LED Floor Lamps Still Yellow Shades — Here’s the Physics
by Ray Coleman
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you buy through them, at…
Tools & Home Improvement
Heat Finds the Weakest Joint First
by Ray Coleman
An LED that runs 10°C hotter than its neighbor loses brightness twice as fast. In a ceiling fixture,…
Beam Angle Is the Spotlight Spec Nobody Prints
by Ray Coleman
A 25-degree beam at ten feet lights a circle about four and a half feet wide. A 60-degree…
Why Things Slip, Wobble, and Drift After You Set Them
by Ray Coleman
Elastic loses grip. Brackets loosen. Telescoping columns flex more the higher they go. Every adjustable household product fights…
Why Decorative Night Lights Glow Unevenly — and Which Shapes Fix It
by Ray Coleman
A translucent egg and a silicone ghost use the same LEDs, but one glows evenly and the other…
Why Landscape Lights Fill With Water (And Stop Working)
by Ray Coleman
Most landscape spotlights die with their LEDs still working. Water creeps past a seal rated for splash but…
CRI Sells the Lamp. Phosphors Are What You’re Paying For.
by Ray Coleman
A CRI of 80 and a CRI of 97 both make white light. The difference is what happens…
LED Strip Voltage Drop: Why the Far End Goes Dim and How to Fix It
by Ray Coleman
A sixteen-foot LED strip pulling three amps can lose half a volt between the plug and the far…
Oily Fingers and Smart Locks: What Makes Biometric Entry Fail
by Ray Coleman
Your fingerprint scanner doesn’t care that it’s you. It cares about the electrical contrast between the ridges and…
Lumens Sell Security Lights. Beam Pattern Is What Lights the Driveway.
by Ray Coleman
An 18,000-lumen flood light can leave half your driveway in shadow. A 3,000-lumen fixture with a 320-degree spread…