If you live in a place where there’s not much Sun in the winter, then I think it’s likely you know how light can affect how you feel. Over the years, I think I’ve subtly been affected by this. Where this winter period, I thought; you know what, why don’t I get a Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) light. I’ve not been diagnosed with anything as such, but surely it can’t be that expensive, right..? Oh my, wrong.
Since I don’t know much about the subject, I looked into finding some kind of reputable source for finding products. That’s where I came across the Danish Authority of Social Services and Housing, which has a list of Daylight therapy lamps as they call it. There’s really not many options, and I was keen on having something that could be mounted on my desk, given that I spend so much time at it. The Innolux SuperNova seemed quite good. Just a light in a box, 10,000 lux at 85cm away. Eh… 4795 DKK!? (641 EUR or so). No thanks, I thought.
What about DIY? Well, it was quite difficult to find information at first. Until I stumbled upon what seemed like well researched and measured information on OptimizeYouBiology’s website. Where they have a DIY guide on the subject. So I thought I could make a little project out of the need, and build my own.
Following the guide (which admittedly, is almost me repeating it below), I went and bought a few different things. Though in the end, used the following products:
| Item | Source | Price |
|---|---|---|
| DC 12V/24V 30A PWM Dimming Controller | AliExpress | 21.60 DKK |
| CRI 97+ Sunlike Full Spectrum 12V 24V LED Strip Light 5m | AliExpress | 127.54 DKK |
| 5M-100M Heat-resistant Ultra Soft Silicone Wire x2 | AliExpress | 50.00 DKK |
| SMALLRIG Mini Ball Head Mount | Amazon DE | 8.27 EUR |
| PME Aluminium Oblong Cake Pan 9×13×2-Inch Deep | Amazon DE | 21.30 EUR |
| SMALLRIG 10 Inch Magic Arm | Amazon DE | 22.94 EUR |
| MeanWell LPV-100 LED Power Supply | Amazon DE | 21.95 EUR |
| Diffusion Filter Sheet 6 Packs 40×50 cm | Amazon DE | 20.00 EUR |
That gives a total cost of around 900 DKK or so.
Now, the LED strip is the main component. According to OptimizeYourBiology, it produces the following Lux depending on the foil and diffuser configuration at 1 foot (30-ish cm).
So certainly not as powerful as the SuperNova. Though maybe more manageable for me to use in terms of glare, given that this is to be mounted directly above my monitor.
Time to build. I first started with cutting and soldering a chain of wire as shown.
First mistake. The guide said about using a wire stripper and simply stripping away the casing… Duh! Of course, so lets try that then.
Great, and now cut the LED strip to lengths, and stick in a cake tin? Simple enough:
Now to solder… Well, that chain of wire was a pain in the ass. I ended up snipping it into pieces and then soldering one by one in place which was less fiddly for me. Here is my absolutely not professional result.
So, lets hook up with some Wago connectors to the power supply and give it a try. Get the sunglasses ready 😎
Wooo! It really felt like looking at the sun. The picture doesn’t really show how bright it is. I let it run for some time, and man. It was getting VERY HOT, as in too hot to touch. I realized I had bought a steel cake tin, and not an aluminum one… So after waiting for a new delivery, I moved it all over. Which luckily, mostly all the solder had survived the move.
A couple drilled holes later, including mounting on the SmallRig Magic Arm, and make shift diffuser holding with paper clips. Here are the results…
I’ve actually since replaced the paper clips with some velcro. In case I want to take the diffuser off to perform any fixes and such.
Well, did it help me? Honestly, I’m not sure! I would say it certainly feels like it helps to wake me up (as I usually use it first thing) with how bright it is. Though part of doing all this, was also to use it as a kind of studio light too. Overall I am quite happy with the results.