LED panels can lead to ill health – Fastighetstidningen

Researcher Helvi Hemphala warns that regular LED panels, which have become more widespread in recent years, can cause headaches and serious vision problems.

Helvi Heimvala, optometrist and university lecturer in synergistics at Lund University of Technology, is currently running a project in collaboration with the Ergonomics Agency and the University of Gävle, funded by AFA Försäkring, in which they have developed a new method for synergistic risk assessment. The goal is to find factors that cause headaches, eye problems, and musculoskeletal problems. Poor synergy is increasingly becoming a problem, often without those affected understanding the reason behind it.

She will be lecturing about this to optometrists at the Synologen Academy Weekend this weekend. The real estate newspaper took the opportunity to ask what a property owner should think about when designing his office.

Hillevi Hemphälä confirms that the problem is not the LED as the light source.

– LED panels are not good because of glare. The ceiling becomes too dark for the fixtures, so the luminance becomes high and causes glare.

Some light sources emit a pulsating light, especially when dim. Something that cannot be seen with the naked eye, but the retina sends signals to the brain, which has to filter them, which can lead to headaches.

Glare and flicker are two of the biggest lighting problems we face in our workplaces. Dim or faulty lights and screens can lead to fatigue and difficulty concentrating. Common side effects are eye fatigue, light sensitivity and diplopia, i.e. double vision, says Helvi Hemphala.

According to Hillevi Hemphälä, LED panels are the worst lighting solutions for the eyes. It’s dazzling and creates contrast that makes it difficult to focus. But even some Christmas lights can cause problems due to flickering.

But Helvi Hemphala believes that with a little thought, it’s easy to avoid. Fixture selection is important.

– When you have LED pendant lights that provide indirect light on the ceiling and downlight on the work surface, glare is significantly reduced and you will also get a brighter ceiling, says Hillevi Hemphälä.

She recommends the “lid test.” No cover is needed here, but shading the eyes with screen-style hands is sufficient. If it feels nicer with the “hood” on, there is a problem with the blinding light and needs to be fixed.

Another trick is to detect flash using your mobile phone camera. Point it at it and see if any black lines appear on the image. The stronger the line, the greater the flash.

Also keep in mind that with black or white tables, the contrasts become very large. Hillevi Hemphälä prefer light, natural colors.