I have wondered about these lights. Isn't the idea to provide the missing UV wavelengths that are filtered out by window glass? Do the light bulbs actually emit UV, like a tanning light? Do reptile lights emit UV or infrared, for heat? I can see how having proper light would help set a bird's internal clock, assuming they are like humans in that respect, but birds also see in ultraviolet. It seems like having a proper light that includes UV and IR parts of the spectrum would be helpful. Has anyone already done the research on what wavelengths are emitted by these lights?
It is important to understand where this 'Day Light' color came from, or better stated, what drove the need. When 'light bulbs' became common, manufacturers of color matched product stopped going outside during high noon to verify color matching. Well that quickly turned into a problem, because there was great variation between bulbs and of course later manufacturers. That first resulted in a standardization in light bulb color and from this came the yellow based standard.
To meet the needs of manufacturers that wanted to color match more than once a day. They developed a color with more blue tone, which they called 'Day Light' (High Noon, Day Light). This color met the needs of the manufacturers, but the low volume made them costly to manufacturer. So, like any group that had a new hammer, they went looking for other applications.
Well, home application was very slow to catch on because people had gotten use to the Yellow tone and switching to 'Day Light' changed the colors of the interior of the home that everyone had gotten use too. So, they looked at Office Applications (second largest use next to manufacturing) and with some 'crafty studies' found that productivity improved ('Kind Of').
Later, additional 'crafty studies' occurred with the presented position that the 'Day Light' bulbs where also creating UV. And yes, they do! But the amount and thereby the volume is very low. Too low to create truly measure-able results.
The IR is a reality, but is really little different then a standard light bulb.
The UV and IR generated by tanning beds is different in its intensity. Human, Animal, and Birds 'suffer' when exposed to that level of intensity, length of exposure being the primary factor.
Since the 'creative studies' claim that 'Day Light' bulbs add to the 'positive feeling' people have when exposed to them, the jump is that the same is true for everything. Now, this is true too some point as the lack of exposure to Natural Sun Light can result in Depression. And, the effect of simply being outside on a bright sunny day can help greatly. When this 'Day Light' lighting is added to the interior of a home, the same (or better stated like) 'feeling' occurs.
The whole story falls apart when they begin to include /claim chemical changes that promotes the ability of the body to covert and/or make specific chemicals. So yup, you and your full house hold will 'feel' better when using 'Day Light' spectrum bulbs!
Something to ponder: If ones home is keep at 'High Noon' level 'Day Light' levels, what happens when its time to sleep? We know that the natural transition of from 'High Noon' to Mid-Night allows the body to prepare for Sleep. So, we will see if there is a problem looming in the future.
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