Buying Guide for Black Light Bulbs
Black lights are lamps that emit long-wave ultraviolet light, and thus, not much visible light. They produce a deep blue color, and come in several varieties including fluorescent, mercury vapor, and LED. The bulbs have become popular for a variety of lighting purposes, including finding the source of mysterious smells, identifying leaks, and even illuminating inanimate objects.
Blacklight bulbs are the best glow-in-the-dark, but what is even better is that you can make them in your own garage. With all the weird stuff you can make in your garage, it might be smart to start one. A black-light tube is a funky way to make a cool effect in your room at night. If you are looking for a cool glow in the dark light, then a black light tube is a good idea.
Benefits of Black Light Bulbs
Better Indoor Air Quality
Black light bulbs improve your home’s indoor air quality by getting rid of biological growth. They can prevent asthma and allergy symptoms like rashes, eye irritations, headaches, fatigue, and many other consequences of poor indoor air quality. They can even help you avoid illnesses, like colds or the flu, by eliminating viruses and bacteria. They’re especially helpful for people who have weakened immune systems from other health issues.
Authentication
To verify the authenticity of large bills of currency, banks and retail stores use black lights. UV rays can detect markings on the bills that are invisible to the naked eye. A fluorescent ink pen may be used to identify ransom payments made for kidnapped individuals.
Enhanced Home Comfort
With a black light bulb lamp, you can avoid unpleasant musty or rotting smells from biological growth. UV lights also protect your walls, ceilings, floors and furniture by preventing unsightly stains caused by microorganisms. Plus, you don’t have to worry about any awkward smells.
Illumination
Black lights offer energy-efficient, bright light in many industries such as manufacturing, clean room production, quality inspection, and many other applications that require well-lit areas.
Factors to Consider Before Buying of Black Light Bulbs
What Kind of Light to Use
For most applications and installations, UV blacklights are available either as a fluorescent lamp or an LED light. Until recently, fluorescent lamp blacklights were the primary option, but with rapid advances in LED technology, UV LED lights are quickly becoming the preferred option.
How Much to Use
UV blacklight "brightness" is a difficult metric to describe, because UV light energy is not directly visible. Although lumens is typically the metric used to measure the amount of visible light, because ultraviolet light is invisible, this metric is essentially useless. For UV lights, the most accurate metric is "watts" of UV light output.
Wavelength Range
Ultraviolet light encompasses a wide range of wavelengths, but most blacklight applications utilize a narrow range of ultraviolet radiation (UV-A) to produce fluorescence effects - specifically between 350 and 400 nm (nanometers). But even within the 350-400 nm range, different wavelengths can create stronger or weaker fluorescence effects. As the chart below shows, most fluorescence is strongest in the 320-380 nm range, with a peak at 365 nm.
Type of Fixtures
One of the most versatile form factors is a UV LED flexible strip. The LED strip consists of many ultraviolet LEDs (365 or 395 nm) mounted on a flexible circuitboard approximately half an inch in width. The LED strips can be cut to length in 1-inch intervals, meaning you can install these in tight spaces such as photoboxes and display cabinets. Best of all, because they operate on very low voltage 12V DC, there is virtually no electrical or fire risk.
Conclusion
Rigid UV LED light bars are similar to the LED strips, but are better suited for more permanent installations, or those requiring more robustness. They are typically available in 1, 2, or 4 ft lengths, and can be daisy chained for simplified installation. Rigid UV LED light bars are well suited for installation on trusses, shelves, or cabinets, where the light can be installed on a straight and flat surface.
To get more information about our buying options, go through some of the best products that we have listed in our featured section above. They are been reviewed and are recommended on the basis of their quality, performance and durability.