2026 Scientific Purchasing Guide for Eye-Protective Desk Lamps, Comparison and Recommendations of Measured Desk Lamps for Different Budgets and Needs, Key Points for Scientific Eye Use

· What is an "eye protection lamp"?

At present, there are no relevant official standards at home and abroad for functions such as "eye protection", "eye moisturization" and "eye care". Because of this, the "eye protection lamps" advertised by some merchants on the market, or products labeled with various eye protection related functions, are most likely just marketing methods of the merchants. There is no authoritative basis to support whether they actually have real eye protection effects.

At present, the relevant standards for eye protection desk lamps in my country are: GB 40070-2021 "Hygienic Requirements for Myopia Prevention and Control of School Supplies for Children and Adolescents" and GB/T 9473-2022 "Performance Requirements for Reading and Writing Desk Lamps". The country currently has no standards or definitions for “eye protection lamps”. "Eye protection lamp" usually refers to a reading lamp, and its professional name is "reading and writing desk lamp". So if you want to choose a good "reading and writing desk lamp", what indicators should you look at?

Don't look at advertisements and look at science. It is more important to look at the following 6 core indicators!

· Photometric level (the new name of illuminance and illuminance uniformity in the new version of GB/T 9473)

Illumination: The unit is lx (lux). To put it simply, it means whether the light from the desk lamp is bright enough when it hits the table. The larger the value, the brighter it is.

Illumination uniformity: that is, the ratio of the maximum illumination to the minimum illumination in the effective working area. The smaller the value, the more uniform the light from the desk lamp to the desktop or work surface.

Light-blocking and anti-glare: Desk lamps should have light-blocking properties and no excessive glare. Uncomfortable glare can cause headaches, eye fatigue, burning sensation, tearing, strabismus, etc. Choose a desk lamp with a lampshade to prevent glare and protect your child's eyes.

According to standard requirements, AA-level desk lamps have higher requirements for illumination and illumination uniformity than A-level desk lamps. That is, AA-level desk lamps produce brighter light and more uniform light illumination. You can give priority to AA-level desk lamps when purchasing. It is best to buy a desk lamp with a brighter brightness, because the problem of light attenuation needs to be taken into consideration so that children can have AA-level illumination every time they study. At present, relatively few merchants promise that the desk lamp can not only provide AA illumination when it is first used, but also ensure that the desk lamp can provide AA illumination before the end of the warranty period.

Stroboscopic

Is it scientific to measure "stroboscopic" with a mobile phone? If the light flashes when photographed with a mobile phone, the lamp has stroboscopic!

Strobe, also called fluctuation depth, refers to the process in which the light output of a light source changes periodically. Under AC voltage, almost all desk lamps will flicker, but to varying degrees. In fact, it is impossible to be flicker-free in an absolute sense. The "no flicker" advertised by the merchant should be correctly stated as "no flicker". At present, most reading and writing desk lamps on the market use LED light sources. Their operating voltage and frequency are significantly higher than traditional light sources, making stroboscopic indistinguishable to the naked eye. However, even if stroboscopic cannot be seen with the naked eye or mobile phones, it does not mean that stroboscopic does not exist. Therefore, it is unscientific to use a mobile phone to measure strobe.

How to test stroboscopic? The truly scientific way is to use professional stroboscopic testing equipment. It can accurately measure parameters such as the stroboscopic frequency and fluctuation depth of the light source.

According to the standard requirements, there are two criteria for judging whether LED desk lamps have stroboscopic effects:

a) Either the fluctuation depth of the light output waveform is not higher than the limit requirement corresponding to the "no significant impact" level in IEEEstd1789-2015

b) Or the flicker index (Pst LM, Pst LM(I)) and stroboscopic effect index (SVM) do not exceed 1.

Blue light

Retinal blue light hazard level: Source IEC/TR 62778:2014 (corresponding to national standard GB/Z 39942-2021). The different hazard levels and duration of hazard are determined by the blue light weighted radiance (LB) limit obtained from the test.

Lamps and fixtures contain blue light, which does not mean they will cause blue light hazards. Since the retina of children, especially infants, is delicate and has a stronger retinal light transmittance, in order to prevent excessive blue light from causing damage to the eyes of children and adolescents during their learning, the standard requires that the blue light hazard group of reading and writing desk lamps should be RG0 (i.e., the highest safety level in the retinal blue light hazard level of LED lamps). From LED lamp beads excited by a single blue light band to LED lamp beads excited by dual blue light bands, to LED lamp beads excited by a purple light band, LED lamp bead manufacturers want to solve the problem of high blue light from the source. The blue-light weighted radiation brightness (LB) is less than 100 W·m-2·sr-1, and the risk group is RG0. The blue-light weighted radiation brightness (LB) of LED lamp beads excited by dual blue light bands represented by Bridgelux in the United States can be less than 25 W·m-2·sr-1. The blue-light weighted radiation brightness (LB) of LED lamp beads excited by purple light represented by Seoul Semiconductor in South Korea can be less than 5 W·m-2·sr-1.

Color rendering index

Color rendering index: represents the ability of the light source to restore color. Generally speaking, the higher the color rendering index, the closer the color of the object under this type of light is to the true color.

National standards stipulate that the general color rendering index Ra of reading and writing desk lamps should not be less than 80. For products whose light source is LED, their special color rendering index R9 should be greater than 0. Ra represents the average of the special color rendering index of 8 colors numbered 1-8 (i.e. the average of R1-R8). Usually we use this value to characterize the color rendering of the light source. The larger the Ra, the better the color rendering of the light source

Color temperature

Color temperature is the color of the light, and the unit is K (Kelvin). The smaller the value, the warmer the light color (yellow); the larger the value, the cooler the light color (white).

a. Light with a color temperature of about 4000K~5000K appears natural white, which is closer to natural light and more suitable for daytime use.

b. Lights with a color temperature below 4000K appear warm white or yellow, which are softer and more suitable for night use.

It is recommended to choose a desk lamp with adjustable color temperature, with a color temperature range of 3300K~5300K, taking into account daytime and nighttime use. In addition, when children and teenagers use table lamps at night, it is recommended to adjust the color temperature of the light to below 4000K. Because being active under high color temperature lights for a long time at night may affect the user's body rhythm and reduce sleep quality.

The above luminosity (illuminance, illumination uniformity, shading & glare), strobe, blue light, glare, color rendering index, and color temperature are the six core standard indicators of the national standard eye protection desk lamp, and are also the bottom line eye protection requirements of this type of product. High-end brand eye protection table lamps, in addition to strictly meeting the above basic indicators, will also create a higher-end product experience and quality assurance - such as

· High-end color rendering quality: R9, Rf

CRI Ra: The industry generally uses international standards, but only uses 8 unsaturated color test color samples, which can easily be "optimized" to a situation where the value is high but the true reproduction is poor.

R9: Saturated red color rendering index, which is very important for skin color, wood, meat, etc. Light sources with high Ra but low R9 often make colors gray, while high R9 makes colors look more vivid.

TM-30: An upgraded version launched by North American IES, adding dual indicators of Rf (fidelity) and Rg (saturation), using 99 standard colors, selected from the colors of 105,000 objects, representing common colors in life (from saturated to unsaturated, from light to dark), more comprehensive than CRI. The higher the Rf, the higher the fidelity and reducibility. The higher the Rg, the better. The reason is that when it is too saturated, it can easily lead to color distortion, which is especially unsuitable for museums and medical settings.

· High-end warranty service. This service not only ensures that all eye protection indicators of the product meet national standards when it leaves the factory, but also ensures that during long-term use, the indicators will always meet the standards stably, providing continuous protection for the eyesight of children and adolescents.

But you must know that an ultra-long warranty is by no means a simple marketing promise, and its implementation and fulfillment are not easy. Behind the scenes, brands need to invest higher production costs, select higher-quality raw materials, use better electronic components, design more durable product structures, and build a better long-term after-sales service system. Each link tests the brand's strength and intentions.

2. How to choose a "good" eye protection lamp (buying guide)?

Look at the label: The product is printed with GB 40070-2021 "Hygienic Requirements for Myopia Prevention and Control of School Supplies for Children and Adolescents" or GB/T 9473-2022 "Performance Requirements for Reading and Writing Work Desk Lamps", give priority to purchase.

Recognize the logo: Purchase products with the "CCC" logo. The CCC mark means that the product meets the national mandatory safety standards and that the product is safe.

Select grade: The national standard divides the luminosity grade of table lamps into two levels: A and AA. Grade A is the standard, and grade AA is the highest standard. Give priority to purchasing AA grade lamps, and it is best to choose desk lamps that can ensure AA grade during the warranty period.

The blue light security levels from high to low are RG0, RG1, and RG2. RG0 is preferred.

Color rendering index: national standard basic Ra is greater than 80, LED product R9 is greater than 0. High-end pursuit: If you have high requirements for color saturation (such as painting, which can make the colors of the picture look more vivid), you can choose a higher R9; if you have high requirements for fidelity, choose Rf greater than 95. The reducibility is more comprehensive than Ra, which only evaluates 8 standard colors. There is no need to blindly pursue the value of Ra. Ra is equal to 95 and Ra is equal to 90. Most people cannot see the difference with the naked eye. Choosing a desk lamp with Ra greater than 90 is already excellent.

Compared with warranty: if you have enough budget, give priority to long warranty. 10-year warranty > 5-year warranty > 3-year warranty > 1-year warranty. At present, most of the industry provides a 3-year warranty. Choose brands with a 1-year warranty carefully, and brands with a 5-year or above warranty are preferred. Comparatively, desk lamp drivers have multiple components. If one component is broken, the lamp may not light up.

Choose a brand that specializes in making lamps: A brand that specializes in making lamps has sufficient experience, many iterations, a stable supply chain, and few minor problems.

3. How to use the eye protection lamp correctly (light guide)?

a. Check the gear position suitable for reading and writing work and the correct position of the desk lamp: When using the eye protection lamp daily, not all gears and positions can meet the functions of myopia prevention and eye protection. Before use, you need to read the instructions or other identification information carefully to confirm the gear of the product in the reading and writing work state.