Just plain standard bulbs (remember this poll is only based on quality of light not energy efficiency)
CFLS (‘Warm white’ or ‘Soft white’) less than 3000K
CFLS (White’ or ‘Bright White’) 3500K
CFLS (‘Cool white’) 4000K
CFLS (‘Daylight’) 5000K
LEDs
Halogens
Flourescents
Other (post below)
Never thought about it
0voters
Hey just wondering here what you guys think about common light bulbs
Let’s say you are going to screw a bulb in or maybe you are actually designing a light. Set aside any bias towards energy saving, and just say what your favorite looking bulb or which bulb you think has the best light quality.
I changed it up here. All I really want to know is what you favorite type of light (as in wavelength/visual based). Also, I appreciate any comments in general. I am doing a Senior design project on lighting. In the research phase now…
“Sunlight” is a perfect resonse Just vote “other.” Question: what do you mean by “task lighting”? Do you have any specific or unique experiences with Halogens? Appreciate it!
Why are leds on a separate section? With the company I work for they do offer a range of different colour temperatures and offer significant quality improvements (i.e. removing 60hz flicker due to operating on DC)
I think it might be worth doing a new survey monkey form… and also include an option for “never thought about it” because I think you will be surprised how many people haven’t given it much thought… though I guess that falls into plain standard bulbs category maybe?
I work for the market leader in marine led lighting. They are also (under a little prompting) taking this to large scale architectural and interoir because of the cost savings our products give, and also the quality of the light they emit.
The only way you’re going to get good data is to set up an in-person test and provide each of the bulbs above as a sample.
I could imagine a test rig that includes table with relevant still life (like an office desk with a PC.) Above the table is a piece of plywood with a bunch of switched light sockets, each loaded with one of each bulb type. Turn on the bulbs one at a time, and give the participant a set of questions. Label the bulbs using numbers–don’t let them know what they’re seeing to avoid bias.
You have an excellent point; however, I am polling a specific group: designers; not the general public. I actually do plan on making a sample board though.
Is anyone aware or does anyone know about the 2012 100watt incandescent phase out by the way? Pretty soon we will be forced to use the new tech bulbs. Many countries have already begun, and there have been plenty of cases of panic buying of standards. As a designer you need to be aware of legislation that could kill a business or product. I am working on a light project, and most likely plan on going with that flow. I would like to make some fixture that either accurately emulates the ambiance created by the standard bulb using CFLS (most likely) or it will create some new (not nauseating) ambient lighting style.
I prefer halogens because of the warm lighting they give and partially because of the fixtures they’re often found in (spot lights). I like the look LEDs can give (airplane lighting and some nice industrial variants) and would use them more if they were readily availible/affordable in that form but all of the regular consumer products seem to be incredibly dim and always the cool white colour which I’m not a fan of.
I personally prefer sunlight and regular incandescent bulbs as far as the color temperature goes (this is very culturally biased).
In general, North American people prefer the warmer yellowish colors while European countries go for the bluer/whiter florescent based colors. The reason being is that these are the color temperatures we grew up with. Europe has more stringent energy codes than the US that prohibits the use of incandescent bulbs which led them to associate with the bluer color temperatures.
The color temperature associations for future generations are most likely going to be changing with the emerging energy codes.
At my university we had a lighting lab that allowed us to view the whole range of different color temperatures. It was a state of the art facility that was finished in the last two years. By having the wide range of lighting options we were able to compare how the lighting affected the rendition of colors in various architectural materials and finishes. It is really amazing how different something can look just depending on the color temperature of the bulb.
If you want, you should check out my lighting project I did my senior year. The PDF at the end of the album contains the full presentation boards.
You should contact my old professor for an interview. He is a very helpful and caring professor that can talk your ear off about lighting. He’s a great guy. I’m sure he would be able to help you out. You can find his contact info in the link below.
Leds being cool is a misconception, its down to the designers preference for colour temperature, for my company (http://www.oceanled.com) we have a range of colours, and tbfh photos dont do them justice.
Just vote “other.” Question: what do you mean by “task lighting”? Do you have any specific or unique experiences with Halogens? Appreciate it!