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NORDIC LIGHT & COLOUR
127
lifespan, price and color rendering in relation to a (somewhat
arbitrary) scale is presented. The pamphlet explains how light
with a high color temperature (K) ‘fits best’ with blue and green
colors, whereas light with a low color temperature ‘fits better’
with red and yellow colors. It is, however, not particularly clear
what is meant by “fits better..”. Halogen and incandescent light
are still emphasized as sources with the best color rendering,
but specific florescent tubes with better color rendering capa-
bilities are mentioned. Diodes are also introduced in a wider
extent in this pamphlet, than in its predecessor (DEST, 2004).
So, although phrases such as ‘quality’, and ‘ the mood of the
light’ are used, more emphasis seems to be put on what that
means in terms of the
technical assets
the various light sources
have – perhaps inferring that it then would be easier to go out
and detect and assess these aspects when buying a light bulb.
However, as aspects such as spectral distributions and lumi-
nous flux (in lumen) are presented, which was not presented
in the previous pamphlet, and since many of these aspects are
presented in more or less arbitrary schemes, it may just as
well have the opposite effect of seeming too complicated.
“Nyt lys på fremtiden – giv dine kunder besked om god og en-
ergieffektiv belysning” (translated: (shedding) new light on the
future – inform your customers about good and energy efficient
lighting”)(DEST, 2009) is a guide directed at retailers and is
meant to ease the incandescent phase-out process. It empha-
sizes the potential of energy savings within domestic lighting,
and briefly describes the fluorescent light bulb, the LED light
bulbs and
then
the halogen bulbs. This is interesting in itself,
as the halogen light bulbs seem to be much more emphasized
in the earlier pamphlets, whereas it is now mentioned last.
Color rendering is not mentioned in the description of the
fluorescent bulbs, whereas the halogen bulb is emphasized in
this relation. For the LED’s, the source is not only praised, but
also accentuated in terms of color rendering and -tempera-
ture (along with lifespan and energy efficiency) – however, it is
stressed that one should ‘require a good relation between light
flux (lumen), electricity consumption (watt), color rendering
(Ra) and the light color (color temperature) as well as lifespan’
(p.3) before purchasing an LED light source. This suggests that
retailers should be able to put up such requirements and be
certain that they are met, although there are no indications of
how exactly one is to assess these things when buying a bulb.
Further, this may not always be the case and it could be inter-
esting to look further into whether retailers such as supermar-
kets have this specific knowledge.
Although the pamphlet in general focuses on the
bulb
and its
functions, the everyday life practices are also addressed to
some extent, as the pamphlet presents a sketch indicating
what kinds of light sources would be recommended for what
kind of room. The color rendering is emphasized in the kitchen
(above the stove and worktop), above mirrors and for hand-
craft, somewhat similar to the previous mentioned pamphlets.
Halogen bulbs are less emphasized in this context, though,
whereas high quality florescent tubes are presented as a do-
able alternative.
“Lysdioder til Belysning– status for fremtidens lyskilde”
(translated: “Diodes for lighting – status of the light source of
the future”) (DEST 2010), is a pamphlet focusing entirely on
LED light. The pamphlet is not only related to domestic light,
but also treats outdoor lighting as well as more specific situ-
ations as lighting layouts in museums, and in office buildings.
The guide describes and explains the LED on a technical level,
and sets out to strip away myths about LED lighting. Color ren-
dering capabilities are described and explained in terms of Ra,
and the measurements conducted to determine the Ra value of
a light source are presented, however briefly. The standard DS
700 that sets minimum requirements for color rendering capa-
bilities for light sources for office spaces is also presented. A
comparison between daylight, fluorescent light and LED lights
color rendering capabilities is presented, and an explanation
in terms of each light source’s spectral distribution is given. It
also states that both fluorescent bulbs and LEDs range from
quite poor to a rather high quality within color rendering.
This pamphlet seems more concise in terms of presenting
how
to evaluate different (technical) aspects of light ‘quality’
– how-
ever, one may argue that the pamphlet is too technical or at
least too focused on LED. It is not very focused on the domestic
setting, and it does not cover different domestic applications
connected to various everyday life practices. Further, it may be
argued that in order to get to actually reading the pamphlet,
one presumably has to specifically want to know something
about LEDs and not primarily domestic lighting. The pamphlets
(DEST, 2004) and (DEST, 2008) are to a much greater extent ad-
dressed to domestic and not particularly technical users both
in language and set up, than this one.
“Guide til nyt lys – det rigtige lys til boligen” (translated: A
guide for new lighting – the right light for the home”) (DEST,
2012), is a guide that re-visits the focus on the domestic users,
and aims to guide domestic users in choosing between the
various light sources available on the market, after the phase
out of the incandescent bulb. It introduces the notion of
lumen
(which so far only has been mentioned sporadically in previous
pamphlets) and that lumen is the
new indicator
for what kind
of light sources one should pick, replacing
watt as an indica-
tor
. Hereafter, the various bulbs are described in terms of