How does sad lamp work

Treatment - Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

A number of treatments are available for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), antidepressants and light therapy.

A GP will recommend the most suitable treatment option for you, based on the nature and severity of your symptoms. This may involve using a combination of treatments to get the best results.

NICE recommendations

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that SAD should be treated in the same way as other types of depression.

This includes using talking treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or medicine such as antidepressants.

Light therapy is also a popular treatment for SAD, although NICE says it's not clear whether it's effective.

See the NICE guidance, depression in adults: treatment and management.

Things you can try yourself

There are a number of things you can do to help improve your symptoms:

try to get as much natural sunlight as possible – even a brief lunchtime walk can be beneficial
make your work and home environments as light and airy as possible
sit near windows when you're indoors
take plenty of regular exercise, particularly outdoors and in daylight – read more about exercise for depression
eat a healthy, balanced diet
if possible, avoid stressful situations and take steps to manage stress

It can also be helpful to talk to your family and friends about SAD, so they understand how your mood changes during the winter. This can help them to support you more effectively.

Psychosocial treatments

Psychosocial treatments focus on both psychological aspects (how your brain functions) and social aspects (how you interact with others).

Cognitive behavioural therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is based on the idea that the way we think and behave affects the way we feel. Changing the way you think about situations and what you do about them can help you feel better.

If you have CBT, you'll have a number of sessions with a specially trained therapist, usually over several weeks or months. Your programme could be:

an individual programme of self-help
a programme designed for you and your partner (if your depression is affecting your relationship)
a group programme that you complete with other people in a similar situation
a computer-based CBT programme tailored to your needs and supported by a trained therapist

Counselling and psychodynamic psychotherapy

Counselling is another type of talking therapy that involves talking to a trained counsellor about your worries and problems.

During psychodynamic psychotherapy you discuss how you feel about yourself and others and talk about experiences in your past. The aim of the sessions is to find out whether anything in your past is affecting how you feel today.

It's not clear exactly how effective these 2 therapies are in treating depression.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are often prescribed to treat depression and are also sometimes used to treat severe cases of SAD, although the evidence to suggest they're effective in treating SAD is limited.

Antidepressants are thought to be most effective if taken at the start of winter before symptoms appear, and continued until spring.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the preferred type of antidepressant for treating SAD. They increase the level of the hormone serotonin in your brain, which can help lift your mood.

If you're prescribed antidepressants, you should be aware that:

it can take up to 4 to 6 weeks for the medicine to take full effect
you should take the medicine as prescribed and continue taking it until advised to gradually stop by your doctor
some antidepressants have side effects and may interact with other types of medicine you're taking

Common side effects of SSRIs include feeling agitated, shaky or anxious, an upset stomach and diarrhoea or constipation. These symptoms should improve after a few weeks. Check the information leaflet that comes with your medicine for a full list of possible side effects.

Light therapy

Some people with SAD find that light therapy can help improve their mood considerably. This involves sitting by a special lamp called a light box, usually for around 30 minutes to an hour each morning.

Light boxes come in a variety of designs, including desk lamps and wall-mounted fixtures. They produce a very bright light. The intensity of the light is measured in lux – the higher lux, the brighter the light.

The light produced by the light box simulates the sunlight that's missing during the darker winter months.

It's thought the light may improve SAD by encouraging your brain to reduce the production of melatonin (a hormone that makes you sleepy) and increase the production of serotonin (a hormone that affects your mood).

Sunrise alarm clocks, which gradually light up your bedroom as you wake up, may also be useful for some people.

Who can use light therapy?

Most people can use light therapy safely. The recommended light boxes have filters that remove harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, so there's no risk of skin or eye damage for most people.

However, exposure to very bright light may not be suitable if you:

have an eye condition or eye damage that makes your eyes particularly sensitive to light
are taking medication that increases your sensitivity to light, such as certain antibiotics and antipsychotics, or the herbal supplement St John's Wort

Speak to a GP if you're unsure about the suitability of a particular product.

Trying light therapy

Light boxes are not usually available on the NHS, so you'll need to buy one yourself if you want to try light therapy.

Before using a light box, you should check the manufacturer's information and instructions regarding:

whether the product is suitable for treating SAD
the light intensity you should be using
the recommended length of time you need to use the light

Make sure that you choose a light box that is medically approved for the treatment of SAD and produced by a fully certified manufacturer.

Does light therapy work?

There's mixed evidence regarding the overall effectiveness of light therapy, but some studies have concluded it's effective, particularly if used first thing in the morning.

It's thought that light therapy is best for producing short-term results. This means it may help relieve your symptoms when they occur, but you might still be affected by SAD next winter.

When light therapy has been found to help, most people noticed an improvement in their symptoms within a week or so.

Side effects of light therapy

It's rare for people using light therapy to have side effects. However, some people may experience:

agitation or irritability
headaches or eye strain
sleeping problems (avoiding light therapy during the evening may help prevent this)
tiredness
changes to your sight, including blurred vision

These side effects are usually mild and short-lived, but you should visit a GP if you experience any particularly troublesome side effects while using light therapy.

How Light Therapy Lamps Actually Work

Bright light therapy—also known as phototherapy—is safely used to treat a number of illnesses, but the most common use is for a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

People who have SAD experience symptoms of depression during certain times of the year, especially fall and winter when there are fewer daylight hours.

“Light therapy is not a cure, but it has been shown to help reduce symptoms that come with depression such as lack of energy, trouble sleeping, anxiety, as well as feelings of sadness, hopelessness and irritability,” says Eric C. Alcera, M.D., a behavioral health specialist at Hackensack Meridian Health.

How Sunlight Affects the Brain

People with SAD may want to sleep more and be less active. Scientists believe that it’s because of how sunlight affects the brain. “Light may stimulate the parts of the brain that control mood, appetite and sleep, which can contribute to how a person feels,” says Dr. Alcera. “When there is less sunlight, some people may not produce enough melatonin, a hormone in the brain that is involved with sleep, or serotonin, another hormone that manages mood, appetite and sleep.”

Researchers also suspect that a person’s circadian rhythm is thrown off when there is a lack of sunlight. “The brain has a biological clock known as circadian rhythm, typically a 24-hour period, that regulates the body’s functions,” says Dr. Alcera. “Therefore, during times of the year when there is less sunlight, some people get depressed.”

How Light Therapy Lamps Work

During light therapy, a person sits in front of a lamp and is exposed to very bright white light for a certain period of time. The light may be set to a lower lux level, which is how illuminance is measured, then the lux level gradually increases. Depending on the individual, treatment might last 20 minutes up to three hours, and a person might have light therapy once or more per day for consecutive days until symptoms improve. Your doctor can provide guidance on how long you should use light therapy.

It usually takes a few days for symptoms to improve, but it could take a couple of weeks. Once your symptoms improve, you can stop or reduce light therapy. “It’s important to keep track of how you are feeling and how long you use light therapy each day, and communicate with your doctor so that treatment can be adjusted as needed,” says Dr. Alcera.

If you experience any bothersome side effects such as headaches, eyestrain, nausea or agitation, adjust your treatment by spending less time exposed to light, and be sure to ask your doctor for advice.

Where to Get a Light Therapy Lamp

Anyone can buy a light therapy lamp or box online or at a home goods store. Medical device companies also sell them. They cost anywhere from $20–$500. Talk with your doctor about which light therapy device is right for you.

“If symptoms of depression, decreased energy and poor sleep persist despite using light therapy, reach out to your physician or a mental health expert to determine if additional interventions may be necessary," Dr. Alcera says.

Next Steps & Resources:

Learn about behavioral health services at Hackensack Meridian Health
Meet our source: Eric C. Alcera, M.D.
To make an appointment with Dr. Alcera or a doctor near you, call 800-822-8905 or visit our website.

The material provided through HealthU is intended to be used as general information only and should not replace the advice of your physician. Always consult your physician for individual care.

Filament lamps. Working principle, features, advantages and disadvantages

What is a filament lamp and why is it better? How is it different from incandescent and LED lamps? In this article you will find answers to these questions. We will talk in detail about the principle of operation, features, advantages and disadvantages of filament lamps.

Filament lamps: what is it?

What is a filament lamp? This is a special type of LED lamp, which looks very much like an incandescent lamp (LN). It has the same transparent glass bulb, but inside there is not a tungsten filament, but LEDs of a special design that look like filaments. Hence the name of this type of lamp - "filament", which is translated from English as "thread".

Catalogue: Filament lamps

In the off state, the filament lamp is easy to distinguish from the LN by the shape and characteristic yellow color of the LED filaments, but when the power is on, the differences are not so obvious. Despite the great external similarity, the parameters of the filament lamp are much better than incandescent lamps and more efficient than conventional LED lamps.

Filament lamp construction

Filament lamps are designed using tried and tested incandescent lamp elements combined with modern LED technology. The main parts of a filament lamp are shown in the figure below.

Filament lamp construction

Bulb

The sealed transparent glass bulb is available in various shapes. In decorative series of lamps, glass with a special coating can be used to create a softer and warmer glow shade. The bulb is filled with an inert gas, usually helium, which quickly transfers the heat generated by the LEDs to the walls of the bulb. Heat is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the flask and dissipated into the environment. Since the area of the bulb is many times larger than the area of the LED filaments, it does not heat up above 50-60°C.

LED filament

The filament is produced using the Chip-on-Glass (COG) technology used in the manufacture of displays for mobile devices. It is a sapphire glass substrate on which LED crystals are arranged in a chain. Thanks to the transparent substrate, the light from the LEDs spreads in all directions. At the ends of the substrate, contacts are fixed for supplying power and fixing the filament in the lamp. Outside, the thread is coated with a special substance - a phosphor, which sets the required glow color (color temperature) of the thread. For decorative series of lamps, threads of various shapes are made, for example, in the form of arcs or spirals.

Glass leg

This important structural element supports the filaments. Also in the leg are laid conductors through which power is supplied to the LEDs.

Base

Used to fix the lamp in the socket and supply power to it. The most common types of socles are E27 and E14. The base of a filament lamp is the only place where an LED power driver can be placed.

Driver

LED lamp driver is a special electronic circuit assembled on a printed circuit board. The main function of the driver is to ensure the correct operation of the LEDs when external factors change, such as supply voltage and ambient temperature. Modern LED driver circuits are capable of operating in a very wide range of mains voltages, have various types of protection and high efficiency, guarantee the absence of flicker and light pulsations. As a rule, the basis of the driver circuit is a specialized microcircuit that provides its high performance.

Interesting to know. The color temperature of a filament lamp can be approximated by the color shade of the filaments. If the filaments have a lemon tint, then such a lamp will create daylight (white) light, and a lamp with saturated yellow or orange filaments will produce warmer (yellow) light. The shape, length and number of filaments affects the quality of illumination. The more chains and the longer they are, the more LEDs can be placed on them and the brighter the lamp will be. The uniformity of illumination also depends on the location of the threads.

The quality of the phosphor directly affects the quality of the light. Manufacturers of inexpensive brands can save on phosphor. A cheap phosphor quickly loses its properties during operation (degrades), which negatively affects the quality of light - a blue tint that is unpleasant and harmful to the eyes appears. For this reason, you need to choose the right lamp manufacturer.

Features and benefits of filament lamps

Filament lamps have a number of advantages not only over LN, but also over conventional LED lamps:

Due to the fact that the entire surface of the lamp is a transparent bulb, and also due to the special design of the filament thread, the lamp provides a very wide angle of light scattering - almost 360 degrees. It is able to evenly illuminate the surrounding space, which is difficult to achieve in conventional LED lamps;
In conventional LED lamps, bulbs (optical systems) made of special translucent materials that absorb part of the light are used to increase the scattering angle. The bulb of the filament lamp is completely transparent, which leads to an increase in the energy efficiency of the lamp;
During operation, LEDs can heat up to high temperatures, and it is the temperature that is an obstacle to a further increase in their light output. The design features of the filament thread contribute to uniform heat distribution between all LED crystals and efficient heat removal from the entire surface of the thread. At the same time, due to the gas filling the flask, heat is quickly transferred to its walls and dissipated into the environment, and due to the large surface area, the flask does not heat up to a high temperature. Efficient heat dissipation from the LEDs allows you to supply more power to them without the risk of failure, which also improves the energy efficiency of the lamp and increases its service life.

Thus, the main advantage of filament lamps is their high efficiency, but their advantages do not end there. These light sources are equally well suited for lighting houses, shops, cafes, educational and public institutions. Due to the wide angle of light scattering, filament lamps can be used for general and local lighting of interiors. The filament goes well with crystal lamps and chandeliers, open and transparent shades, lantern-shaped sconces and other models in classic and antique styles. The glass bulb does not heat up to high temperatures, so filament lamps can be installed near stretch or plasterboard ceilings and other surfaces that do not allow strong heat.

Comparison of lamp types

	INCANDED LAMP (LN)	COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMP	CONVENTIONAL LED LAMP	FILAMENT LAMP
Light	eye-friendly; illumination angle – 360°	uncomfortable for the eyes; illumination angle – 360°	less comfortable for the eyes; illumination angle – 180…270°	comfortable for the eyes; illumination angle – 360°
Health	safe - mercury free	not safe - contains mercury	safe - mercury free	safe - mercury free
Cost	low	medium	above average	high but fast payback
Electricity	high power consumption	is 5 times smaller than LN	is 7 times smaller than LN	is 10 times smaller than LN
Service life	short life (1000 hours)	average life	long service life	long service life

Decorative models with a transparent glass flask are suitable for decorating the halls of coffee houses, bars and restaurants

Filament lamp - an excellent choice for the crystal chandelier

.

There are several types of filament lamps for different applications. Depending on this, the appearance of the lamp and the design of its filaments look different. A straight filament is used for the brightest illumination of a house, office or street. Spiral filament is used in decorative lamps to create a soft light, cozy and subdued atmosphere in bedrooms, cafes, bars and restaurants. A special coating inside the bulb makes the filament bulb unique and its glow special.

The use of filament lamps for decorative purposes allows you to create a unique interior

The shape, size and appearance of filament lamps are so diverse that they can satisfy almost any need and choose the best option.

Models with a transparent bulb look stylish not only in classic or vintage, but also in modern interiors

Candle-shaped filament lamps with warm light will create a cozy living room

To be sure that you are buying quality and durable filament lamps that give you comfortable light, visit the Maxus store!

We offer models that have been tested and approved by ophthalmologists as safe for the eyes. Our filament lamps have a service life of up to 30,000 hours and are perfectly adapted to our power grids. We are confident in the quality of our products and provide a three-year warranty for MAXUS filament lamps!

Buy lamps in the Maxus brand store, because we have:

friendly consultants work who will answer any questions and help you choose the right model;
there is a free lighting calculation service;
conditions for convenient purchases are created: delivery throughout Ukraine and various payment methods.

To buy lamps and fixtures at competitive prices, follow our blog, subscribe to the FB page and participate in promotions and great offers!

Choose quality and modern light with MAXUS!

Electrical repair books and LED light bulbs: nabbla1 — LiveJournal

All sorts of broken things accumulated here, they were sorted out slowly: TWO electronic books, one LED desk lamp, a GX53 base lamp and a dozen LED lamps in E27 and GU10 bases.

The last torturing the business is terribly ungrateful, there is rather an interest in "how it is made" and did it have a chance to work for any long time? And sometimes I want to play detective, figure out "how exactly it failed."

At the end of the ZetScope USB oscilloscope giblets (it is working, it was just interesting to understand what is SO HEATING there ??) and bonus Marta.

Let's start with the first e-book. It was said: it is still working on its last legs, but the USB socket has "failed" somewhere, so now new books cannot be loaded there or charged.

Fortunately, the soldering of the socket and the board itself in this place were in perfect order:

It's just that the body of the socket (piece of iron running along the perimeter) split into two parts.

I unscrew the board to get to the opposite side:

with large tweezers I return the "locks" to their place

Yeah, while I was filming the board, I had to disconnect the battery, he forgot the date. But the charging stuck normally, and the charge was displayed on the screen.

Why is he so happy about the "unknown device"?

But the book itself showed a USB connection

From the third time it was determined normally:

It will still work ... shows signs of life.

I don't know what happened to her. It seemed that the battery cover (measured the voltage at the input to the board - it was zero). I wanted to try to charge it separately, but it turned out to be normal 3.9volt. I cleaned the contacts on the board - it also turned out 3.9. It also seemed that the power button was sunk, but I checked it with a tester - it works. Somehow it’s not very intuitive, you don’t feel a “click”, it’s not “tactile” at all (something that was somehow translated into Russian as “clocked”). But it works.

In general, it can really turn off and turn on only (by pulling out the battery).

The design is surprisingly tricky: the battery is in a separate compartment, you can access it from the back wall, if you unscrew the screw there and open the lid! They stopped doing this for a long time . ..

Detected as a removable disk in the computer, not bad.

Yes, he's fussing, he even set the time.

Now for the GX53 bulb. The form factor is not bad, it allows, if desired, to make a decent heat dissipation. I have a couple of very well made lamps with a massive heatsink, but of course they don't break.

This is a Camelion in a plastic case, inside there is just an aluminum board with 16 LEDs (each actually has 3 crystals in series).

This bastard got into the habit of burning out exactly when the light is turned on! Once there a pair of LEDs flew out - I "shorted" them. And then again.

I began to think: how does this happen? I redrawn the circuit:

There is no active LED driver here, instead of it there is a usual voltage suppressor on the capacitor. To dampen the inrush current, there is a 10 Ohm resistor, and on the board it is even indicated as a fuse. Perhaps he is specifically EXPLOSIVE. Initially, there was no thermal paste here, I smeared it after the previous repair, hoping that it would live longer.

Let's figure out what the starting current can be if we are lucky enough to hit the peak of the mains voltage, 320 volts. First, for the case that it is loaded on 16 LEDs, about 10 volts fall on each, i.e. a total of 160 volts. It turns out: starting current 16 amps ! Of course, he will burn everything nafig!

I thought a little more: in fact, at the initial moment there is a capacitive divider: 1.2 uF and 10 uF. When there is a “step” at the input from 0 volts to 320, then after a short transient caused by a 10 ohm resistor, the second will have a voltage of 35 volts. That is, the LEDs will not even think about opening, and the capacitor will take over the entire starting current.

Then everything seems to be not bad ... But look at the "photo to attract attention", where I measured the ESR of a 10 uF capacitor. It turned out to be 20 ohms (!) As usual: it rested against a heavily heated aluminum board, and he got sick ...

Now it turns out: if we were lucky to close the circuit at the peak of the mains voltage, a voltage divider appears, 10 ohms (resistor) - 20 Ohm (internal resistance of the capacitor), and there are 217 volts at the capacitor terminals! This is if you do not take into account the presence of LEDs - they will open much earlier and will let through the lion's share of the inrush current!

So it's no wonder they burn out when turned on.

In general, I shorted out the next dead men, and instead of 10 ohms, I soldered a 2-watt 100 ohm resistor. So at the start of the capacitor, only 54 volts will appear at the terminals of the capacitor, and nothing else will burn out, unless the capacitor dies completely. The resistor will not get very hot, because the rated current is about 40 mA, 160 mW is obtained. And 2-watt, so that the starting current does not break it.

For emergency lighting in the corridor will do :)

Next in line is one of the most powerful LED bulbs in the E27 case that I have seen. But the case is plastic...

After picking out the plastic, a cast aluminum radiator is found below:

But under it, through a rubber-like compound - plastic again! (while the topmost layer was picking off, I hit my finger with a screwdriver)

And inside is this crap:

Again this compound, heat-conducting. Let's try to pick it out...

Well, of course, they saved money on the input filter, it couldn't be otherwise!

Step-down converter without electrical isolation. The key is opened (as part of a microcircuit), current begins to flow through the inductor and LEDs. The current has reached the desired value - the key closes, and the throttle continues to "by inertia" supply this current, closing the circuit through the diode. But it seems that the microchip came kranty. When I tried to turn on this bulb, it burned very dimly.

A very strange scheme: every 3 LEDs are plugged in parallel, but inside each there are 3 crystals in series. The result is a drop of 60 volts in total. What prevented them from connecting them all in series - 180 volts would come out, then the requirements for the inductor and the key are minimal, all these Step-down converters are especially effective when you need to lower it quite a bit. And when you need to lower it by 5 times, while raising the current by 5 times, this is already more serious: the throttle is hefty, and the key is powerful, and the heating of the key is not sickly, it burns out easily ...

I dismantled a couple of them, but the second one, when disassembling, while picking out the compound, the throttle fell out with it, already falling apart. In general, there, it seems, the LEDs themselves are working, but the circuits burned out. It's not very clear what to do with them...

Table lamp board, already repaired:

It started with the fact that there was a complete short circuit at the entrance. According to the scheme, 12 volts immediately went to the LED driver, and also branched off to the 78L05 stabilizer (5 volts, low power), to which the microcontroller was connected, the task of which is to "feel" the touch to the sensor, and give the appropriate PWM signal to the driver. For the elimination method, I cut the path leading to 78L05: the circuit was gone, but the LEDs did not light up. Then I also cut the driver control track - and it turned on at full power!

Already normal: just instead of a sensor, you will need to stick a wire. But I have a new toy, a hair dryer, I want to figure out what is short there? To be honest, I sinned on 78L05, it was too small, 7 volts falls on it, being converted into heat, it probably overheated and shorted out.

No, the whole thing turned out to be in the capacitor, which was at the input of 78L05: shorted nafig ...

When I returned 78L05 to its place, the lamp returned to full functionality. In a good way, it would be necessary to solder a new capacitor, maybe I'll solder it again.

It is possible that the fuses to this capacitor came due to an excess of input voltage, because the 12 volt adapter was also burned out. Let's take a look at it.

For once, I didn’t hammer it with the help of a “hammer and some kind of mother” (or rather with a screwdriver, trying to open the seam along which the two halves are glued together), but simply clamped one part in a vice, walked the hair dryer along perimeter - they themselves dispersed. The temperature was successively increased, it worked at 300 °C.

I was hoping to see a swollen capacitor there, replace it, and everything would work. No, this time it's not fate:

The leg of the microcircuit was urgently ejected, the resistor burned out, the track evaporated. I have no idea what chip it is. What was the value of the resistor - too. Well, what the heck, he burned out so burned out ... But who knows, maybe with his last impulse he finished off that ceramic capacitor? Although it is unlikely that this is a flyback converter, there the pulse does not go directly to the output ... Maybe, by the way, on the contrary, that capacitor broke through, and this block eventually burned out in the short-circuit mode. Although, according to the logic of things, short circuit is almost the easiest mode for him, but if he is well controlled, who will take them apart ...

Let's take a look at the ZetScope. It requires a separate 5-volt, 1 amp power supply, and after half an hour of operation, the case becomes really hot.

Not bad: there seems to be galvanic isolation at 5 volts! From the input 5 volts, the module makes ± 5 volts, decoupled from the input (with a potential of up to 1000 V), this is very useful for an oscilloscope! And then they like to ground the minus of the probe downright, you poke into something sitting under 220 volts - and you can arrange a good broads. But this module is heated very brutally, red-hot!

CPLD board for 240 logic elements. Although, if I'm not mistaken, although this is MAX, in its structure it is already more like an FPGA. And it also heats up.

Pretty brutal signal processor, and hot too:

M/s USB controller.

256 MB SDRAM

Analog part (two identical channels)

Operatives, including a special "ADC driver" AD8138

"Video signal switches" MAX4565 in one package Apparently, to select the measurement range.

But I overlooked the ADCs themselves somewhere. Perhaps there is something on the bottom side of the board. Or didn't see them.

I must say, this oscilloscope turned out to be much more "fancy" than it seemed to me. At first, I somehow thought that there was one microcontroller standing there and digitizing something like that, as it would. In general, it works fine, while I have one complaint: two channels synchronize very strangely with each other, in short periods of time one can run ahead.

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