Are you bothered by flicker from LED lamps?

Some LEDs flicker and some do not. There is currently no way of telling which do and which do not flicker short of purchasing them and testing them. The industry is unregulated.

Even lamps that are sold as “flicker-free” are not free of high-frequency flicker. High-frequency flicker that you cannot see causes headaches.

To check whether lighting is flickering you can:

1. Take a fidget spinner and spin it under the light. If it appears to rotate backwards the light is flickering.

2. Use a mobile camera with a SLO-MO facility. This will make any flicker obvious.

3. Wave a black pencil to and fro against a white background. If the movement is not smooth there may be flicker.

What to do if there is flicker.

Purchase LEDs that do not flicker. They are not necessarily more expensive!

The following products have been tested and found to be free of flicker at 100Hz.

60x60cm ceiling panel RXL-NFU/UGR19/66/TPA/840 6X6 3 available from Rexel Cowley Road Cambridge

H2 Pro 550 downlight (dimmable) from Collingwood lighting

We will expand this list as soon as we can.