**Hi guys! My name’s Derek and I’m a light bulb addict. *looks around the room nervously*** I’ve spent the last few months putting together a large database of light bulbs (93 as of this moment), basically any of them I could find. I’ve lurked here for a while so I’m excited to share this! Hopefully, some of you find it useful. ![](https://budgetlightforum.com/uploads/default/original/2X/0/08d4c7596d24aa68951b5ef191dde4edcfc2e519.jpeg) As many of you are aware, the lighting industry is currently doing whatever they want with regard to flicker, and worst of all, they can say what they like and we just have to take their word for it. Even companies like Waveform which perform well with flicker, don't release the actual data on their lights. With this database, I hope to give you and everyone else, access to the information that these companies don’t seem to want to give us. This includes the **flicker index, depth,** and **waveform**, as well as the light spectrum itself and a few other metrics. One interesting thing I discovered is that incandescent/halogen lights ***completely*** stop flickering after the 72w mark! Very cool. I thought they all flickered, but apparently not. There are of course lights that I have not yet tested, such as Yuji’s MaxCRI and Sunwave lineup. They're just so damn expensive… (Yuji if you’re watching send me samples I won’t be mad) As well as random GE and Phillips bulbs and many other smaller brands. Hopefully, over time the database will just get larger and larger and maybe we can convince these companies to take their lighting more seriously once their dirty laundry is aired for everyone to see. Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments are welcome! Enjoy! 💡 [Explore the Light Bulb Database](https://optimizeyourbiology.com/light-bulb-database) 💡

Nice work, did you measure all these numbers yourself like flicker wave, spectrum, etc. or did you use datasheets?

I really like how you can quickly gather the information from the table format. If you measured these all by yourself, which device did you use to do so? From the supplied charts, I assume it's the Opple Light Master 3, since another member here has made [a similar website using that device](https://flickeralliance.org/) pretty recently.

@"Sunspark"#p27651 I took all of these measurements personally!

@"seeker_of_no_light"#p27655 Oh very cool I wasn’t aware of that site! Yes that’s what we’re using, nifty little tool for the price!

This is amazing! I sent a small donation in appreciation for the value of this! I dream to find something like this for LED lights used as backlights.

@"Gemsand"#p27682 Oh that was you! Thank you very much for that 😃 By backlight what do you mean?

Thank you @"itchaboyagain"#948 for this. I sent a small donation a few weeks ago for this awesome resource. I appreciate testing halogen / incandescent lights as a comparison too, but the results were not what I expected. Some of the halogens like the GE 29W Halogen shows 10% flicker at 120Hz which I expect (60 * 2 = 120Hz, for USA electric): [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/N7z17um.png] However, the GE 72W Halogen shows a much higher flicker rate of 10,000Hz and 0.2% flicker: [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/pnydipg.png] I wonder if anyone here knows how to explain this? Why one halogen has 120Hz flicker and another 10,000Hz Flicker?

This database is so cool! I *think* I'm extremely sensitive to small amounts of rapid flicker (I *think* flicker as low as 1% can affect me if there are abrupt changes in brightness). Though I'm not 100% sure about that. I didn't want to shell out $64 for a two-pack of Yuji bulbs (but if they eliminate my headaches then it would be totally worth it). So I bought the Philips Ultra Definition, 2700K, 1100 lumens 11w bulb. I don't have the Opple LightMaster, but here's the screen shot from @"itchaboyagain"#948's site. ![Image with no description](https://optimizeyourbiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/phillips-ud-a21-11w-frosted-waveform.webp) Here's a screen shot from my setup (photodetector + oscilloscope) on DC mode. It shows pretty much the same thing. Mostly flat with dips at 120hz. [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/UuFcCpf.png] However, on AC mode you can really see how much it flickers. Its range is 25 mv (goes up to almost 10 mv and down to a bit more than -15 mv). [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/CvyubSh.png] So the flicker percentage is about 4% (since on DC mode you can see that it's generating a bit more than 600 mv). And the drops are pretty sharp/jagged, indicating abrupt changes in light output. It seems like the main drawback of the Opple LightMaster is that it doesn't have the AC mode (or at least I'm not aware that it does), so you can't zoom in. Here's the bulbs that I use around my house. They are the [Maxlite 60 w dimmable 2700k A19](https://www.amazon.com/MaxLite-Enclosed-Fixture-Equivalent-Dimmable/dp/B0858BKQRC/ref=sr_1_4) [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/4XKEgSk.png] As a side note, here's a typical incandescent bulb that flickers about 10% but has very gradual changes in brightness. [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/MHmufhK.png]

> @"GregAtkinson"#p32436 So the flicker percentage is about 4% (since on DC mode you can see that it's generating a bit more than 600 mv) What formula are you using to calculate flicker percentage exactly?

> @"JTL"#p32806 What formula are you using to calculate flicker percentage exactly? Unfortunately I've been inconsistent in my posts. A few weeks ago (including the post above) I was using (range)/(max) which is equivalent to (max-min)/(max). Over the past week or so I've been using (max-min)/(max+min), which seems to be more commonly-used.

I just finished testing over 90 different light bulbs...

Sunspark

Berezny Your discovery about incandescent/halogen bulbs after the 72W mark no longer flickering is a fascinating tidbit.

I have a question mark about this one.. what happens with 130v bulbs on a 120v circuit? They still consume the same power in watts, but the lumen output is reduced by about 25% due to the voltage difference so a 100w 130v bulb puts out roughly the same amount of brightness as a 75w bulb and I guess a 60w 130v bulb would appear like a 40w 120v bulb. So does the 100w bulb flicker or not when the voltage is different? Looking into it further, maybe I was mistaken about the wattage staying the same.. I read that it also goes down to about 85w but this would need to be tested with an actual meter to measure how much power is consumed at the plug before and after.

moonpie

Only buy bulbs that can be sold in CA. Title 20 and Title 24 apply regulating flicker, CRI, life, etc. "CEC Compliant"
Smooth, low amplitude sine waves are perfectly fine. $18/bulb? Get out of here.
Don't buy the cheapest.
Don't buy the bulbs with the shortest life = more heat, worse components. If under 10 years, don't buy it.
Look at house brands of stores to save money.

I use Walmart Great Value 18 year bulbs which produce a sine wave. Did not test GV 9 year bulbs. Home Depot has Ecosmart bulbs but did not test. For those in Europe, I think Ikea has LED bulbs that were tested to be good.

moonpie

Here is a site that tested Great Value 18 year and 9 year bulbs:
https://ledflicker.wordpress.com/

plunki

Great database thanks! Could you add the GE Relax/Reveal/Refresh series of high CRI LED bulbs?

A bigger problem than flicker/CRI/etc is longevity sadly. These GE bulbs claim 13 year life on the box - lots of mine are failing at ~9months. GE has already sent me coupons for some replacements, but it is getting a bit silly.

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