How To Reduce Glare From LED Lights: 12 Easy Solutions

An LED light is a very efficient alternative to incandescent lights. They consume less power and emit light of multiple colors as well. Moreover, their heat emission is also negligible with proper spacing or ventilation. However, some forms of this led light may cause glaring.

Glaring is when the light from any source is too dazzling and becomes hard to look at. It can cause pain or just be a nuisance whenever you glance over it. For some people, it may even cause problems, especially for people with eye conditions.

So, you might ask yourself, how to reduce glare from led lights? This article will go over some common methods to avoid led glare as well as ways to reduce any glaring. These methods may prove useful for people who are annoyed by the glare or people with conditions who most certainly need it.

Why Do LED Lights Glare?

An LED strip is very efficient compared to previous sources of light. The led lights are lined along a strip that is connected via copper connections. These may be 3-pins or 5-pins. The led may also emit multiple colors of light.

In the hubs where the bulbs are present, there is a center of all the exposure. This fully bright spot is hard to look at abuls it emits the entirety of the light. This ‘glare’ is disorienting if stared at for too long. It’s also just an annoyance for your eyes and causes eyestrain.

The glaring isn’t some sort of problem for the bulb in most cases and just exists as a phenomenon of emission of light from a concentrated source.

How To Measure The LED Glare?

Before we start to learn how to reduce glare from led lights, we need to know how the glare is measured or determined. There is a recognized rating system for measuring the led glare produced by any sort of light.

It is called the Unified Glare Rating (UGR) and it has some defined parameters which can help any consumer find what they need and which type of glare will be suitable for their respective workload.

Different LED Glare Types

The following are some common ranges the average consumer should fall under. You should be comfortable within the following ranges. The rating applies to the indoor application. It is a measure of the brightness of the fitting and the surrounding area.

– UGR<16: Better fit for storage applications or storage places

– UGR<19: Suitable for personal reading and office work

– UGR>30: The highest levels of glare

Reasons to Reduce LED Light Glare

There are a lot of simple reasons why you should focus on reducing led light glare. These reasons can range from being a mechanical fault to the benefits of reduced glaring to your eyes and your environment

1. It might be a sign that your device is malfunctioning. Normally led lights shouldn’t produce too much glare as to cause problems.

2. Glaring causes eyestrain and applies extra pressure on the eyes. You might experience nausea and migraines. You might also face long-term issues with your eyesight. Therefore, it is important to know how to reduce glare from led lights.

3. Glaring in certain rooms may be dangerous as well. For example, in the bathroom or the kitchen, glaring may cause uncomfortable experiences which should be avoided as it may be a prelude to an accident.

4. In general, the ambiance of your room or your house is disturbed with excess glaring.

5. The lifespan of your device will also improve if you regulate the use and fix any glaring issues.

6. If you are under the impression that you are working in a dimly lit area, you might be inclined to spend more on your environment when your lights can be fixed and stop casting a harsh shadow which reduces the brightness.

7. Glaring emits some Ultraviolet Rays which can be harmful with prolonged exposure.

8. Inadequate lighting can be linked with poor mental health. Without fixing the glaring problem with led lights, the ambiance in your home may be negative for you.

9. It makes it difficult to achieve actual color vibrancy in your home for furnishings, paint, and wallpaper, among other things.

10. Reducing or removing glare from LED lights makes them easier to look at. Without the constant pressure on the eyes, your overall mood will undoubtedly improve!

12 Quick & Simple Ways: How to Reduce Glare From LED Lights

1. Use Anti-Glare Lighting Products

The easiest way to avoid the glare from an led light is to buy variants of led lights that do not produce glares as harshly. Halogen bulbs and incandescent lights may produce a lot of light, but it is also very inefficient and produces glares. These cause stress on the eyes and may lead to headaches as well.

Therefore, it is a simple solution to change the inefficient lights with anti-glare led products.

2. Install Filters

Instead of only focusing on buying anti-glare products, you can also focus on externally reducing the glare from your lights. A simple solution is the usage of filters. It is an essential method of making led lights glare-free. The filers act as reflectors of the unidirectional and angled light and therefore, the glare is reduced.

There is another aspect of such filters. Filters are capable of reducing visible light as well. So, your desired brightness may not be attained. However, the filers can reduce UV light rays from the led as well. So, you can find a nice balance between light emission and safety.

3. Use Diffusers

Diffusers are semi-transparent covers that can be placed on top of a strip of lights or over the bulbs. This is a common tool and relatively inexpensive as well.

This disperses the light through the cover and the intensity is reduced as a result. This is great for indoor lighting and can look very aesthetic with proper placement.

4. Use Dimmers

An excessive amount of light entering the eye is glare. So, giving users control over the light would be a good idea. To this effect, installing dimmers is a nice alternative.

A dimmer can be used to reduce the intensity just as a switch is used to turn the light on or off. A dimmer can be adjusted as needed to balance with brightness and glaring.

5. Correct Fixtures Positioning

There are some ways to combat and reduce Glares from ceiling lights too. Glare can be reduced by placing fixtures in appropriate places Fixtures can be designed or made as required.

So, you can design or choose the fixture you want that will illuminate most of your room as well as not overlap to cause more glares.

6. Selecting the Correct Color Temperature

An underappreciated step in How to Reduce Glare from Led Lights is choosing the correct color temperature. This may seem unimportant but color ranges in the spectrum may produce different characteristics.

LEDs with bluer color temperatures cause more glare. Therefore, you can easily avoid the glares or reduce them significantly by using lights under the 3000K temperature range.

7. Turn Off Unnecessary Lights

This is a no-brainer. There is little reason to keep multiple lights running at the same time. If you are exiting your room for more than a few moments, you should consider turning off your lights. It is both resourceful and will reduce unnecessary emissions.

8. Use Masking Films

Masking films can be used as a substitute for semi-transparent covers. The tape will reduce the overall light emitted from an led light.

Another side-effect is that insects will be less prone to flying around your light and being attracted to it. It is not a bad idea and can be a cheap one as well.

9. Disperse the Lights

The placement of the lights matters a lot in reducing their glare. By placing the lights strategically, you can direct them away from direct contact with your eyes as well as maintain their brightness.

You can also use lampshades and other covers for the lights to reduce any excess light and reduce glaring that way.

10. Use Light Shades

LED light glare can be reduced by using inexpensive, simple-to-install lighting solutions like light shades. Just as before, shades will absorb or disperse the light away from the user and you won’t be bothered with the glaring.

It is however difficult to find shades for outdoor lights so other methods may be more useful for that purpose

11. Use Convex Lens

A more niche option is using a convex lens. A convex lens is a converging lens. Therefore, there won’t be any rays of light that will disperse from the source and hit your eyes.

The difficult part is finding a large enough lens and handling the lens as well. They are fragile and require you to be very careful.

12. Use Lens Covers

Lens covers are as simple as the name. Different covers can help control the light as well. There are two common examples of the lens cover.

– Prismatic lens

– Polycarbonate Lens

These are some easy-to-use ways you can learn and apply How to Reduce Glare from Led Lights.

What Is Anti-Glare Light?

Glaring is a phenomenon when light is concentrated at a point dispersing in all directions. This glare causes your eyes to harm if stared at too long.

Older lights like halogen and incandescent lights produce a lot of glare and cause headaches and further issues due to long-term exposure. Therefore, a new variant of lights is needed that can reduce the LED glare.

Anti-Glare lights are designed to reduce the glaring effect. A perfect example of such a light is frosted glass light. The frosted glass prevents sharp rays of light to come out of the bulb. The rays are dampened and cannot cause too much harm.

A downside to this is that such lights cannot produce high levels of brightness but the difference is not a deal breaker most of the time.

Advantages of LED Anti-Glare Lighting

When you ask about How to Reduce Glare from Led Lights, you have to talk about the advantages. Some simple benefits are listed below.

1. Reduces Eye Strain

Simply put, your eyes will feel less stressed out when you use such light. This will also help reduce the pressure on your body from overworking your eyes and may lead to reduced headaches as a result.

2. Does Not Produce Harsh Shadows

It is simpler to read in this type of lighting because it does not cast disorientating shadows around objects. The shadows aren’t as sharp and cannot interfere with your activities as easily as they could when they are sharp.

3. No UV Emission

UV or Ultraviolet emission can be reduced by up to 80% if anti-glare procedures are taken. It is a definite boost to your quality of life.

4. Long Lifetime

Anti-Glare lights are designed to disperse the bad effects of lights. They are made to endure and therefore, they usually last longer. As a result, they are a great investment for fixed-cost purchases since you wouldn’t have to replace them as often as other bulbs.

5. Boosts Productivity

Anti-glare lighting has been shown to boost productivity while allowing people to get enough sleep even when working late. As a result, anti-glare lights are a great choice for the home worker who has to keep up with deadlines and doesn’t need a light ruining his efficiency.

6. Pleasant to the Eye

This point is especially important for events. For events and scheduled meets, it is important the lighting does not interfere in any way. Therefore, anti-glare lights are important for both events and tournaments or games.

How Does LED Glare Affect Our Eyes?

LED lights themselves do not affect our eyes. They provide light like any other variant. However, the light itself can be hurting you. If you stare at the middle of the light, you will see the concentrated center.

Sometimes this concentration gets emitted so your eyes might pick it up from a certain angle. This is called a glare. Prolonged exposure to the glare will hurt your eyes and is generally unpleasant to look at as well.

As a result of the light entering our eyes directly, it causes the pupils to close. This rapid closing and opening of the pupil can effectively alleviate the glare from an LED.

If the light is too bright, our pupils will dilate to take more light. The glare is relatively brighter than the surrounding light. So our eyes have to widen and tighten constantly, causing irritation and headaches.

How Do You Soften LED Strip Lights?

LED lights can be softened by using covers and tapes to cover their emission. Lights emit in all directions. By using a cover, you can reduce the random exposure and soften their emission overall.

Anti-Glare Lights Are The Better Choice

Anti-Glare light sources are healthier for you and your ambiance in a lot of ways. In this article, we discussed How to Reduce Glare from Led Lights, why these matters, and the benefits of using anti- glare lights.

Unless you enjoy the bright light piercing through your retinas, there isn’t an argument for keeping the glare-producing bulbs. Consider the benefits-to-cost ratio the next time you go out to replace light buls in your house!