Properly selected, a book light can reduce eye stress by assuring ample light while reading, even in darkened venues, and can help to conserve both energy and money. A sturdy clip on book light design can make your light easy to securely attach to your book, book holder, or book stand, and many do double duty as craft, podium, hobby or other task lighting. Light weight incandescent or LED designs can provide just the right lighting anywhere you need it, without wasting energy or disturbing those around you, like a spouse or partner on the other side of the bed.
By illuminating your reading materials with just the right amount and temperature of light, the right book light can help to save your eyes from strain and help you read even when the lights are low. Our eyes require more light as we age, and providing the right amount of light exactly where we’re reading can be a real challenge. Obviously, the most perfect light for reading is natural sunlight shining directly from over your shoulder, but we often need to read when or where sunlight simply isn’t available. Hence, the correctly selected book light, one we can use any time and any place we choose, iscan be} an incredible convenience. By then turning off the overheads and other lighting lighting things other than our reading, we save considerable energy as well as the money it takes to pay for it.
When choosing between incandescent and LED designs, three primary concerns include: the different color or temperature of light produced by these two technologies, the cost of acquisition, and the cost of maintenance and operation over time. Incandescent light sources typically create a warm, somewhat golden-tinged light, and bulbs typically last between 15-25 hours of use and then have to be replaced. LED lights create a whiter, cooler light, and many designs are now optimized to be the equivalent of the output of lighting from the sun. Hence, most readers find the light of modern LEDs to be more “sun like”, producing greater contrast and making all printing easier to read. While replacement incandescent bulbs are readily available in local stores, and over the Internet, the expense and inconvenience of replacement can really add up over time. Because LEDs offer life expectancies of 10,000 to 50,000 hours, their 10-20% greater initial purchase price quickly becomes irrelevant. Generally, then, LED lights are now the preferred choice over the older incandescent.
Battery powered book light designs are the handiest, because they can be used virtually anywhere. Unfortunately, batteries too are a an item that must be replaced, typically lasting only 20-30 hours of use at best, in LED or incandescent designs. Available A/C adapters are available for most book lights, but another possibility is to use a good battery recharger and rechargeable batteries. Most book light designs use either AA or AAA batteries, and many excellent models are available from which to choose. In addition, if your light is typically used close to an electrical outlet, an optionally available A/C adapter can be a money saving investment.
Finally, the area of dispersal is also a meaningful consideration when choosing the perfect book light for a specific application. If your light is only to be used to light a standard mass market paperback book, a simple LED or incandescent clip on light design will probably be sufficient; however, if you read mostly hard cover books, newspapers and magazines, or even a full music stand of sheet music, you’ll want a more powerful light that distributes the lighting over a much broader area. The best way to determine the most perfect light for any particular application will be to test it in actual use. Wherever you shop, make sure your dealer provides both good information and advice before the sale, and a good return policy, in case your first choice doesn’t quite hit the mark. With a bit of application, you can acquire the perfect light for any use.