Vitae
104 €
- A light source in sync with your circadian rhythm
- EU Energy Efficiency Class: A+
- Dimensions: 112.5 x 70 mm
Product datasheet
Set of 4 bulbs
366 €
- A light source in sync with your circadian rhythm
- EU Energy Efficiency Class: A+
- Dimensions: 112.5 x 70 mm
Product datasheetRent Vitae Light
1.99 € / month
+ 12 € single refundable deposit
- If it breaks, we’ll send you a new one
- Rent for one month or even a lifetime
Product datasheet
Rent a clip-on lamp
1.99 € / month
+ 20 € single refundable deposit
- If it breaks, we’ll send you a new one
- Rent for one month or even a lifetime
Spectral power distribution of Vitae light types
Warm white: with a lowered emission of blue and green wavelengths
Technical parameters
EC Regulation No 2019/2015, of March 11, 2019, regarding lightsources, energy consumption and labelling, has modified the energy efficiency scale, reducing it to classes A to G (eliminating A+ and A++ classes). Although parameters of Vitae lightbulb have not changed, it is newly classified as F (just like almost all other LED bulbs).
| Orange | Warm white | Bright cold white | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power [Watt] | 1,9 | 5,2 | 6,8 |
| Electric Energy Consumption [kWh/1000h] | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| CCT [Kelvin] | x | 2800 | 4000 |
| CRI Ra | x | >96+ | >96+ |
| Beam Angle [°] | 176 | 177 | 179 |
| Luminous FLux [lm] | 10 | 300 | 440 |
| Starts [s] | <1 | <0,5 | <0,5 |
| Electric Current [mA] | 8 | 22 | 29 |
| Electric Power Supply | 230 V~ / 50 Hz | ||
| ON/OFF | 15000 | ||
| Dimensions [mm] | 122.5×70 | ||
| Hg (Mercury) [mg] | 0.0 | ||
How does Bulbsharing work?
2. We send you the products (or you can pick them up in person in our store in Prague)
3. The rental fee is automatically deduced from your card for each passed rental month
4. Cancel and return the products back to us anytime
Lifetime
Warranty
The warranty is valid for the entire rental time. When rented items are faulty or stop working, we will replace them free of charge.”
Minimum service life
of 15 000 hours
The maximum service life is a mystery – we are still running tests to see when the first Vitae stops shining.
Patent
pending
Being a unique light source, Vitae Light is currently awaiting final patent confirmation by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Promotes sleep at night
Vitae’s orange phase promotes the secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin as it does not emit blue or green wavelengths. Consequently, it aids in the maintenance of a healthy circadian entrainment i.e. you will fall asleep easier and wake up feeling more refreshed. Use 90 minutes before sleep.
Shines bright, almost like the sun
The daylight white phase brings true colours back to life thanks to its colour rendering index (CRI) of 96+. This light enhances cognition, learning and understanding as well as
concentration, reaction time and overall performance.
Aids relaxation during the early evening
Vitae’s warm white phase is ideal for an evening rest at home and for reading after work. Its reduced blue content encourages the body’s preparation for the night when orange light is used.
A 3-in-1 light bulb in accordance with your natural biorhythms
All it takes to cycle through Vitae’s phases is your lamp’s ordinary light switch – just turn the bulb on, off and on again to advance the cycle step. After the bulb has been turned off for more than 11 seconds, the cycle is automatically reset back to the orange step. This is to avoid accidental activation of the second and third blue-rich steps during the night
If you’ve been using the warm white relaxing step for longer than 11 seconds (e.g. during evening reading), by turning the bulb off and on again, you will smoothly segue back to the orange night light (first step of the cycle). This is to provide a smooth transition from evening to night lighting without skipping over the bright white phase, which is designed for daytime use.
“For the past 28 years as a light designer, I have both studied in theory and seen in practice how various kinds of light influence our body and brain, our health and the quality of our sleep. I constantly watch for new developments in lighting technology and discuss newly discovered facts and advances with top chronobiologists and other scientists. My inventions include pro-cognitive and biodynamic lighting, for which I have three patent-pending applications.”
Hynek Medřický
Inventor of Vitae Light
Flicker-free
Unlike the vast majority of LED light sources, Vitae is flicker-free. (To be precise, Vitae’s flickering is extremely fast, far faster than the frequencies which have been proved to influence our eyes and brain.) As a result, it does not induce eye strain and migraines – see our FAQ on how to test your bulbs for flicker.
Vitae fits the ordinary E27 Edison screw, so you can easily fit it into almost any desk or nightstand lamp.
Vitae reveals beautiful colours without distortion
The warm white and bright white phases have CRI of 97 and 96 respectively.
A colour rendering index (CRI) is a quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to faithfully and genuinely reveal the colours of objects in comparison with the sun, whose CRI value is maximum i.e. 100. Ordinary LED bulbs typically have a CRI of 80 – to achieve a value that would approach 100 is rare and very challenging among LED light sources.
HOW TO CORRECTLY USE VITAE
Vitae’s orange phase does not emit blue and green wavelengths (specifically wavelengths shorter than 550 nm), which delay and reduce the secretion of the hormone melatonin. A powerful antioxidant, melatonin plays a hugely important role in immunity and cell regeneration processes. By supporting the quality of sleep, it enables a healthy functioning of metabolism, long-term and short-term memory and other bodily and brain functions. High melatonin levels at night are vital for the prevention of any cardiovascular and oncological diseases. Correctly timed and unreduced melatonin secretion in the evening and during the night thus contributes to overall health.
It is important to use Vitae’s orange phase 90 minutes prior to sleep (to be precise, 9 and a half hours before waking up in the morning) as melatonin is secreted into the blood 90 minutes after our retina has been last irradiated with wavelengths below the 550 nm threshold, i.e. blue and green wavelengths. Therefore, before sleep it is essential not to come into contact with any other light sources that emit short wavelengths such as white and warm white light bulbs, white streetlights that shine into your rooms (low-pressure sodium streetlights are fine) and computer, mobile phone and other display screens (e.g. blue or green alarm clock screens, microwave screens etc.) without a red filter or a red protective foil – otherwise, Vitae’s orange phase will have no effect on melatonin secretion.
Secondly, Vitae’s warm white step, is designed for your rest after work and around dinner time. With its lowered blue spectral component, it resembles daylight shortly before sunset.
Last, unlike most common white LED light sources, Vitae’s bright white step emits the full continuous visible spectrum with a balanced emission in the blue and red spectral regions. Such light supports our cognitive abilities, performance, concentration as well as our memory without appearing too cold and unnatural.
Note that healthy sleep is also supported by a high difference in illuminance between daytime and evening. This is how we evolved as a species. During daytime activities, we spent our time outside under the sun’s illuminance of 10.000+ lux with high blue spectral component (lux, or lx, is the SI derived illuminance unit). In the evening, we used the firelight with illuminance in tens of lux.
Vitae can fit any standard E27 Edison screw light fixture. It is, however, most useful in table, floor and bedside lamps that are positioned roughly at your eye level.
More about using other light sources at home in our FAQ
FAQ
1. Will Vitae work in my ceiling light?
While Vitae can fit any light fixture with an ordinary E27 Edison screw, it is most suited for more localised eye-level light sources like desk and nightstand lamps or floor lamps. If this is not an option, we feel Vitae’s bright white phase performs the best in ceiling light, however, the orange phase in a ceiling light also is suitable for bathrooms during the evening and night.
2. Where should I use Vitae at home?
We recommend Vitae for desk, bedside and nightstand lamps in bedrooms and kids’ rooms as well as sofa reading lights and night-time lights in the bathroom and the toilet. In the evening it is advisable to use lights that shine below eye-level, just like the firelight does.
3. How long will take for Vitae to improve my sleep?
This varies greatly for each individual as it heavily depends on how much your circadian rhythm is desynchronised. Normally positive results can be observed after one week’s use. It is very important to note that 90 minutes before sleep to be precise, 9 and a half hours before waking up in the morning, no blue or green wavelengths should be hitting your retina (i.e. specifically wavelengths below the 550 nm threshold). Vitae’s orange phase will not have a beneficial effect for your sleep and melatonin secretion at night if other full-spectrum lights that emit blue or green wavelengths are used concurrently such as:
- full-spectrum white or warm-white LED lights
- RGB LED lights that that mix blue and red to create light we perceive as orange
- undimmed incandescent light bulbs
- fluorescent light bulbs
- computer screens and mobile phones without red screen enabled (Apple’s Night Shift is unfortunately not sufficient as it still allows for blue light emission – see how to turn the red filter on your iPhone)
- TV screens
For instance, if you use Vitae 90 minutes before sleep in your bedroom only, the full-spectrum white or warm-white light in your other rooms in the evening and during the night will still keep on inhibiting your melatonin secretion. The same happens if you watch TV or use your smartphone or computer without a red filter prior to sleep. As a result, you will not benefit from Vitae’s orange phase, which is devoid of blue and green wavelengths below the 550 nm threshold. In cases when you can’t avoid such blue-rich lights (e.g. when travelling or for an urgent work email before sleep), use blue-blocking red glasses.
4. Is Vitae’s luminous flux (lumen value) sufficient for home lighting?
Yes, it is – Vitae is optimised for desk, bedside and nightstand lamps in bedrooms and kids’ rooms as well as sofa reading lights and night-time lights in the bathroom and the toilet.
5. Why Vitae cannot be controlled remotely via an app?
We believe in simplicity. App-controlled lights are always in the stand-by mode a never properly turned off, thus emitting electromagnetic radiation and using energy at all times. Also, such remote control requires the use of a phone which without a red screen inhibits melatonin secretion at night. Vitae is simply controlled manually with your light’s switch. When turned off, it truly is off and does not emit any light.
6. Why and when should I avoid blue-rich light?
90 minutes before sleep (to be precise, 9 and a half hours before waking up in the morning), no blue or green wavelengths should be hitting your retina (i.e. specifically wavelengths below the 550 nm threshold). Our eyes have been evolving for millions of years under the influence of the sunlight – as a result, our circadian rhythm, our inner biologic clock, is synchronised through it. Sunlight emits all visible wavelengths (i.e. colours) during the day, but as evening and sunset approach, the short blue and green wavelengths are filtered out thanks to the Earth’s atmosphere. Therefore, the light at sunset appears warm and red. The missing blue and green wavelengths are a signal to our body that the night is approaching and melatonin secretion should begin. Melatonin will be secreted into our blood after roughly 90 minutes since the last moment blue or green wavelengths hit our retinas. Consequently, it is very important not to hinder or delay this secretion in the evening or during the night. Melatonin is a very important hormone that plays a crucial role in sleep, metabolism and works an antioxidant against varied diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
7. Is there going to be a model of Vitae compatible with the E14 Edison screw?
Unfortunately, there will be no such model as Vitae’s heat exchange surface does not allow for this. Vitae needs perfect cooling – with an E14 screw, the chip inside would overheat quickly.
8. How can I test my lights for flicker?
To test if your lights are flicker-free you just need a smartphone. Approach a light you would like to test and view it through the phone’s camera – if you spot vertical lines running through the light, it is very likely such light causes flicker and eye strain. The second option is to shoot a video of the light with the slow mode turned on.
9. How to set a red screen filter on your devices
Apps like F.lux often only limit blue and green wavelengths emitted by screens, but they don’t eradicate them completely. Consequently, 90 minutes before sleep (precisely nine and a half hours before waking up in the morning), we recommend you wear our red glasses in case you need to work late on your phone or computer (of course, using electronic devices before sleep should not be the norm). It is not necessary to wear red glasses if the free native red screen colour filter is used on your Apple devices or if you use the Iris app:
- For how to set a red screen colour filter on your Apple devices see instruction videos on our YouTube channel. Links: red screen filter how-to for iPhone/iPad and for MacBook/iMac.
- Iris app is a cross-platform app that can fully eliminate blue and green wavelengths. Available for desktop computers, tablets and smartphones – Android, Mac, Windows and Linux systems are supported.
