Looking for light bulbs that mimic natural sunlight?
Many lights on the market claim to be full-spectrum or flicker-free, like the sun.
But are they really? And what do these terms even mean anyways?
In this guide, we’re going to cut through the meaningless marketing lingo by testing and reviewing the best lights on the market.
What is Full-Spectrum Lighting?
Full-spectrum light bulbs contain a natural visible spectrum similar to the sun.
These lights also have very good color rendering, meaning they reflect light very similar to a natural light source like the sun.
Spectral Power Distribution Graphs
In order to check how uniform a light source is, we have to shine it under a spectrometer. This tool gives us the ability to create an SPD or spectral power distribution graph.
These are the classic graphs you’ve seen of the rainbow of light given off by a light source.
Let’s compare three daylight colored 5000K LEDs:
As you can see, even though all of these lights emit a very similar “color”, the full spectrum LED emits a relatively even amount of light at all wavelengths, with no large unnatural peaks and valleys.
Full spectrum lights also have very good color rendering, oftentimes better than “high CRI” lights that are made specifically for this purpose.
Color Rendering Index
The CRI or color rendering index is used to determine how well a light source reflects certain colors compared to a perfect source, like the sun.
Basically, the fuller the colors in a light source are, the higher the CRI score will be.
While CRI isn’t perfect, nor is it the only system of its kind, it functions just fine for our purposes in this article.
We do take specific note of one of the 15 colors in the CRI standard, R9 or deep red. The reason we take this one into account is that it’s usually what modern LEDs perform worst at, and a low R9 score means skin tones can look slightly off.
Light Flicker
Some LEDs and even some incandescents flicker imperceptibly due to the AC current powering them.
This “invisible flicker” can cause eye strain, irritability, and headaches in certain individuals.
Record the room you’re in using the slow-motion setting on your phone. If the lighting in the room is dominated by low-quality LEDs or fluorescents, you’ll be able to see the cyclical AC dimming in your slo-mo video.
This invisible flicker may not impact you at all, but if it does, we have included metrics for each of the lights on our list.
The Best Full Spectrum Light Bulbs
Full spectrum LED lights that accurately mimic natural sunlight are becoming more and more commonplace.
Here are the best full spectrum lights currently available on the market today:
1. Flash Pu Pro – Best Premium
The most expensive option on our list is also the best, go figure.
These bulbs have an extremely lifelike spectrum that’s basically indistinguishable from natural sunlight.
Very impressive. These are currently the best-looking lights on planet earth as far as I can tell.
However, they can only be purchased on TaoBao, and in order to buy things from TaoBao you’ll need to use a 3rd party agent such as SuperBuy.
I’ve personally purchased these lights through SuperBuy and had no issues, I know it’s unusual, but it’s legit.
They’re also expensive at $25-30 per bulb, but the build quality and spectrum are next level, so if you’re looking for the healthiest light, this is it, hands down.
Flash Pu Pro
Excellent flicker, amazing spectrum, various color temps. If you can afford them, get them!
- Lumens: 500-1000
- CCT: 3000-5500K
- Watts: 8-12w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 97.1
- R9: 94.5
- Dimmable: No
2. NorbSmile – Best Overall
Norb is currently one of the only US manufacturers to offer multiple full-spectrum LED lights.
The flicker leaves something to be desired, but the color quality of their lights is top-notch.
Norb has two premium lights available, both a 5000K and a 4000K option:
NorbSMILE
- Lumens: 800
- CCT: 5000K
- Watts: 11w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 97.3
- R9: 88
- Dimmable: Yes
NorbSMILE Soft
- Lumens: 800
- CCT: 4000K
- Watts: 11w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 98
- R9: 93
- Dimmable: Yes
Norb also sells a cheaper less premium model called EverydaySun.
These still emit a very nice spectrum and are worth picking up if you’re looking for more bang for your buck.
EverydaySun is also available in the 5000K and 4000K options:
Norb EVERYDAY-SUN
- Lumens: 800
- CCT: 5000K
- Watts: 9w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 89.9
- R9: 94
- Dimmable: Yes
Norb EVERYDAY-SUN SOFT
- Lumens: 800
- CCT: 4000K
- Watts: 9w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 92.3
- R9: 99
- Dimmable: Yes
3. GE Sun Filled – Best Overall
Another light worth considering is the Sun-Filled line by GE, which uses the same SunLike diodes that Norb uses.
The advantage GE has is that their lights are a bit cheaper and they have less invisible flicker.
Unfortunately, at this time their 5000K A21 bulb seems to be out of stock everywhere, so if you want one of those you’ll have to defer to NorbSmile’s options which are a bit more expensive.
GE Sun Filled
- Lumens: 680-850
- CCT: 2700-5000K
- Watts: 10.5w
- Shape: A21/BR30
- CRI: 97.7
- R9: 88
- Dimmable: Yes
4. Philips Ultra Definition – Best Budget
The new ultra-definition line of bulbs from Philips has a unique color spectrum that’s worth mentioning here.
While it has some large spikes, they’re all concentrated in the longer wavelength red end of the visible spectrum, which I prefer to see over large blue light spikes.
Here are three spectral graphs from three different 5000K ultra-definition lights:
Not too bad if you ask me! The average CRI for these lights is also around 95 which is very good! And the flicker isn’t too bad either, certainly better than Norb and GE’s sun-filled.
Just about all of the 5000K ultra-definition bulbs have similar spectral qualities, and vary in their flicker.
You can view all of them in our Light Bulb Database.
Philips Ultra Definition
These are definitely the best budget-friendly full-spectrum lights on the market right now.
- Lumens: 800
- CCT: 5000K
- Watts: 8w
- Shape:
- CRI: 94.7
- R9: 90
- Dimmable: Yes
5. Sylvania Natural Series – Honorable Mention
This one is interesting and I wanted to touch on it for a few reasons:
- Sylvania is outright lying about some of their claims and…
- Some of their lights aren’t too bad.
Sylvania recently came out with its Natural series which boasts its new TruWave Technology.
In their whitepaper for this spectral technology, they claim to output light similar to that of natural sunlight.
Well, we went out and tested 12 different models (all of which can be found in our Light Bulb Database) of TruWave lights to see what all the fuss was and we were a bit surprised with the results…
Allow me to explain, below are spectral power distribution graphs for the standard 8w and 11w frosted 5000K A19 light bulbs from Sylvania claiming to utilize “TruWave” technology:
Do these look like the TruWave spectrum advertised above?
No, they don’t. In fact, they look just like the “Typical LED Light” they compare their TruWave spectrum too.
It would seem Sylvania is lying about their lights. Tisk tisk.
But, as it just so happens, the 15w version does actually contain the fabled TruWave spectrum:
While there are a few other TruWave lights we tested that had decent spectrums, the 5000K 15W A21 is my favorite and my recommended choice.
The biggest drawback to the Sylvania Natural lineup is that they’re really lacking in the red light output, which many of the other options do a much better job of.
However, if you were to create a DIY chandelier as we show in our article on How to Mimic Natural Sunlight, you could easily make up for this flaw.
Sylvania Natural 5000K 15w
The best light bulb the Sylvania Natural series has to offer. A pretty nice spectrum that’s lacking a bit in the red department.
At $5 per bulb, this is one of the best full-spectrum high-lumen lights on the market.
- Lumens: 1600
- CCT: 5000K
- Watts: 15w
- Shape: A21
- CRI: 87.3
- R9: 46
- Dimmable: Yes
I’ve had issues with Amazon sending the wrong bulbs for these. If that’s the case for you, Menards also sells TruWave LEDs.
6. Halogen Incandescent Light – The Classic Full Spectrum Option
So I have to mention here the classic halogen light. These are being fazed out in many countries because of their energy consumption, but they’re still available in many places here in America.
Halogens emit light by heating up a tungsten filament. This results in a very full high quality visible light output:
Due to the nature of how these lights create visible light, they also emit a lot of heat and infrared light. This can be a pain to deal with in the summer and is what makes them so energy “inefficient” from a light standpoint.
However, in the winter the extra heat emitted doesn’t go to waste! It simply helps heat up your home.
So if you live in a cold climate, don’t feel so bad about “wasting” all that energy using halogen/incandescent lights!
But wait! There’s more!
What I discovered testing various incandescent lights, is that after you hit a certain power threshold, they stop flickering completely:
As you can see the AC waveform slowly decreases until it completely disappears. So I recommend picking up a 72w halogen if you’re going to grab some of these.
Frosted Halogen Lights
Frosted glass is the way to go my friends.
- Lumens: 1270
- CCT: 2900K
- Watts: 72w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 99.3
- R9: 97
- Dimmable: Yes
Best Full Spectrum Smart Lights
While I’m not a huge fan of EMF-emitting devices, some people aren’t as concerned about this as I am. So for those of you looking for the best full-spectrum smart lights, Norb is the way to go here.
NorbSMART
The NorbSMART bulbs are available in A19 and BR30 styles and are adjustable from 2650K to 5000K.
The invisible flicker isn’t great, but if that doesn’t bother you then it’s not a problem.
These lights are set up and used through the Tuya app, which I had no issues using myself. The app has 4.5 stars on the Play store and 4.7 stars on the App store so it’s well done.
My only issue with these lights is that the app doesn’t provide the option to create a very natural color transition. It can be done, to some degree, but it’s a bit of a pain to set up.
As you can see, each color temperature, brightness, and transition time has to be manually created. Which to me, feels a bit “dumb” rather than “smart”.
But they do still emit a fantastic spectrum, and if you take the time to set them up how you like I’m sure they’ll satisfy your need for circadian lighting.
NorbSMART
- Lumens: 800
- CCT: 2650-5000K
- Watts: 9w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 95.3
- R9: 94
- Dimmable: Yes
Best Adjustable Full Spectrum Lights
An alternative to “smart” lights is the simple switch adjustable light. Simply flip the light switch off and on to change between color temperature modes.
The BioLight
Our favorite option for a full spectrum adjustable light is the BioLight from Block Blue Light.
You can cycle the BioLight between three different color temperatures:
This makes the BioLight a great do-it-all light.
The 4250K setting has fantastic color rendering at a CRI of 97.7 as well as low flicker, and the ability to quickly change it to a very warm and calming 2150K or 1800K light is pretty cool.
The BioLight
- Lumens: 700
- CCT: 1800-4200K
- Watts: 8w
- Shape: A19
- CRI: 97.7
- R9: 97
- Dimmable: No
Best Full Spectrum LED Strip
I’ve only been able to find a couple of full spectrum LED strips, and only one that’s reasonably affordable.
If you’re the type who likes to DIY things, this is the route to go!
Sunlike CRI 98+ LED Strip Light
These come in 3000, 4000, and 5000K and are available in 1m to 30m increments.
Tools Used
- Royer M, Gorantla A. 2021. PNNL Applied Lighting Spectral Calculator [Web Application]. Available from: https://spectralcalculator.pnnl.gov
- Waveform’s SPD Graph Tool
- Opple Light Master Pro 3 for flicker measurements.
- Hopocolor HCPS300P photo spectrometer for all spectral light measurements.
