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Can't do AC LEDs, any suggestions?

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Alacrity

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Aug 3, 2023
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I had a stroke about 3 years ago. Since then, I can't stand AC LEDs. My brain picks up the 60Hrz flashing.
10 minutes I get nauseous, 20 minutes I get confused, 35 minutes I barely walk, 45 minutes I pass out.

Because I can't take LEDs I don't watch television and the new light ban caught me by surprise.
What the heck is their to do?

1) Buy the industrial grade lights
2) re-wire my home for DC current and run DC LEDs (Not even sure if this is possible)

Any advice?
 
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LSU

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I suggest you ask your neurologist or your OT. I’m sure they’ve dealt with this problem before.

I‘m sorry you’re having problems.

I have glare problems from overhead lights and wide screen TVs.
 
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Shiftless

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East Bay SFO
Look for incandescent bulbs at the recycling center.

As a bonus, during winter heating season, they will help heat the room,
 
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dogdog

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Alacrity said:
I had a stroke about 3 years ago. Since then, I can't stand AC LEDs. My brain picks up the 60Hrz flashing.
10 minutes I get nauseous, 20 minutes I get confused, 35 minutes I barely walk, 45 minutes I pass out.

Because I can't take LEDs I don't watch television and the new light ban caught me by surprise.
What the heck is their to do?

1) Buy the industrial grade lights
2) re-wire my home for DC current and run DC LEDs (Not even sure if this is possible)

Any advice?
Click to expand...

If you truly have medical issues with the LEDs... go with whats suggested from post#2...

or try a High CRI output bulbs, does have to be certain brand..... but certain brand with better LED drivers will minimize the flashing I used the Feit bulbs from Costco, haven't give me any problems like cheaper CFL.

www.usa.lighting.philips.com

Quality Of Led Lighting | Philips lighting

Philips LEDs have a high Colour Rendering Index (CRI), meaning that these bulbs light up objects in their true and natural colour. The light output remains stable throughout the lifetime of the bulb.
www.usa.lighting.philips.com www.usa.lighting.philips.com
 
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dogdog

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Halgen bulbs are still for sale until 2025... so... They have version that looks just like incandescent bulbs but light blue in color.. at least the two 100 watt one I have is that way...
 
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Shiftless

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I bet I’m not the only guy with a box of new or slightly used incandescent bulbs up on a shelf somewhere. There are only 5 incandescent bulbs left in our house. OK maybe a few more in the oven and fridge.
 
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aShop

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dogdog said:
Halgen bulbs are still for sale until 2025... so... They have version that looks just like incandescent bulbs but light blue in color.. at least the two 100 watt one I have is that way...
Click to expand...
Do you have a source on this?

Hologens are incandescents.

3 way incandescents are still for sale. 100w tube lights are as well. I am still seeing those for about 3$ a bulb when purchased in a pack of 5 or so.
 
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dogdog

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aShop said:
Do you have a source on this?

Hologens are incandescents.

3 way incandescents are still for sale. 100w tube lights are as well. I am still seeing those for about 3$ a bulb when purchased in a pack of 5 or so.
Click to expand...

Source of the article, you can easily google. Source is the bulb, I got them from Lowe’s or HD probably still have them.

I believe the differences between the halogen and incandescent is the gas inside and makes it brighter, so it will cost 25% less energy to operate for the same light output. At least that is / was on the package prints.
 
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Blueshound_GJ

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Messages
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Alacrity said:
I had a stroke about 3 years ago. Since then, I can't stand AC LEDs. My brain picks up the 60Hrz flashing.
10 minutes I get nauseous, 20 minutes I get confused, 35 minutes I barely walk, 45 minutes I pass out.

Because I can't take LEDs I don't watch television and the new light ban caught me by surprise.
What the heck is their to do?

1) Buy the industrial grade lights
2) re-wire my home for DC current and run DC LEDs (Not even sure if this is possible)

Any advice?
Click to expand...
Welcome! As others have said, incandescents in the form of Halogen bulbs are the easiest fix. Plain appliance bulbs are also still available.
 
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aShop

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dogdog said:
If you truly have medical issues with the LEDs... go with whats suggested from post#2...

or try a High CRI output bulbs, does have to be certain brand..... but certain brand with better LED drivers will minimize the flashing I used the Feit bulbs from Costco, haven't give me any problems like cheaper CFL.

www.usa.lighting.philips.com

Quality Of Led Lighting | Philips lighting

Philips LEDs have a high Colour Rendering Index (CRI), meaning that these bulbs light up objects in their true and natural colour. The light output remains stable throughout the lifetime of the bulb.
www.usa.lighting.philips.com www.usa.lighting.philips.com
Click to expand...
These high cri bulbs still pale (literally) in comparison to a proper incandescent.
Most of these charts are not even putting 100 CRI on them. We are supposed to just accept the inferior color reproduction of LEDs. I don't think LEDs will ever hit 100 CRI. Many "high CRI" LEDs are lying about the real CRI. There is little profit to prove otherwise.


1691159461560.png

This is the best list I have been able to come up with. I have not seen anything about an additional ban in 2 years.

  1. Appliance lamps
  2. Black light lamps
  3. Bug lamps
  4. Colored lamps
  5. Infrared lamps
  6. Left-hand thread lamps
  7. Marine lamps
  8. Marine’s signal service lamps
  9. Mine service lamps
  10. Plant light lamps
  11. Reflector lamps
  12. Rough service lamps
  13. Shatter-resistant lamps (including shatter-proof and shatter-protected)
  14. Sign service lamps
  15. Silver bowl lamps
  16. Showcase lamps
  17. 3-way incandescent lamps
  18. Traffic signal lamps
  19. Vibration service lamps
  20. G-shape lamps with a diameter of 5” or more
  21. T-shape lamps that use no more than 40W or are longer than 10”
  22. B, BA, CA, F, G16-1/2, G-25, G-30, M-14, or S lamps of 40W or less
 
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A

Alacrity

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Blueshound_GJ said:
Welcome! As others have said, incandescents in the form of Halogen bulbs are the easiest fix. Plain appliance bulbs are also still available.
Click to expand...
rockettauto said:
Can't say I can substantiate the claim but for $13 I'd give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Ordered to try out.
.
I did see upstream that left handed thread are available.
It would be easier to swap out the sockets than convert my home to DC current. Also easier to sell the home as it wouldn't be so obvious. Might be funny to watch the new owner deal with left handed threads when they move in. Im pretty sure a home inspector wouldn't catch it :)
 
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cybrdyke

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All artificial light sources flicker to some degree. To be clear, 60 cycle flicker is VISIBLE, and almost everyone can see it. It sounds like what the OP is describing is NON-VISIBLE flicker, which is a real thing that can affect a small percentage of people. LED lights use electronic drivers that, for the vast majority, run the diodes at very high frequencies. The flicker is too fast for humans to actually see, but it can still affect certain folks.
If you SEE the flicker, then there's something mechanically wrong with the LED lamp, wiring or fixture. If you CANT see the flicker, but are still affected by it, then you can look around for specific brands that are better for you. You wont find the drive frequencies of LED lamps published anywhere, so your search will be mostly trial and error. You can search for "flicker free" lighting, that have reduced levels of flicker, but even those will still have some small amount. Also, for your TV, you can try OLED screens (same as your smart phone). That might help.
Good luck,
CD
 
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Alacrity

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cybrdyke said:
All artificial light sources flicker to some degree. To be clear, 60 cycle flicker is VISIBLE, and almost everyone can see it. It sounds like what the OP is describing is NON-VISIBLE flicker, which is a real thing that can affect a small percentage of people. LED lights use electronic drivers that, for the vast majority, run the diodes at very high frequencies. The flicker is too fast for humans to actually see, but it can still affect certain folks.
If you SEE the flicker, then there's something mechanically wrong with the LED lamp, wiring or fixture. If you CANT see the flicker, but are still affected by it, then you can look around for specific brands that are better for you. You wont find the drive frequencies of LED lamps published anywhere, so your search will be mostly trial and error. You can search for "flicker free" lighting, that have reduced levels of flicker, but even those will still have some small amount. Also, for your TV, you can try OLED screens (same as your smart phone). That might help.
Good luck,
CD
Click to expand...
Very good information.

I have purchased BenQ monitors that are flicker free and am using them at home.
For a TV I found an old 48" Plasma TV that I can view. OLEDs are the worst for some reason
I have trouble with flicker that can not be seen 60 times a second. The problem is that LED flash on an off as the current changes. If I use a DC voltage, there is no problem. Incandescent and Halogen heat a gas causing it to luminesce, so a 60th of a second isn't enough time for it to turn off.

It's also an all or nothing problem as sunglasses have no effect. I can survive about 50% longer when I use an eye patch over the right eye. But that can screw up depth perception.

Funny thing. Right after the stroke red lights would appear closer than green lights. Looking at a traffic signal I would see the three dimensional light with the red feet closer than the green and the yellow somewhere in the middle. That has resolved itself with eye exercises.

The problem with AC LEDs is that they are everywhere. Street lights use LEDs. Now all stores will be LEDs.

The hope is that LED lights will get better with time.
 
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MBfreak

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If you have an electronically minded friend, the LEDs can be supplied with filtered DC that will remove ALL flicker and RFI.
LEDs are basically a DC component.
Do like this
Feed from 120 V, high quality polymere capacitors ( likely 2-10 µF 250 V)in series that adjusts DC output voltage that supplies a full wave rectifier and a hefty electrolytic cap ( 200µF 400V) to filter the DC.
Will cost less than $ 25.
As a bonus, all RFI is removed.
I have three 25 W LED tubes over my workbench which sounded lika a local AM station on speed.
Modified, all well.

Ola
 
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Alacrity

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MBfreak said:
If you have an electronically minded friend, the LEDs can be supplied with filtered DC that will remove ALL flicker and RFI.
LEDs are basically a DC component.
Do like this
Feed from 120 V, high quality polymere capacitors ( likely 2-10 µF 250 V)in series that adjusts DC output voltage that supplies a full wave rectifier and a hefty electrolytic cap ( 200µF 400V) to filter the DC.
Will cost less than $ 25.
As a bonus, all RFI is removed.
I have three 25 W LED tubes over my workbench which sounded lika a local AM station on speed.
Modified, all well.

Ola
Click to expand...
This?

1691292303446.png
 
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Alacrity

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Zeke said:
You should wear a cap when in the store. Reflected light should not be bothersome. The last line items on the long list above may or may not have decorative lighting in all those codes. The point is you can buy incandescent decorative lamps (bulbs).
Click to expand...
I had the stroke 31 months ago and used to have blonde hair.
I've worn a baseball cap whenever I leave the house. Hair's not so blonde anymore
 
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cybrdyke

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You'll need to know the required drive current of the specific diodes or diode array so that you can provide them with the appropriate amount. This determines how bright they'll get and keep them within spec tolerance. This information should be on the label of the existing driver as "Iout" or something similar.
CD
 
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u2slow

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T8 electronic ballasts drive the fluorescent tubes at much higher frequency than 60Hz. Might be an idea.
 
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Alacrity

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no704 said:
Do polerised glasses have any effect?
Click to expand...
Nope.

Steelcase did manufacture a material that did not let LED pass through treated glass. It was for privacy so you could have open conference rooms but no one could see what was being presented. They patented it and are not interested in sharing. https://www.steelcase.com/products/casper-cloaking-technology/

There was a guy who put a page on Kickstarter and supposedly had a prototype. He took the $140,000 in kick starter funds and never delivered https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ivancash/irl-glasses-glasses-that-block-screens
 
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lund

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Frankly, I am a bit skeptical on the claim. I almost wonder if it is a joke or something the original poster assumes to be true due to whatever psychology. LEDs mostly emit narrow spectrum (one color) and use phosphors to manipulate the spectrum. They have become fairly good on adjusting this to get decent broad band white light distributions. The phosphors absorb and emit with characteristic time scales. This should strongly average on the 60 Hz oscillation period of the drive circuit (assuming it is not rectified, if so it is 120 hz, if filtered it can be DC). I really doubt there is any perceptible light modulation. 60 or 120 hz is also very fast to "see" in any usual sense.

If there really is a problem, just experiment with bulb type and rectifiers and you can eliminate any possibility. If you think it is still there ... well ... see the doctor with some other targeted questions. Good luck with your recovery.
 
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