In order to pay attention to children's eye health and improve the visual environment during reading and writing homework, the Zhejiang Provincial Consumer Protection Commission and other units recently conducted a comparative test of eye-protecting desk lamps.

1. Sample source

There are a total of 10 batches of test samples, involving 9 brands and 8 production companies. They were purchased by consumer rights protection volunteers as ordinary consumers. 6 batches were randomly purchased at different physical stores in Wenzhou City, and the other 4 batches passed Purchase online at flagship stores on Tmall and JD.com where sales are relatively high, with prices ranging from 55 yuan/item to 380 yuan/item.

The purchased samples are all products with nominal or declared information such as “eye protection”, “for learning”, “national standard AA level” (the information comes from the outer packaging, product body, instruction manual or online sales platform web page promotion, etc.).

2. Test items

The test was entrusted to Wenzhou Institute of Quality Technology Inspection to conduct testing in accordance with GB/T 9473-2022 "Performance Requirements for Reading and Writing Desk Lamps" and GB/T 9473-2017 "Performance Requirements for Reading and Writing Desk Lamps".

Since the GB/T 9473-2022 standard will be released on December 30, 2022, and will be implemented on January 1, 2024, considering that some companies’ products have been designed and produced in accordance with the requirements of the new version of the standard, this test was based on the old and new versions. Standards are combined for comparison, and items of consumer concern such as retinal blue light hazard, illumination and illumination uniformity, strobe, color rendering index, etc. of the sample are tested.

Test results and analysis

There is no risk in terms of “retinal blue light hazard”

Retinal blue light hazard is a key indicator of eye protection table lamps, and no retinal blue light hazard is also a basic requirement. Due to the production process and luminous characteristics of LED products, the relative energy of the blue light band of LED lamp products in the entire visible light range is generally high, and the visible light spectrum that has potential damage to the retina falls within the blue light band range.

From the results of this comparative test, it is known that the retinal blue light hazards of 10 batches of samples all meet the requirements of RG0, which means that these 10 batches of samples have no risk of retinal blue light hazards.

10 batches of "light source stroboscopic" all meet the standards

Fluctuation depth and transient light artifacts are actually what is commonly referred to as light source flicker, and are an important indicator of the eye protection performance of an eye protection desk lamp.

From the results of this comparative test, we can see that the fluctuation depths of 10 batches of samples all meet the "no significant impact" level, which means that the stroboscopic effects of these 10 batches of samples have no negative impact on consumers. Among them, PHILIPS, NVC Lighting, and Xiaomi have weak fluctuations at the minimum brightness, but they are also at the "no significant impact" level. The other seven batches have no fluctuations at the maximum and minimum brightness and have no impact.

Yangmei's "illuminance and illumination uniformity" are not up to standard

Illumination and illumination uniformity are important indicators of the eye protection performance of eye protection desk lamps. The standard requires that the maximum horizontal illuminance of the desk lamp should not exceed 2500lx in the normal working position and the gear or range suitable for reading and writing tasks claimed by the manufacturer.

This comparative test found that 10 batches of samples claimed to meet the national standard AA level requirements, but the actual test results showed that except for Yangmei, 9 batches of samples all met the national standard AA level requirements. Among them, the overall illumination of Yangmei is not enough and does not meet the requirements of the new and old standards. The uniformity can meet the requirements of the old standards but cannot meet the requirements of the new standards; DALEN's overall illumination and illumination uniformity data are the best among 10 batches of samples.

"Color properties" all meet the standards

The color rendering index Ra and special color rendering index R9 of 10 batches of samples all meet the standard requirements. Among them, the Ra and R9 of NVC Lighting, Simon, Xiaomi, DALEN, and Panasonic samples all reach above 90, with scores ranging from 0 to 100. High means that the light source has stronger color rendering ability of the object and the closer it is to the true color. The indicators of eye protection desk lamps from Yangmei and OPPLE are relatively poor.

At the same time, samples from Yangmei, NVC Lighting, Simon, Xiaomi, and Haishubao have adjustable color temperature functions. NVC Lighting and Xiaomi’s eye protection table lamps have a wide adjustable color temperature range. In addition, samples of brands PHILIPS, Simon, OPPLE, DALEN, and Panasonic that do not have color temperature adjustment function have a rated color temperature of 4000K, and the actual measured values are all within the required range of 3985K±275K (reference GB/T 29294-2012). It is worth noting that the flexible correlated color temperature range of desk lamps is between 2300K and 6400K. LED lamps with adjustable color temperature are more friendly to people who are sensitive to light heating and cooling. It is more comfortable to adjust the color temperature to below 4000K at night.

Yangmei's "actual power" does not meet the standards

Electrical performance mainly refers to power and power factor. The standard requires that the measured power should not exceed 110% of the rated input power, and the measured value of the power factor should not be 0.05 or more lower than the nominal value. Among them, for desk lamps with a power greater than 5W and not greater than 25W, the nominal power factor should not be less than 0.5; for desk lamps with a power greater than 25W, the nominal power factor should not be less than 0.9. When the illumination and illumination uniformity are equivalent, the smaller the input power, the better.

The test results show that the rated power of the 10 batches of samples are all between 10W and 15W. Except for Yangmei, the measured power of the other samples meets the standard requirements. The power factors of all samples meet the standard requirements.

Some "marks (marks)" do not meet the standards

As a description of the overall condition of the product, the "logo (mark)" is the main evidence for consumers to purchase and use the product, and it is also an important basis for consumers to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

In this comparative test, the sample branded Panasonic fully complies with the requirements of the 2022 version of the new standard. It can be seen that it has revised its instruction manual in accordance with the requirements of the new version of the national standard. The samples of PHILIPS, Yangmei, and NVC Lighting lacked part of the product information required by the standard, resulting in the "mark (mark)" that did not meet the requirements of the old and new standards. The remaining six batches of samples met the requirements of the 2017 version of the old standard, but the instructions for use were still not revise.