing as light pollution, but nothing is said about the wavelength of light, says Dr. Fabio Falchi from the Research Institute for the Study of Light Pollution. The researchers acknowledge that LED lights are effective and want to ensure that consumers buying light bulbs for their homes at least have a choice based on the information available... The study results are published in Journal of Environmental Management.

Economical but dangerous?

At the beginning of this year, 100-watt incandescent lamps disappeared from sale; in the future, 75-watt incandescent lamps will suffer the same fate.

The plan to replace Ilyich’s light bulbs with energy-saving ones is proceeding as usual, and it seems that soon everyone will have to use them. What problems are we at risk of encountering?

Be careful, radiation!

Research results have shown that, unlike conventional incandescent lamps, energy-saving lamps of any power are a source of electromagnetic radio frequency radiation . Extremely acceptable standards are violated within a radius of about 15 cm from the lamp base.

This means that by turning on an energy-saving lamp somewhere under the ceiling, we do not risk getting into the zone of its high electromagnetic radiation. But for night lights, table and bedside lighting, in the immediate vicinity of which a person spends a lot of time, such energy saving creates another health risk factor.

“Electromagnetic fields of this magnitude do not cause specific diseases, but can be catalysts for diseases, primarily of the central nervous and immune systems, possibly cardiovascular . The body necessarily reacts to such an impact as another additional unfavorable environmental factor, which forces it to additionally spend vital resources on it. This weakens the person and can lead to exacerbations chronic diseases, reduce the body’s resistance to viruses,” says the director of the Center for Electromagnetic Safety, Candidate of Biological Sciences Oleg Grigoriev.

Pollution instead of saving

The situation is aggravated by the fact that compact fluorescent lamps are not designed to be switched on and off frequently. That is why they were used historically in public places, where they burned almost constantly: their predecessor, in fact, are the so-called “fluorescent lamps”.

When turned on, fluorescent lamps introduce significant high-frequency interference into the power supply network. And this “pollutes” even more from the point of view of electromagnetic ecology our already crammed homes with technology. Besides a large number of simultaneously switched on fluorescent lamps creates electrical networks building modes of current flow for which these networks are not designed, which can become a threat to electrical safety.

Where should I put them?

A single light bulb does not contain enough mercury to poison anyone. But you can’t just throw it in the trash can, which is what the corresponding icon on the packaging warns the consumer about. District DEZ and REU should accept used lamps. However, in practice this does not work in all regions of the country.

If you can’t come to an agreement with the DEZ, you need to look for a company that disposes of mercury-containing waste, and, most likely, pay for it out of your own pocket. Considering that in our country it is generally not customary to bother with the topic of separate waste collection, you can imagine what consequences this will lead to.

Why, then, is the European Union, which banned mercury thermometers several years ago precisely because of their health hazard, now, like our country, actively switching to energy-saving lamps?

The answer is simple. Europe is planning a massive transition to much safer LED energy-saving lamps, rather than compact fluorescent lamps, which professionals consider to be some kind of intermediate option, or even a complete misunderstanding in the evolution of artificial light sources. Another issue is that promising LED lamps for mass consumption are still quite expensive. And you can’t get them everywhere.

If you are interested in the question of whether energy-saving lamps are harmful to human health, you need to learn more about their design. Such light sources are used everywhere, but the degree of exposure to the body is not taken into account. Thus, some varieties contain mercury, while others are characterized by increased pulsation rates. The benefits and harms are assessed, since the light bulbs are used for long period daily, so you need to be prepared for the consequences of their work.

Possible risk factors

The danger of energy-saving lamps lies in the quality of radiation, which is produced due to the design of the lighting element. Possible risk factors:

• the use of low-grade materials (in particular, phosphor in CFLs and crystals in LED lamps), parts in production;
• violation of the manufacturing process, for example the absence of a protective layer, which leads to increased exposure to harmful radiation.

People should remember that a large number of low-quality products used to illuminate a room have an intense effect on the body.

Fluorescent Lamp

To assess the degree of negative influence of ultraviolet radiation and other factors, it is necessary to study the design and operating principle of the lighting element. Widely used energy-saving lamps today, identifying external sign which is a spiral-shaped bulb, are also called compact or CFL. This is due to the fact that their design includes an electronic driver.

Older analogues of fluorescent lamps used an electromechanical ballast, but due to its large dimensions it was installed separately from the bulb. The electronic driver in the design of such light bulbs helps reduce the blinking intensity. This means that the load on the visual organs is also reduced.

Operating principle of a CFL lamp

The basis for the operation of lamps of this type is the appearance of an electrical discharge in a gaseous medium. The process of radiation production involves a phosphor applied to the surface on the inside of the flask. The lamp is filled with mercury vapor and a gaseous medium (argon). When electricity is supplied, the cathode heats up. This leads to ionization of the gas mixture, which is converted into plasma. The result of this process is the occurrence of ultraviolet radiation. Thanks to the phosphor, visible light appears.

When using energy-saving light bulbs, several dangers arise simultaneously: radio frequency and ultraviolet radiation, the presence of mercury vapor under the glass of the bulb. As a result, there is a negative effect of CFL on the organs of vision and skin. When comparing incandescent lamps and energy-saving analogues, it turns out that the first option is safer for the body.

Radio frequency radiation

All CFL-type lighting elements, regardless of the power and intensity of light, are a source of electromagnetic radio frequency radiation. Considering that such lamps are considered energy efficient, they do not consume large quantities of electricity. This means that the electromagnetic field is not strong enough to cause much harm to the human body. However, this does not mean that they are not life-threatening.

Energy-saving lamps based on mercury vapor can contribute to the development of various pathologies, disruption internal organs. The nervous, cardiovascular, and immune systems are most often affected. Radiofrequency radiation can become an additional negative factor, which will lead to a general weakening of the body. Against the background of reduced immunity, they begin to actively develop chronic diseases. At the same time, the body's resistance to viral infections decreases.

Staying near an energy-saving lamp for a long time can cause feeling unwell

The most dangerous thing is close proximity to an energy-saving lamp. Radio frequency radiation has a stronger effect at a distance of up to 15 cm. As you move away from the light source, its influence weakens. This means that a person who regularly works next to table lamp, in which the CFL lighting element is installed, may experience deterioration general condition body. Weakness and arrhythmia are noted. However, these consequences develop over a long period.

The further a person is from the light source, the less exposed he is to it. Accordingly, the negative impact may not be felt in this case. The regularity of being within the radius of radiation from these light bulbs also matters.

Damage to vision

The operating principle of fluorescent lighting elements is based on the flickering effect. Within 1 second, the glow is ignited and extinguished multiple times. The result is a flicker that cannot be seen by the naked eye. However, the stroboscopic effect created in this case still affects the organs of vision. First of all, they note a violation of the perception of the actual picture of the movement of illuminated objects. The consequence of this is rapid fatigue of the visual organs.

Despite the fact that fluorescent lighting elements are called fluorescent lamps, they produce radiation whose wavelength differs from the parameters of natural lighting. As a result, it is perceived differently. In such conditions, headaches are more common.

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Alexey Bartosh

Specialist in repair and maintenance of electrical equipment and industrial electronics.

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However, unpleasant symptoms occur only when a person is regularly indoors under fluorescent lighting. This means that a compact energy-saving lamp is in most cases harmless to the eyes, provided that it is used moderately, that is, for a short period and is located at a distance.

Ultraviolet radiation

When compared with other light bulbs, fluorescent analogues have a significant drawback. They produce ultraviolet rays, which in unlimited quantities can be harmful to the skin. Initially, UV radiation is produced inside the flask. Only after passing through the phosphor does visible light appear.

Products that do not have a double protective layer in most cases become a source of UV-B and UV-C rays. They can cause skin cancer, psoriasis, alopecia, dermatitis, rashes, and premature aging of the outer skin. These types of rays also have a negative impact on the organs of vision. Cataracts gradually develop if a person is regularly in a room with such lighting.

Poor quality products without double protection can have a negative impact on our limited resources.

Children and people with sensitive skin are more susceptible to ultraviolet radiation than others. They are affected most intensely by UV rays, provoking the appearance of the symptoms listed above. In addition, the use of low-quality phosphor or its gradual aging can also lead to negative consequences. This is because Fluorescent Lamp emits more intense ultraviolet radiation.

Additionally, the effect of ultraviolet radiation on biochemical processes, in particular on the production of melatonin. This is a hormone that regulates a person’s wakefulness and sleep patterns. Its other functions: preventing the development of cancer cells, maintaining immunity at a normal level. If the process of its production is disrupted, insomnia and weakness appear; on the contrary, drowsiness may occur.

Mercury

CFLs contain 3-5 mg of this substance. It is released only when the integrity is violated glass flask. If you handle the light bulb carefully, the level of danger is significantly reduced. However, there is always a risk when using such a product. For example, a lamp may break when it is being replaced. If integrity is compromised, a significant amount of vapor is released into the air. Up to 50 m³ of the environment is polluted. In this case, the concentration of the toxic substance is much higher than allowed (160 times).

If an energy-saving lamp breaks, be sure to take appropriate measures

In minimal quantities, mercury can cause poisoning of the body. Ingestion of a large dose of the substance can be fatal. For this reason, it is important to think about recycling light bulbs that have reached the end of their useful life. Use them only until the radiation intensity begins to decrease. Then the light source needs to be replaced. Symptoms of mercury vapor poisoning:

• disruption of the central nervous system;
• tremor;
• fever, chills;
• liver dysfunction;
• metallic taste in the mouth;
• general weakness;
• bleeding gums;
• drowsiness.

LED lamp

This is a low-power, but quite bright light source. It is considered the least harmful. If you are interested in the question of which lamps are safe to use for health, you need to learn more about the design of diode-based products. They contain semiconductor converters, rectifiers, and capacitors. All these elements are necessary to create suitable characteristics: low voltage, sufficient high strength current, significant brightness level.

The design provides for the presence of a driver. It is used to turn on the light source. A phosphor is used to correct radiation parameters. A layer of this material covers the LED crystals. The increase in radiation intensity is due to the presence of a sapphire substrate in the design. To reduce the degree of negative impact, a heat sink is used. If the question is being decided which lamps are better: LED or halogen, preference is often given to the first option due to low heating.

The operating principle of this type of light source is based on the interaction of semiconductors. The best LED light bulbs are made from quality materials. Thanks to this, their service life is extended and there is no negative impact on the human body. The lamp bulb is made of polycarbonate; it is not sealed, since there are no dangerous elements inside.

With prolonged use, a decrease in lighting intensity is observed. This is due to the natural process of crystal degradation. The shade of light may vary, prevailing Blue colour. Such changes are considered a sign of the gradual fading of LEDs. For high-quality lamps, degradation develops closer to the end of the service life declared by the manufacturer.

If inexpensive lighting sources are used, they do not last long in most cases. Radiation with such parameters also has a negative impact, just like CFL analogues. However, the level of harm is much less.

Flicker

Any light source is characterized by a stroboscopic effect. Until recently, it was believed that LED light bulbs do not flicker. However, this is not the case; to a lesser extent, they “blink”. The harm from this has been proven by scientific research. It is believed that lamps that are characterized by a frequency in the range of 8-300 Hz have a negative effect on the nervous system.

If the LED lamp is working properly, only invisible pulsations occur during its operation. However, even in this case, they penetrate the brain through the organs of vision, causing harm. The degree of negative impact is extremely low. So, if the production process has not been disrupted and the design provides for high-quality filtering of the driver output voltage, the flicker value will not exceed 1%. This is a good indicator, considering that according to the standards, the permissible value of this parameter is 10%.

Inexpensive diode-based light bulbs do not always meet the required criteria. They often do not provide the ability to filter the driver output voltage, use a low-quality phosphor, or the technology for applying it is broken (only on a blue crystal). Then ultraviolet radiation occurs, albeit within acceptable limits.

Melatonin production disorder

The degree of negative impact on biochemical processes in the human body is insignificant or absent. This is due to the fact that not all diode-based lamps produce ultraviolet radiation of sufficient intensity. To produce white light, several crystals of different colors are used: red, blue, green. With this combination, no UV radiation is produced.

If the phosphor is applied incorrectly or is of poor quality, the LED light source begins to produce ultraviolet radiation. However, the radiation intensity does not exceed 15%, which is considered normal. This means that LED light bulbs have a lesser effect on the production of the hormone melatonin. If you purchase products from reliable manufacturers, there is no likelihood of negative consequences in the form of sleep disturbances.

Harm of white lighting

The quality of radiation is determined by color temperature. The higher it is, the more harm there is to a person. In particular, there is a negative impact on the organs of vision. In cold white light, blue shades predominate, and it is to them that the retina of the eye is most sensitive. If you are exposed to the radiation of an LED lamp for a short period of time, the negative effect will be short-lived and will not affect human health.

Staying within the radius of such a lamp for a longer period can lead to eye fatigue, retinal degradation, and headaches. In this case, the reflexes are affected, and a desire appears to blink more often, because it is uncomfortable for the person. Such lighting poses the greatest danger to children. This is due to the fact that the child’s visual organs are still developing, and the negative impact of cold white light can lead to the development of irreversible processes in the structure of the eye.

Lighting characterized by a color temperature of 5000 K and above is considered uncomfortable. If the value of this parameter is in the range of 3500-4500 K, the light is considered neutral. Warm light has a temperature from 2700 to 3200 K. Lamps with this range are recommended for use in residential areas, then the eyes will be less tired.

Precautions and ways to minimize harm

Despite some design subtleties, it is possible to reduce the intensity of the negative impact of lighting on the human body. Energy-saving lamps are harmful to health only when low-quality products are used. You can identify them by their appearance: the assembly is sloppy, the materials are cheap, there are defects. In addition, the cost of such products is always lower than in the case of analogues of common brands. Precautions to minimize harm:

• if you are interested in the question of whether energy-saving light sources are harmful, it is recommended to install them away from places where people often stay in the room - under the ceiling, and near the bed, on the table it is better to use incandescent analogues;
• if CFL or LED lamps are installed everywhere in the house, it is recommended to turn them on only when necessary - in the dark;
• Light sources of the types in question cannot be used in children's rooms;
• if the quality of radiation decreases, it is necessary to promptly replace light bulbs;
• It is recommended to use light sources in accordance with operating conditions; it is especially important to observe the temperature regime and control the humidity level in the room.

When using lamps characterized by low power, the issue of safety is more important than energy saving. So, when screwing in and unscrewing a luminescent-type lighting element, you cannot hold it by the bulb.