Hi,

Well, looked around a bit to find an answer to my question, but people mainly ask this about TL lighting.

I recently obtained LED-strips which I intend to use to light out my display cupboards. The big advantage is they don't generate as much heat, they give a lot of light and the lighting is very uniform due to it being on a strip. I want to put the strips on a 45degrees thin piece of wood and put one in front of every shelve pointing up. This gives awesome lighting because usually you light from the top in the cupboard only and thus loose light every shelve you go down.

Then I started thinking, do LED lights also emit UV light like TL's ? And if so, is it potentially damaging for the plastics of my vintage collection ? Unfortunately I don't have a UV meter or something like it to test this.

Had anyone got any thoughts on this ? I know the general consensus is that incandescent bulbs are the best, but LED has so many advantages.

Cheers,
Shoenix

I had a similar concern, when i did a search on the net earlier in the year i found that LED lights don't emmit as much UV rays as halogen lights. You can get filters for the halogen lights, but LED should be fine realy unless your going to have them on 24/7?

Thanks for the reply. I could not find any real references (for collectors) and before I start investing in these strips and go through the effort I wanted to have some confirmation. So thanks again

And indeed I won't be lighting them 24/7, they will be kept in the dark most of the time anyways.

Cheers,
Shoenix

Hi there

I work with theater and therefore have an intrest in lightning .

I have not yet seen any damage done by LED lightning to any matretial . But some of the big LED lamps we use generate some heat. This is one of the resonsons that not all theater lamps are LED. Becouse heat means cooling , wich means fans that means noise.

The thing that you have to thing of when you buy LED is the color . A LOT of the LED shows colors very bad. I have never seen any LED that can give you the color that a normal lightbulp gives you. So be very picky when pick your LED.

I would say don't buy online , but take a cardback with you and go and see it IRL before you buy.

There is some LED that can give you almost the right color. They offen use the term RedGreenBlue. Wich is the main colors There is a nother one called RGBWhite wich they say can mix all collors. But what ever they say it is still not the same as a classic lightbulp. And if you have to mix your own collor scheme . Then you need some control box for it.

Another thing is that some LED's are very bright , so some kind off dimmer system might be and idea. Or you have to be abel to blind off the LED's so you don't get blindet by them . You can do this by making a border in your displays where the LED's are hitten behind.



You mention hallogen lights . I have worked with lightning on museums and in buildings on unesco's world heritage list. They vere VERY ANAL about NOT useing hallogen lights . Becouse it would destroy things.

So i would be carefuld with hallogen aswell


So LED must be the thing to get . But take the color thing serius mate.

Uh another thing . Many camera types have a hard time taking pictures in LED light. Video cams is hard hit hard hit by this . And we have big problems with some live shows . Where the camras are fuck up big time by the LED's

Uh and one last thing. I got this new E27 socket LED lamp as an test from a seller . I used it a day in a lamp on my work desk . The light was bright and good work light . But it smelled very bad of warm plastic . I got an head ache working besides it. And i never have head aches . So if something smells chemical . Don't buy it

I hope this helps you and don't just give you more ? mate.

Feel free to ask if there is any thing you think i can help you with.

Cheers

Soren