Worried about Vitamin D deficiency or seasonal affective disorder? Looking for a cheaper alternative to the Sperti sun lamp?
In this guide, I’ll walk you through step by step how to build your own vitamin D lamp!
I’ve officially finished the DIY build, and it works! See later in this guide for details on my regimen.
Since this setup also emits UVA, it should also be able to function as a tanning lamp for those of you looking for that.
Why Did I Build This?
I live in Michigan, so for several months of the year, the sun is too low for vitamin D production.
Why not use the Sperti lamp? Well, this DIY lamp is cheaper, emits more UVB, and it appears safer.
Explaining the UVB to UVI Ratio
You see, reptile owners have done a lot of UVB light testing. And they’ve discovered a simple metric to determine how safe a UVB light source is.
This is the UVB:UVI ratio.
It’s a proxy measurement, but it’s a very useful one.
This ratio tells us roughly how much short-wavelength radiation is present in a light source, without using a $3,000 UV spectrometer (which I don’t have). Please Santa.
Here’s how we figure this out:
At a set distance, say two feet, you measure the UV index and the total UVB in uW/cm2.
As you can see above, the UVB meter detects longer wavelength light than the UVI meter.
If we get a UV index reading of 14 and a total UVB reading of 200 this gives us a ratio of 14.3, while if our total measured UVB was 350 at the same UV index, the ratio would be 25.
A lower ratio is indicative of there being more short-wavelength UVB than long-wavelength.
This is bad because natural sunlight doesn’t go much past 300nm, while lamps like the Sperti go down well into the 250-270nm range.
Here are the average UVB to UVI ratios for the Sperti lamp vs the DIY light I built:
- Sperti: 10.3
- DIY: 25.7
As you can see, the Sperti lamp is producing far more short-wavelength UVB light than our DIY lamp.
So in other words, at a UVI of 14 (where you are recommended to use the Sperti), both lamps have a drastically different amount of UVB.
- Sperti UVB at UVI of 14: 130 uW/cm2
- DIY UVB at UVI of 14: 360 uW/cm2
So you’re able to get exposed to almost 3x more UVB radiation at the same UV index. This is because the Sperti lamp is pushing out more short wavelength UVB, which is sending that UVI up.
It’s unclear if the DIY light will be more effective, but it’s likely that it will be, on top of that, because it has significantly less short wavelength UVB radiation, it will be a lot safer to use long-term.
Hopefully that all made sense.
Let’s build this thing!
The Parts You’ll Need to Build it
First, let’s go over the parts we’ll want to pick up to build our lamp.
Fluorescent UVB Lights
The most important part of this build is of course the lights. For these, I went with the 46″ Dragon D3 made by Arcadia. However, there are other options out there which I’ll link to below.
I’ve selected this light because it has the highest output UVB I could find at the time and Arcadia makes some pretty high-quality stuff.
They’re also quite large at 4 feet so we’ll be able to cover far more surface area than the Sperti lamp.
Arcadia 46″ 14% UVB Bulbs
You’ll need four of these total to fill up the light fixture below.
ReptiSun 46″ 10% UVB Bulbs
Here’s an alternative that can be purchased on Amazon if that’s more your style.
Note: I didn’t test these in my setup, but they should work just fine, ZooMed is a reputable brand.
AgroMax 75% UVB T5
A reader of ours found this 75/25 UVB/UVA bulb! If you’re more interested in a pure UVB bulb this might be worth trying out!
Grow Light Fixtures
The fixture I used in this project was a 4-foot 4-bulb version explicitly built for 54w fluorescent T5-HO bulbs. However, you can get one-bulb or two-bulb versions as well if you’d like to try something less powerful.
4 Bulb T5 Light Fixture
You don’t have to fill this whole thing if you don’t want to, you could just use two bulbs instead of all four.
2 Bulb T5 Light Fixture
1 Bulb T5 Light Fixture
It does come with 4 bulbs of its own that we won’t need, so you can recycle those if you want. I’ve been unable to find a fixture that doesn’t come included with lights.
The Protective Screen
The one possible downside to this setup is that it doesn’t come with a protective grate, which is nice to have because fluorescent UVB bulbs utilize mercury. You don’t want to break these bulbs.
If you live alone and aren’t worried about anyone breaking it, you can always skip this part.
The best option I’ve been able to come up with is attaching a metal wire mesh to the front.
1/2 Inch Galvanized Welded Wire Mesh
This mesh is quite stiff and will work well to protect the lights.
Adhesive Zip Tie Mounts
You’ll need something like this to attach the mesh to the light fixture.
Building the Vitamin D Lamp
Okay, now let’s put it all together!
Preparing the Light Fixture
Here’s what you’ll need to do with the fixture.
- Remove the blue protective film from the reflective trays, this is pretty easy.
- Play around with fitting the trays into each other, they come a bit loose but once you play around with them for a bit you’ll figure out how they fit together.
- Clean up any smudges.
Installing the Bulbs
Now carefully pull the bulbs out and install them one by one, these are bi-pin lights, so the connectors on either side install vertically into the fixture.
You may have to push the light fixture connecter out on one end to get the light pins to fit into the slot.
Once it’s sitting in the slot on both ends and is pushed down all the way, you can spin it to the right to lock the light into place.
Now repeat for all four lights!
Mounting it on the Wall
To mount the light on your wall of choice, you’ll want to start by installing a hook or screw of some kind into a stud at around 70″ off the floor.
Next, you’ll hang the light using one of the hooks it came with.
I also went ahead and attached the bottom to the wall using a couple of 3M sticky pads.
Here’s what the finished product will look like:
Not bad!
Installing the Protective Grate
Now for the protective grate, should you want it…
You’ll need tin snips for this part!
Cut off a 49″ long section of the mesh, and begin to make it flat so it’s easier to work with.
Next, place the mesh against the panel and start bending the top portion over, it’s pretty stiff and tough mesh so this isn’t the most effortless process.
Once you have the top done, you can move on to the sides.
The trick here is to bend the sides just a bit, near the top, so that you know where it will need to be bent all the way down.
Once you have a reference point, take the mesh off and bring it over to a flat surface with an edge (like a table or counter), and bend the mesh all the way down on both sides using that edge, it’s much easier this way than trying to do it on the lamp.
Make your bends just a bit more than 90 degrees, this way once it’s attached to the light, the metal won’t want to pull away from the zip-tie mounts.
Once it’s all bent to shape, you can cut out the corner sections that aren’t needed.
And that’s about it! It’s a little bit of a pain, but once it’s done it’s done.
Just stick your zip tie mounts onto the light and start zipping the mesh into place!
Testing the DIY Light
I hope to purchase a professional UV spectrometer (>$2000) one day to improve this testing, in the meantime, this is the best I’ve got.
I used the UVA, UVB, UVC, and UVI meters from Solarmeter to test this light setup.
As soon as I began, I realized it was going to be a little challenging, because, unlike the Sperti lamp, this one ramps up to its max within the first 2-3 minutes (if it’s warm).
As you can see, it then slowly comes down to baseline over the next 15 minutes or so.
It’s a bit harder to compare the two because of this.
But I tried anyway.
UV Index Measurements
As you can see from the graph below, this DIY lamp is quite a bit more powerful than the Sperti lamp:
This means that while you get a UVI of 14.3 at 15″ from the Sperti, the same UVI is reached at 24″ for this light.
If you’d like to take a deeper dive into the measurements for this light as well as the Sperti, the Google Sheets document can be found here.
You can read our review of the Sperti vitamin D lamp here if you’re interested.
UVA Measurements
Since the UVI pretty much only takes into account UVB and lower, what about UVA?
Well, the DIY light puts out way more UVA than the Sperti light does.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing though?
Well, natural sunlight does produce quite a bit more UVA than UVB, so this seems to mimic sunlight in that regard better than the Sperti.
Of course, this can also double as a tanning lamp as well if you spend more time in front of it.
You may not want this much UVA, perhaps you’re only interested in the UVB aspect, if that’s the case you’ll want to skip this. I’ll see if I can create an affordable narrowband UVB light in the future.
Does UVA Affect Vitamin D Production?
Kind of.
In this study, in which 75 participants total finished. The researchers compared vitamin D production in 4 groups.
UVB only, UVA only, UVB+UVA, and a control.
It was observed that almost no differences were seen in the full spectrum UVA+UVB group when compared to the UVB-only group.
In fact, the full spectrum group actually had a higher mean change in serum D3 than UVB only.
They do note that under longer duration times (≥9 min) UVA may decrease pre-vitamin D3 production. Which is fine, UVA does act as a D3 modulator in nature.
So I don’t think there’s anything to worry about here. In fact, it’s likely a good thing as UVA is useful for nitric oxide production, blood flow, and increasing endorphins.
UVB LED Options
Several studies have shown that UVB between 293-295nm is the most effective at triggering the production of Vitamin D. However natural sunlight has almost no light in this frequency range so I have concerns with trying to emulate this…
It’s not easy to find UVB LED products on the market just yet, but here are some of the options I’ve found so far:
Zoo Med ReptiSun UVB LED
This might be the most legit UVB reptile light out there right now since they actually provide a spectral graph report:
Looks like around 306nm LEDs for the UVB portion which may or may not work well, I’m not sure.
I’d try using these for a minute at 1-2 feet away to start? But I haven’t tried them myself yet.
Aiicioo Reptile LED UVB Light
I’m not sure what wavelength these UVB LEDs are but they’re a bit larger than the ReptiSun so the coverage might be a bit better.
The wattage still maxes out at 9w so overall they should be similar in output.
Chroma D-Light
By far the most expensive Vitamin D light on the market, but probably the most legit, safe, and effective way to get vitamin D there is.
The combination of red and Near-IR combined with narrowband 297nm UVB LEDs make this a powerhouse.
Use coupon code OYB5 for 5% off!
How to Use Your Vitamin D Lamp
Okay, so it’s built, and mounted, and you’re ready to stand naked in front of it.
But how far away? And for how long?
The Warm-up Period
You’ll see the lamps aren’t evenly lit up when first turning it on, they take a few minutes to fully warm up.
So wait until they are uniformly lit to use the lamp.
How Far Away Should You Stand
I currently use my lamp at a distance of around 14-16 inches.
I’d start at two feet for safety.
Grab a pair of UV glasses before using this!
How Long Should You Use the Light
How you react to ultraviolet radiation depends on your personal situation.
Getting my vitamin D from 23 ng/dL to 39.2 took about a month, and I spent about 10 minutes per day in front of my lamp about 5-6 days a week on average.
Depending on your skin type, diet, genetics, and all the rest, the time to erythema will vary.
Erythema is, for those that don’t know, just reddening of the skin. If your skin is getting very red, you’re standing too close for too long.
Simple as that.
Didn’t get red at all? Feel free to increase the time or stand a little closer. Just only change one variable at a time so you know what is and isn’t working for you.
The Best Time for UV Exposure
The best time to use this would be in the middle of the day, preferably after some infrared exposure, as infrared is protective against UV damage.
For most, the best routine would be to use some kind of infrared light therapy in the morning, followed by a UV light session when they get home from work.
You don’t really want to expose your skin to UV first thing in the morning because it’s very unnatural. I would think this might harm your skin and potentially cause problems with circadian timing and hormone rhythmicity.
Alright, that’s it!
Conclusion
I’ve personally used the Sperti and I can confidently say that my DIY sun lamp feels much better.
It feels warm and powerful like the sunlight I’m so fond of standing underneath when I can.
Hopefully, this has inspired you to build your own!
Hi Derek,
Thanks for this great writeup!
I want to avoid tanning as much as possible while increasing my vitamin D levels, so will need to go the higher UVB bulb route. I live in the UK and it appears the AgroMax bulb is not available here, however I have found this:
https://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/grow-lights/lamps/fluorecent/migro-uvb-310-fixture-and-fluorescent-tube.html
“System Output 75% UVB and 25% UVA, Spectrum peak at 310nm (UVB)”
It appears it comes with a case/reflector, or whatever you call it, for each bulb and they say you can “daisy chain” them together, so I assume you shouldn’t need one of those 4 bulb holders.
However it appears to only be 22 Watts
I’m afraid I don’t know my arse from my elbow when it comes to this stuff. The lights you’ve recommended are 54 watts, so more than double the power. However, if I understand correctly, they produce less UVB as they’re only 14% UVB. Since these produce more UVB, 75%, but are less than half the power, would your setup and my hypothetical setup potentially be not that far off eachother in terms of the amount of UVB being produced, could these 22W 75% UVB bulbs possibly even output more UVB than the the 54W 14% UVB bulbs? Or am I completely missing the mark here.
Any guesswork is still much appreciated as I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Hey Dave! You can certainly give those a shot, they’ll work!
But unfortunately comparing them without testing side by side is impossible. When it comes to UVB specifically, the amount of power output in certain wavelengths makes a big difference. For example saying 75% UVB vs 14% UVB isn’t accurately telling us how much power is in each wavelength within the UVB range itself.
So for wattage and even percentage you can’t do an apples to apples on these since the power ratios within the UVB:UVA bands themselves differ.
These lamps will be very powerful so just be careful with them! Start far away and with short durations.
Thanks for the advice 👍
Just had another look, they appear to be 18W not 22W
They’ve got an image of the spectrum here, not sure if that provides any additional clues: https://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/image/cache/data/grow-lights/led-grow-lights/MIGRO-UVB-spectrum-Insta-100-510x510_x668x-500×500.jpg
And a comparison to other similar products (it seems similar to the Agromax): https://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/image/cache/data/grow-lights/led-grow-lights/UVBcomparisonb_x6682x-500×500.jpg
That’s probably similar to the actual spectrum, I’ve just learned not to trust manufacturers data at this point 😅
Hard to say for sure how these compare to others at this point other than they’re likely very high in UVB.
Ah yes, makes sense cheers 👍 I’ll update down the line on how I get on with them
btw, for any fellow UK’ers who might stumble on the previous comment, I ended up getting them from here instead for almost half the price as the other link: https://migrolight.com/collections/uv-grow-lights/products/migro-uvb-310-fixture-and-fluorescent-tube
Look forward to it! And nice find, i’ll update this post in the future once I test these and others. Cheers!
Wangled something together with a cardbord box, here’s my temporary setup for now until I build something better: https://i.imgur.com/1Ouaf6k.png
This thing is no joke. A couple of days ago at noon, I did 4 minutes on chest and back for a total of 8 minutes at a distance of 16 inches. I could feel pleasurable sensations while it was radiating on my back.
I wasn’t expecting any immediate effect, but after my session, I felt rather giddy and felt good throughout the day, with more energy, focus and mood was upbeat. It was a very potent and obvious effect throughout the day.
In the evening however, I started feeling almost manic and a bit on edge and found it hard to stay still. My sleep that night was patchy and I woke up pretty exhausted.
I’ve experimented rather extensively in the past with tyrosine and other dopaminergic things, and I’d say a lot of the effects I was having were probably consistent with increased catecholamines. There was definitely some dopamine / norepenephrine stuff going on.
The next day, I was curious to see if anyone experienced borderline mania from a Vitimin D lamp and did some Googling, I found a couple of people experiencing intense stuff from the Sperti:
https://www.reddit.com/r/VitaminD/comments/rshnwk/weird_symptoms_after_using_sperti_vitamin_d_light/
https://www.reddit.com/r/VitaminD/comments/rn97wh/sperti_vitamin_d_lamp_experience/
So I’m going to take this really slow, I think this DIY lamp is more powerful than the Sperti. Will probably wait until next week to try it again and only try it for a couple of minutes this time and gradually work my way up. I will also start out with an infra-red session this time, I skipped that when I tried it the other day.
Thanks for the update Dave! Wow yeah I’ll bet that is more powerful than the Sperti. You may have even gotten an overdose of vitamin D! Haha
Increasing the distance and/or decreasing exposure time should help. Could very well be that the higher UVB output with that duration and distance is resulting in too much too fast.
Dave you are my new favorite DIY guru! Thank you so much for this comprehensive guide! I’m hoping you’d be able to answer a question unrelated to your primary motivation… that is I am looking for tanning primarily (vit d will just be an added bonus) and I’m wondering which of the lamps you referenced would be best for this? I worked in retail tanning for years and obtained a “SmartTan” certification and we were taught you need both UVA and UVB exposure to get the best tan. UVA supposedly bringing melanin to the surface and UVB darkening it once it’s been stimulated. Most beds have 95-97% UVA and 4-6% UVB.
Now I have zero electrical engineering experience and don’t want to buy bulbs you didn’t say will work in your booth because I don’t know the power input needed or even how to figure that out myself. Are any of the lamps you researched anywhere near this range? Even a 90% UVA / 10% UVB or similar would work fine.
I know tanning wasn’t your motivation for this DIY guide and I fully respect if you decline to answer based on that. I did read through the comments first to see if anyone asked a similar question before bothering you.
Any advice you could provide would be great. Thank you kindly for your time!
Nick Klotz
Hey Nick! No offense taken 😁
So as long as the bulbs are T5HO they will fit and work in these fixtures. Beyond that I’m not as familiar as you may be with the tanning process but what you’ve said sounds right! Most of these lamps do have a similar ratio, meaning they are much higher in UVA and lower in UVB to simulate natural sunlight ratios.
Arcadia for example has anywhere from around 2% UVB up to the 14% I’m using here. Even my 14% lights gave me a nice tan while using them I will say!
Hey Derek, This was super informative. I live in Minnesota, and definitely suffer from lack of sun & vitamin D. I have a tanning club membership, but I also have a lot of skin issues, which in turn lead to me being somewhat reclusive during the winter months (my skin totally clears up if I go on vacation to Hawaii, or spend a lot of time in the sun, or the tanning booth). I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the single round bulbs as opposed to the long tubes (if I was only wanting to target my face on days I didn’t want to go out)? I know this might sound strange, but it has been a huge insecurity for me all of my life, and tanning has literally been h the only cure…
Hi Kristine! I don’t have any specific recommendations at this time but that’s something i’ll be working on over this next season!
Are you referring to bulbs like this? Or this? They should work, you’ll just want to but them in a reflector dome and wear eye protection.
Yes, I was thinking more in terms of the second one… but would one be better than the other? And by a reflector dome, do you mean a fixture where the bulb is enclosed, like this:
PewinGo Reptile Heat Lamp, Lamp for Aquarium Turtle Tank with 25w+50w Basking Spot Light Bulbs and 360° Swivel Clamp for Turtle, Snake, Lizard, Cockatoo, Chameleon Etc, Yellow https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B77K4HCQ?psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ct_10QNGNN9Y4TDEH8DXT8V&language=en_US
?
I truly appreciate your expertise in this, as it’s hard to find this sort of info. Thanks so much!
Or to add on to previous comment, something like this bulb:
PewinGo 4 -Pack 50W UVA UVB Heat Lamp Bulbs for Reptiles, Heating Emitter Bulbs for Amphibian, Terrariums, Cages, for Tortoise, Snake, Frog, Lizard, Chameleon, Hermit Crab, Cockatoo. Halogen, Orange https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG5WDNKP?psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ct_V423NCZSXGY89T506XR9&language=en_US
Or is this one not appropriate ?
Again, thank you for your help!
You could maybe try this combo out:
UVB15.0 26W + 8.5″ Clamp Lamp
That should work well, I’ve not tested these lights so take this with a grain of salt! I’m hoping to get a nice UV spectrometer soon so I’ll try to test this kind of stuff a bit more thoroughly.
Derek this is such an awesome DIY! I appreciate you so much for taking the time to do this extensive research…and then sharing it with the world! Thank you so much, Monica
Thanks for the comment Monica, you’re very welcome! More to come!
Thank you so much for your advice! I will try these and give you an update… not sure if anyone here has issues like me… but like I said previously, I was looking for something I could use at home when I was not feeling up to going out in public (when my skin is acting up and looks horrible) & using my “tanning membership” (and because I pay for the “top-of-the-line” monthly membership in Minnesota… I really hate to buy one of those Sperti units… although I’m sure they are high quality…) Sadly I have suffered from horrible acne since my adolescent years, and despite multiple treatments over DECADES… nothing has worked except sun and ocean water. So… I have ordered a light and holder, and will update you on my progress. Thank you so much your advice. May the Sun Gods Bless You 🔆
~Jackie Kristine
You’re very welcome Jackie! The Sun really is a marvelous thing! I hope this works out for you 🙂
Hi Jackie Kristine!
I am very much interested in how this works out for you as well. Please keep us posted!
Thanks for this perfect article, will build one soon! I see you writing about negative ions somewhere else. Could you shine a quick light on your experience with these, do you have experience with generating them at home?
Hi Roman! I’ve dabbled a bit in negative ions and definitely think they’re worth exploring personally. They do seem to positively affect mode and even circadian regulation in many studies I’ve looked into.
Unfortunately there aren’t a ton of commercial products for healthy negative ion production. We own a few TEQOYA products which are really the best you can get and we really like them, they definitely help to clean the air and improve the atmosphere in our house.
Thanks for your reply. What are positve effects you have noticed from the negative ions in your house?
Dust certainly collects around the ion generators, so I know it’s helping cut down on the air particulates. I’ve seen many studies that show mood improvements from negative ion inhalation but we do a lot here to improve mood such as light, biophilia, etc. so it’d be hard to isolate if they’re having an effect that regard.
We do feel great in our home though I can tell you that much!
Love this content by the way, it’s some great information. Do you actually need uv glasses? Would you not want to mimic what it’s like if you were walking in the sun and it shining in your eyes or is the problem that we have to be so close to these lamps?
I would say the amount of UV light coming from these is extraterrestrial in its strength, so it’s not really mimicking sunlight… If we could really mimic the Sun I wouldn’t be as worried.. But that would require implementing visible light as well as the full range of near infrared, and then making sure all of those are in-line with the wavelength ratios and strength of real sunlight.
For now I’d say were best staying on the safe side 😀
Haha ya better safe than sorry 😂 so would you even be able to get away with not buying uv glasses if you don’t directly look at the light, as in if you were looking around the light? I’m guessing the amount of uv light is still way too strong to even consider not wearing them
You might be fine if you just closed your eyes? Eyelids block pretty much all of the short wavelength light, hence the red color you see through them. But don’t quote me on that lol
You only get two eyes though! Probably better safe than sorry.
HI there. Thank you for this valuable info. I’m interested in buying the AgroMax 75% UVB T5 because it looks like it has UVA and UVB. Its seems pretty powerful. Should I only get the one light and single fixture or will the 4 light/4 fixture set up safe for the short amount of time?
Hi Gina!
Just so we’re on the same page, the Arcadia bulbs I used to emit lots of UVA as well as UVB. The AgroMax bulbs differ as they emit far more UVB.
One bulb may be enough, those are very powerful! So if you did a 4 bulb you’d just want to make sure you’re far away and using them for short periods.
It might be possible to desolder the UVA led on the Zoo Med ReptiSun UVB LED and replace it with a resistor of similar voltage drop.
This would allow for a vitamin D lamp that only uses UVB instead of UVB and UVA.
You probably could do this! I’m still concerned with the longevity of these new UV diodes, but time will tell.
Hey Derek,
Very informative article, thankyou!
Has your setup changed in any meaningful way these past few months or are you still using the Arcadia bulbs?
I am asking because the 75% UVB bulbs like those from Agromax or Migro (the one that Dave mentioned) look very tempting.
Not sure if they are the safest option however.
An update on your setup and your two cents regarding the safety of 75% UVB bulbs would be appreciated!
Cheers,
Hodaifa
You’re welcome! We still just use the Arcadia, I haven’t felt the need to “upgrade”!
at this time I haven’t done adequate UV testing on these bulbs so I’m not confident on the safety profile…
You are right, better safe than sorry.
Getting the lights is the easy part, but a fixture like yours however is harder to find than I thought.
Atleast where I am from, the EU.
One last thing if you don’t mind, do you have any idea how much IU your Arcadia setup provides per session?
I really don’t know for sure… It would depend a lot on how close you were and skin type. But more than Sperti I believe. Which was around ~2,300IU per session per Sperti’s study.
I just assembled a 4 bulb lamp using the agromax 75% uvb and I ended up burning myself. I did 5 minutes at 24 inches away.
It’s worth mentioning that the only spot that burned was where my body wasn’t used to the sun on my chest and upper legsm. My arms, face and lower legs were not were not burned.
I am not discouraged though and I plan to begin after I heal at a greater distance and shorter duration.
Oh boy! Yeah these really seem to burn people… Perhaps I need to place a warning on them lol
That’s interesting that only your chest burned. Thank you for the report Ryan!
Best of luck to you on your next attempt!
oh my God thank you so much! I had a hunch you could use grow light fixtures but because I’m terrible at math and I’m not an electrician I was scared to move forward with the project. Instead I bought a $3,000 tanning bed a couple years ago but then had to move and lost about $2,000 on that deal 🙁 Lately I’ve been revisiting the idea of building my own and here you are! Thank you! question do I need to be careful when looking at grow lights that they are the right specs or will they generally be the right specs?
Welcome Helen!
So I don’t technically use grow lights. I use “reptile lights” that emit UVA and UVB, specifically the Arcadia Dragon D3 linked in this article. IF you were to use these or any other UV emitting bulb I would recommend wearing some UV filtering glasses when looking at them!
How long should a person with skin type v (dark skin African man) stay under it and for how long. I’m planning to stand around 2 – 5 inches from the lamp, so very close. With that range how long could I stay there? And how frequent per week also?
Hey man! So I’m actually not sure, since everyone is very different and even the bulbs themselves can vary in output.
My recommendation is to use the lamp to erythema and then back off from there. So for African/dark skin this would likely just appear as “darkening” of the area rather than the typical reddening you’d see on whiter skin. Basically the increased inflammation and blood flow should change the color or lightness of the skin in the treated area.
So I’d try 5-10 inches for 5 minutes or so, and judge from there if that was too little or too much? Something like that.
You’ll have to experiment to find the right dose and distance!
Hi Derek,
Im grateful for your efforts in coming up with this information, really appreciate it.
I understand that flicker rate is also a health factor when it comes to light sources.
Have you measured the flicker rate of both the Sperti and your DIY lamp?
If Yes what are the values?
Thank you very much.
Cheers,
Nanding
I have not! We just got our hands on a new flicker meter so this is something i’ll have to test and update the articles 🙂
Derek I’m so sorry for calling you Dave…I was looking at the wrong part of a communication between you and another commenter.
Hi Derek,
I appreciate all the research you’ve been doing. Just wondering if the wattage for the UVB lights matter. Should I go for 54w or 24? Thanks
No problem! I’d say go with the length you want. The 54w will be 4 foot long, and cover more of the body, while the 24w is I believe 2 feet long, making it more like the Sperti in size.
I was going over the numbers in the spreadsheet, and they seem too good to be true. At 20″, the DIY outputs 9.7 times as much UVA, and 7.4 times as much UVB. That’s a rather major difference. It does so while only consuming 50% more electricity (the 4 recommended bulbs draw 216 watts total, plus there’s probably some overhead for the fixture(?) vs 150 watts for the Sperti). Not only that, the DIY output length is well over double that of the Sperti (eyeballing, it’s around 2.5 times as long). So, on average, 8.5 times more overall UV output with 2.5 times the emission area equals over 20 times more UV output — all for 50% more electricity? Something seems off. Is the Sperti outputting much more visible light?
Hey Joe! So it looks like you might be misreading the data.
I’ve got the following:
DIY UVA @20″: 1210 uW
DIY UVB @20″: 385 uW
Sperti UVA @20″: 109 uW
Sperti UVB @20″: 93 uW
This would give the DIY lamp a roughly 4x UVB output and an 11x UVA output. I’ve also clocked the Sperti at only 72w power draw while the DIY lamp pulls closer to 190w.
It’s worth keeping in mind that the DIY lamps are a newer more efficient type (T5HO) and so can output more energy for less power as well.
Hope that clarifies things!
Bravo! this post has really inspired me to build a Mult- Spectrum “Sol Chamber” to incorporate a UVA, UVB, Full spectrum Visible light, Very near infrared, an abundance of 850nm infrared, and elements even into 1200nm and far infrared. I have been following a molecular biologist who explained why getting all these different types of light in concert, just like in nature, actually produces protective effects from the damaging potential of UV light. This influencer also made the case that your eyes need to recieve it the same time as your body to enhance melanin production and utilization of light. Before finding your post, this type of photobiomodulation setup was completely out of reach for me, but I just ordered all components for under $400, and the specs look like they might surpass pretty much anything I could get off the shelf!
I am curious of safer ways to approach exposing my eyes to the UV, and IR do you have any suggestions… closed eyes while looking away, turning my back and looking at reflected light of a green board… not really sure yet.
Hey Alan! This sounds like a dream come true haha. I’d love to see it if/when you bring it to life!
The challenge will be in getting the output ratios right, but that’s mostly just math.
When it comes to the UV-eye safety thing, some things that come to mind:
– Very high lux to properly constrict the pupil
– Natural VIS:UV:IR output ratios
– Dispersed light, so avoiding high photons per angle
Abiding by these principles would ensure your setup mimics natural light and minimizes any potential consequences of artificially reproducing it.
Curious about the green board, what are your thoughts there?
Hey Derek, thanks for the reply!
These are very good points to consider. I’ll have to do some calculations to see what kind of lux I have with this setup in the visible range.
I know the UV output is much higher than the sun, but I thought to graduate the exposure, doing all 3, then visible and IR, then IR only, I might even use far infrared sauna bag after to try and get closer to the right ratios.
Dispersed light was kinda what I was thinking as well for the UV into the eyes thing as well as mounting at an angle close to the midday sun.
Some of the equipment is already arriving and I got to test out the Vivosun fixture you reccommended with 4 agromax bulbs. It felt really amazing like sun bathing does. I did want to point out that it looks like there’s some problems with that fixture as far as manufacturing defects from the reviews. My unit sparked and burnt out two of the bulbs immediately… and flipped the breaker.
My thoughts with the green board are to mimic how leaves and vegetation reflect IR light when you’re getting actual sun, I thought getting it reflected back from dispersed angles might offer some benifets as it does in nature. I haven’t looked into it enough yet, but I wonder if green might reflect some weakened UV as well to assist with the eyes receiving it safely. I WAS
worked with a few AI models to help me dila in my spectrum, and they also suggested green light might be a little lacking in my visible range compared to our sun, and instead of adding more, I thought to just reflect it with green boards… I’d welcome your thoughts on this or ant other part of my setup.
What ratios might be ideal for UV/Visible/IR?
I don’t know where you’re located but feel free to reach out if you’d like to see the setup once I get it all together and fine tuned and we’ll see if it’s possible to actually come for a visit.
Oh wow! Maybe I’ll change that link! The one I originally purchased is no longer available and it seems like they keep coming and going so I have to constantly change the link.
The green board sounds like a good idea to me! It would be difficult to know if a particular green reflects similarly to that of a leaf, but it’s probably close.
So for the ratios it’s something like this:
UVB: <1%
UVA: 8%
VIS: 44%
IRA: 32%
IRB: 14%
IRC: 2%
But it will vary. Getting somewhere around there with your total power outputs could work? Depends on your goals with the setup ultimately.
I'm located in Michigan, USA
Cool, I’ll see what I can do to achieve these ratios. I’m in Northeast Ohio.
Hey we’re pretty close! I’m actually in southeast Michigan near the Ann Arbor area.
What was the brand and model of your original fixture if you wouldn’t mind saying?
Also, seeing the comments and hearing people discuss using some of the 75% bulbs makes me wonder about blending bulbs. For example could a nice balance be achieved by using two of the bulbs in your build with two of the 75% bulbs?
I actually can’t seem to find it anywhere :/ No branding on it and I can’t find the old order… but yes that might work! I’m planning on doing some more testing this season to try to find out.
Hi Derek, thanks for the very informative article! Do you have any idea as to whether the Sperti tanning lamp will produce vitamin D? The website just says it has not been tested for that. I have one, and I am hoping I don’t need to build a D Lamp as well. Although you certainly have taught me how to make one!
Hi Colleen 🙂 I’d put money on it doing so. As far as I know it does emit UVB in the vitamin D action range, so it must. But you’re correct, since it hasn’t been tested, I really can’t say for sure what kind of net effect it might have. You’d have to test yourself to find out!