Can I make my lighting more even

Before you spend a ton of money on alternate solutions:

  • Make sure that the height of your light (to the bottom of the shades) is 38-42" from the surface of the slate. Higher is better, but you don't want to go so high that the light is blinding, as you walk around the table.
  • Use high wattage (100W equivalent) 6500K LED bulbs
In addition, painting the inside of your shades white should help.
 
bradsh98 said:
Before you spend a ton of money on alternate solutions:

  • Make sure that the height of your light (to the bottom of the shades) is 38-42" from the surface of the slate. Higher is better, but you don't want to go so high that the light is blinding, as you walk around the table.
  • Use high wattage (100W equivalent) 6500K LED bulbs
In addition, painting the inside of your shades white should help.
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The light is set so that it can’t really be higher without being blinding. The bottom lip of the lights is even with my eyes. Good thought, though.

I use 5000k 100 w bulbs at present. I’m not convinced switching to 6500k would do much other than be bluer.

I’ll probably try painting the shades and see if that helps.
 
PariahZero said:
The light is set so that it can’t really be higher without being blinding. The bottom lip of the lights is even with my eyes. Good thought, though.

I use 5000k 100 w bulbs at present. I’m not convinced switching to 6500k would do much other than be bluer.

I’ll probably try painting the shades and see if that helps.
Click to expand...
I don't claim to know all aspects of the condition that is causing you problems, but have you considered DC? A capable inverter, to operate one lighting circuit, is very easy and inexpensive. Lot's of options for the light source. Outdoor security floods, RV lighting, etc.
 
Jimmorrison said:
I don't claim to know all aspects of the condition that is causing you problems, but have you considered DC? A capable inverter, to operate one lighting circuit, is very easy and inexpensive. Lot's of options for the light source. Outdoor security floods, RV lighting, etc.
Click to expand...

I’m an electrical engineer, so AC and DC are basically my bread & butter.

LED’s - light bulbs or otherwise - only use DC. Light Emitting Diodes have more options in how the circuitry converts AC to DC, but power has to be converted to DC.

Fluorescent lights are in practice always AC. (A true DC fluorescent light also makes a good space heater). A modern CFL or T5 tube does flicker - but several hundred times faster than we can perceive. They’re a world better than the mains-frequency tubes I grew up with.

Since I use LED bulbs, I know the actual light is produced with DC power. The power converter is hidden in the bulb.
 
LED bulbs flicker. PWM (pulse width modulation) is how dimmable LED bulbs function.
Even non-PWM bulbs can flicker if they have a cheap inverter. It's hard (not impossible) to get a decent capacitor in a LED base to absorb ALL the PWM in a non-dimmable bulb.
If you are triggered by light pulses (even high frequency ones) don't go cheap on your LED bulbs.
 
PariahZero said:
I’m an electrical engineer, so AC and DC are basically my bread & butter.

LED’s - light bulbs or otherwise - only use DC. Light Emitting Diodes have more options in how the circuitry converts AC to DC, but power has to be converted to DC.

Fluorescent lights are in practice always AC. (A true DC fluorescent light also makes a good space heater). A modern CFL or T5 tube does flicker - but several hundred times faster than we can perceive. They’re a world better than the mains-frequency tubes I grew up with.

Since I use LED bulbs, I know the actual light is produced with DC power. The power converter is hidden in the bulb.
Click to expand...
I am not an electrical engineer. I was just wondering if you had looked into whether or not a separate power supply would eliminate all pulses.
 
Inferno said:
LED bulbs flicker. PWM (pulse width modulation) is how dimmable LED bulbs function.
Even non-PWM bulbs can flicker if they have a cheap inverter. It's hard (not impossible) to get a decent capacitor in a LED base to absorb ALL the PWM in a non-dimmable bulb.
If you are triggered by light pulses (even high frequency ones) don't go cheap on your LED bulbs.
Click to expand...

That power supply means everything. A good bulb will PWM at tens of kHz - way beyond the 60 Hz of an old fluorescent lamp. Much nicer, and well beyond human abilities to see. Our rods & cones have a speed limit, after all.

Cheap bulbs are little more than a bunch of full wave bridge rectifiers. (Flicker hell...)
 
Plain 8ft. dual bulb florescent light with 4100k bulbs hanging 3.5ft above the table. Perfectly lit.
 

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I have a basic 4-bulb fixture over my 9 foot. I tried flood bulbs but even the wide pattern versions were too focused. I switched to standard LED bulbs and they are better than anything else. It is pretty even light but I think you should not overlook the rest of the light in the room. I have wall sconces that bounce light (same temp as table light) off the walls and ceiling. It helps even out significantly.
20180510_203523.jpg
 
Update time:

I set up the balls, took pictures, changed the bulbs from plain bulbs to BR (bulge reflector) floods (110° pattern)

Before: visible spots
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After:

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The Philips 558031 (BR30) bulbs provide a more even light pattern, and are brighter.

Even dimmed to 30%, the pattern is better. Ironically, the dimmer lights look *brighter* in picture, but that’s just exposure settings.

11f76eaddc986be27901d4832a6752d1.jpg


It’s not perfect, but it’s an improvement. Adding additional lighting to the room (while I’m finishing the basement) should provide enough diffused light to even things up around the edges.
 
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AF pool guy said:
Skins, how damp is your basement? I mean three dehumidifiers.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Lol.. Those 3 are the old ones not working. A buddy was supposed to come pick them up for scrap and has had me waiting. Going to ge gone soon regardless.👍
 
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