HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

I've had more success with the LED filament style than the bulbs with the high current converter embedded in the base. The filament versions do have a simple bridge-diode-rectifier + cap. So the flicker should be twice the line frequency ~120Hz in US.

see this for teardown... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NffhdAz9pc4

I think the high-current, low-LED count bulbs have more thermal issues and problems with dimmers than filament LED bulbs.

Ultimately, however, I think the best approach is to wire up for LED lights using DC lines and a centrally located converter per room/floor. These tend to be used for more expensive lighting, but hopefully they'll gain more traction in the future. Retrofitting a converter to each bulb just seems wrong.

⬐ zaarn

Filament LEDs at 120Hz have quite a few problems; there is a large number of people who suffer from medical issues if expose long term.

Reducing the flicker or bringing it beyond the 100 kilohertz range is worth it.

If you use a DC converter, you can pick between high and low LED counts, depending on how much you trust the converter and what it can handle (though a 20W DC converter isn't that large to begin with if you start at 24V LED COBs. The current limiter is a single chip with a precision resistor.

I also agree that the best approach is DC wiring. I've been working on realizing that in my own home, 24-48V DC, with solar option, and using the ground wire in the existing cables for communications, so I can tell the LED to dim digitally instead of having to dim the entire power line.

It's not terribly expensive either, a 100W DC converter runs you about 100€, reusing wiring is free and a DC LED controller for up to 20W is less than 10$ to DIY.

⬐ quotefoundslash

> Filament LEDs at 120Hz have quite a few problems; there is a large number of people who suffer from medical issues if expose long term.

No one cares.

Epilepsy or migraines? Good luck anywhere in public.

LED floodlights with unnatural spectrum aimed directly at eye height when browsing any store. Despite use of fresnel with associated hideous fringing the edge of illumination is very abrupt with no chance to adjust. Always 2-10x brighter than needed.

Exposed LED strips everywhere with no shade or proper diffuser leading to an overbright spot surrounded by darkness.

Many flickering. Due to LED ramp-up/-down the strobing is instantaneous.

They are all above and all around and to your side. Of course everyone still carries on with distressing over-illumination. But most establishments gleefully ensure there is always at least one of these directly in your vision, not just illuminating the area.

They see interrogation scenes in movies as optimal settings for work, study, play, and relaxation.

Accessibility? Equal opportunity? Hahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhaha. Lighting is more and more inaccessible. Good luck even if you manage to convince them to let you be a weirdo in the dark. Everything is aggressively recessed in fixtures.

The lack of caring could be excused as laziness and ignorance, except that everyone laughs at you and makes faces when you bring it up. It doesn't matter if you speak to your immediate manager at work, or customer service at a business, or whether you speak to the appropriate facilities or HR person. It doesn't matter whether you're brief and to the point or whether you lay out the details and provide references. It doesn't matter how polite or demanding you are.

It's not that it was intended to cripple the weak and exclude invalids from society. But they'll happily take it as a bonus.

Speaking of bonuses: they can give you the side-eye as "environmentally unfriendly" if you dare to raise any issue with LED/fluorescent. (Of course the same people usually oppose nuclear power, proving their bad faith.)

⬐ zaarn

The number of people suffering under flickery LEDs is actually quite large. It's also easily prevented; don't buy cheap filament LEDs, there are plenty of other LED bulbs you can buy. Problem solved. I don't see why you take this argument ad-absurdum.