Also, lights for treating SAD are generally wide spectrum lights to closely imitate sunlight. Not all "daylight" fluorescents have this type of spectrum, the ones that do will cost you about three times as much to buy as the standard bulbs. I don't know how important physiologically it is to have this type of spectrum for treating SAD.

RE Williams
Sun-a-Lux

Notice you can get higher powers (= more light) than the bulbs you have but make sure they will fit in your lamp because the higher powers are also bigger.

P.S. My SAD treatment is to stare at my plants growing under artificial lights. The light level that is good for plants is also sufficient for humans and probably higher than most "SAD boxes" :)

If you are handy, building your own is not that difficult. Much cheaper. Check eBay for all kinds of ballasts.

I bought a 275 watt MH electronic ballast for $35.00. Lots of light!
dcarch

Years ago I had been on antidepressants for SAD and I find the St. John's wort does the same thing without the time and expense of the doctor/pharmacy or the light box. However, since you're new at this, you really should start out under a doctor's care to get a diagnosis and discuss options with him.

Just to emphazise watergal's last point.

dcarch

If being around bright lights keeps you normal then who needs a doctor? SADA estimate that about 1% of people in the UK have significant symptoms, but many more have what they call sub-syndromal SAD with mild tiredness but not significant emotional changes. They also state that light therapy is effective for about 85% of people with relief being noticeable in 3-4 days, so if you have ongoing or more serious problems, then you ought to consult a doctor. A doctor would be able to help with drugs or psychotherapy, but they are unlikely to do that without trying lights first and you probably wouldn't want to.

dcarch

So I upgraded my lights. At first I tried adding a second 300W torchiere, but it wasn't nearly bright enough, and I was up to 600W power usage. I didn't want to significantly increase my power consumption, so I aimed for no more than 400W total.

I replaced my 300W torchiere, rated at about 6000 lumens, with 8 32W T8 tubes, all aimed at the ceiling, standing on top of shelves. Four of them are 98CRI Philips TL950 5000k tubes, rated at ~2000 lumens each. I have a single 95CRI TL930 3000k, ~2000 lumens, a 5000k 86CRI ~2950 lumens, and a pair of 6500k ~2900 lumens.

So, the tubes are rated at ~18750 lumens, 256W nominal.

However, I'm overdriving every single tube 2X, increasing both light production by at least 1.6 and power consumption by about 1.7.

So I started with a 300W, 6000 lumens, ~3000k halogen, and I now have a ~430W, ~30000 lumens, ~5000k lighting system.

And you know what my problem is? It's not bright enough yet. Since this is winter time, any power I use for halogen lights is power I save on heating costs. So I turn on both torchieres and my 8 OD tubes, for a total of ~1030W, ~42000 lumens, ~4500k, high CRI light. Well, I don't use the halogen lights all the time, and I certainly never will when I don't need extra heating power. But given the choice between using a space heater or burning lights for heat, I'll choose the lights.

I don't know if I have SAD, restless leg syndrome or lumen mania, but I know one thing: having high light levels at any time of day, especially during the winter when it's -20C outside all the time...

Is really nice.

Think about it. Most homes are terribly underlit. Even if I have 7 times more light in my room than I started with, it's still nowhere as bright as the sun.

And for some reason, I find that everyday, I get close to a few overdriven tubes and just look at them. They're terribly bright you know - probably about as strong as those expensive SAD light boxes.

If you aim your lights up to the ceiling, try painting your ceiling the whitest white you can find. You may get 5% to 40% more light.

dcarch

A light box, however, is really the best dependable and cost effective way to get that light if you've got a diagnosis of SAD. Buy one with a UV shield so you don't fry your eyeballs. The down side is making time to sit in front of it, preferably first thing in the morning.

dcarch

I strongly disagree. I have yet to see a set of lights marketed specifically as a light box for SAD which is anything other than vastly overpriced. In addition, many commercial products just don't produce light levels that would be effective therapeutically. So a "light box" may be the simplest solution but its not necessarily the best and certainly not the most cost effective.

As for frying your eyeballs, it isn't going to happen with fluorescent lights. First, fluorescent tubes (standard white-ish tubes for domestic purposes, not lizard lights or tanning lights) don't produce enough UV to worry about, and specifically produce no damaging UVB wavelengths. Second, one of the therapeutic effects is thought to be UVA light reaching the eyes, so blocking it would really be rather silly. The Seasonal Affective Disorder Association specifically recommend that you don't wear sunglasses or any other form of light blocking eyewear when using a light box.

I have a severe case of SAD and have suffered every winter since I was a teen and I'm now in my 40's. I have also had about 5 or 6 fairly severe episodes of depression over this period, so I really try to keep the SAD in check so that it doesn't escalate.

P.S. I used to have a backwash filter in my swimming pool, but I may be thinking of the wrong kind of filter ;)