• Lighting

  • Flicker Free LED Lightning it's the most important thing! Which one to buy?

Here's that expensive Yugi bulb (SunWave™ CRI 98 A19/A60 Flicker-Free Wellness Lighting 11W Dimmable LED Bulb 3000K - 2pcs). I got two supposedly-identical bulbs, but the waveform of the two bulbs is different.

Bulb #1:

I was pleasantly surprised with this bulb's waveform, given that the line is so thin (there isn't much noise) and smooth (there aren't any sudden changes in brightness).

Bulb #2:

I was disappointed with this bulb's waveform. It wasn't terrible, but certainly not as good as the other bulb and probably not worth $41.

Here's the flicker calculations for the first bulb. But note that you probably shouldn't judge this solely by the flicker percent because the waveform is so thin and smooth:

  • Using the formula I was using above, (max-min)/(max+min): 0.224%
  • Using a more useful formula, (max-min)/max: 0.448%

I bought a two-pack for $82 (so $41 each). On the one hand, that's pretty expensive. On the other hand, an incandescent bulb will cost about $20/year to operate if you're using it 40 hours/week, so this could make financial sense in some fixtures.

I'll try them both out over the next 30 days and let you know what I think.

    Here is the "CENTRIC HOME™ Flicker-Free A21 15W LED Bulb." This is on DC mode.

    If I slow down the X axis, you can see that it flickers at 35khz. That may be above my brain's ability to detect

    Not surprisingly, this frequency of flicker was undetectable by the Opple. I forgot to save a screen shot of the other screen, but Opple said the modulation percent was something like 0,35% (which is obviously not accurate).

    I may give this a shot for a couple hours for "fun", but I'll likely be returning this.

      charles8 through iPhone 240fps slow motion

      I've spent about half my posts in this thread disparaging the Opple Lightmaster, but honestly I'd recommend that you pick one up. The price seems to fluctuate quite a bit, but mine was about $40. I honestly think it's a great tool for the price; I'm simply trying to outline some of its limitations. My setup was $600 and Jenny's ("Flicker Sense") was $850 used; in this case you get what you pay for, but it makes sense to start small.

      Here's two places to start if you're looking for recommendations:

      https://optimizeyourbiology.com/light-bulb-database

      https://flickeralliance.org/collections/flicker-free-light-bulbs

        charles8 are Waveforms worth it?

        My initial thought is not worth it unless you've exhausted all other avenues.

          GregAtkinson On the other hand, an incandescent bulb will cost about $20/year to operate if you're using it 40 hours/week, so this could make financial sense in some fixtures.

          Lol, no it doesn't.. $20 is well worth not having to deal with the hassles you are all going through comparing and measuring stuff.

              Sunspark Lol, no it doesn't.. $20 is well worth not having to deal with the hassles you are all going through comparing and measuring stuff.

              Fair enough, though I have about 100 bulbs in my house, so it adds up. But, yeah, it's been a lot of work.

                FYI I'm nearing the end of my testing.
                Here's an Ikea Lummon 450lm globe light. Model number LED2119G3. It's ridiculously large (5" across). Flicker is fairly small:

                • Using the formula I was using above, (max-min)/(max+min): 0.406%
                • Using a more useful formula, (max-min)/max: 0.808%

                17 days later

                GregAtkinson I'm going to buy some from 2-3 different sellers on eBay; presumably their stock is older. I'll keep you posted on that.

                There are a few old, non-flickering ones on eBay. Here’s an eBay listing that has them for about $2 per bulb with shipping.
                https://www.ebay.com/itm/155900291630

                Here's a couple pictures showing the differences. the newer (bad) box is smaller; the older (good) box is larger.

                I bought about 150 bulbs from various sellers that will hopefully last until my kids put me in a nursing home. It’s a large box, but still a very poignant reminder of my limited time on earth.

                  GregAtkinson Here is the "CENTRIC HOME™ Flicker-Free A21 15W LED Bulb." This is on DC mode.

                  Finaly, all when we get not thin line wave-style, it mean it has extremly high-freq modulation which you can see limiting threshold window? Not in ms, but in ns?

                    9 months later

                    • Storme

                      • Post #84
                      • Edited

                      Many commercially available LED lights can still cause discomfort even at frequencies of 2-3kHz. Higher frequencies, such as 25kHz and above, can significantly reduce flicker-related issues. Some of Tridonic's LED drivers support high frequency PWM dimming, which can reach 30kHz or higher. ShineLong's high-end LED products, such as the Alpha series or the Rancher series, support strobo-free drivers and often prefer high-frequency dimming designs.

                        Storme can significantly

                        They key word is … can

                        Not sure, high freq PWM (30khz) lamps better, than low freq (100hz sine wave)

                          dev