"Sun@Home Office Light: will it light up my home office?
16-11-2023
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Pia Seidel
Ledvance's WiFi desk lamp promises to bring the sunshine into your home. I'm giving it a try to see if it really works.
To combat winter fatigue, I'd like to have lighting in my home that's close to natural sunlight. How can I get this brightness? By using a lamp called "Sun@Home Office Light", which claims to be the star of the day. Designed by the Ledvance company, its LEDs imitate sunlight. I also like the way it looks. All the more reason to ask Ledvance, a company based in Munich, to send me a copy to test.
First impressions: unpacking and switching on
As soon as I received the lamp, I was won over. Its packaging is economical and it weighs 4.8 kilos. In other words, even in the most tumultuous moments, it will stay nice and sandy. In music terms, it's more like heavy metal than smooth jazz. Especially as I can't see any traces of cheap plastic. Nice detail: a layer of felt glued to the underside of the leg protects the surface of the desk.
Disco ambience when I plug in the lamp: it starts flashing automatically. No, it's not an alarm signal. It means it's ready to be connected to the app. Then, as soon as I touch the touch sensors, no more disco effect!
At first, the mood is disco: the lamp starts flashing until I touch the touch sensor.
How it works
Height-adjustable, the head of this desk lamp is made up of two rings. The inner ring tilts to the right or left. You can control the lighting using the Ledvance app connected with WiFi, but it's not compulsory. There are also two sensors on the base of the lamp. One is used to turn it on and off, and also to change the colour. The other is used to dim the light. These two buttons operate by continuous pressure. I really like this system, as I don't want to pull out my smartphone every time I want to turn the lamp on.
As I suffer from FOMO, I install the app on my smartphone anyway. Depending on the manufacturer, you can also adjust the lamp using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. On my smartphone, I add the lamp to the app and start playing around with the colour temperatures.
Whether with the app or without, I can modulate them between 2200 and 5000 kelvin and different light intensities. The spectrum of the fixed "SunLike" LED, with a colour rendering index (Ra) of 95, is close to natural sunlight. In comparison, an ordinary light bulb only has an Ra value of between 70 and 80. As I'm going to be using this "Sun@Home" lamp to work from home, I appreciate its clear, cool light. A function in the app reminds me to turn the light off. Good thinking, because I do indeed forget to do this sometimes.
Design and lighting ambience: top class
This lamp offers lighting close to that of the sun. Paradoxically, when I place the inner ring in my favourite position, I feel like I'm looking at a planet. When the light settings go towards warm tones, this gives it a pastel brown-yellow appearance reminiscent of Saturn.
With its discreet colours and harmonious silhouette, this designer lamp doesn't look out of place in my home office. Another good point is that the surface retains neither dust nor fingerprints. However, I'm not so keen on the large printed symbols (they're probably visible from Saturn). Fortunately they work perfectly, as do the two illuminated rings.
When the rings are placed at different angles, the light spreads evenly around the room. When I need light to read, for example, a single ring provides enough light and doesn't dazzle me. I often try to place a ring in such a way as to illuminate a slightly dark corner of the room. I find this diffused light more pleasing to the eye. With the two rings angled on my worktop, the brightness is almost too strong for my taste.
After eight weeks of testing, I'm just as happy with the lamp as I was on day one. Whenever the sun isn't out, I turn on my "Sun@Home Office Light" and change the colour depending on the time of day. In the morning and evening, I prefer cool tones. It reminds me of the effects of a light therapy lamp I once tested. In fact, since I've been using the Ledvance lamp, I feel I'm up and running earlier in the morning and later in the evening. Of course, when I'm really tired, the light isn't enough to give me a boost.
Conclusion: a better-lit home office
The "Sun@Home Office Light" lamp is no substitute for sunlight. But with its Ra value of 95, it performs significantly better than traditional office lamps. It offers different colour temperatures as well as variable light that can be directed differently thanks to two light rings. And it can be controlled via an app or manually. With a recommended retail price of almost 100 Swiss francs, this lamp isn't cheap, but I'd definitely invest that amount because the finish is so good. And also because I live on the first floor! My flat isn't very bright, so every extra source of light is welcome, winter or summer. With its geometric and filigree shapes, there's something timeless about this lamp. It can also be used away from a desk, as a reading lamp or to light up a room. It's a shame that the base and key symbols are a little crude compared to the rest.
What I like:
- use is easy and intuitive;
- the light intensity can be adjusted, as can the colour temperature;
- it can be adjusted via an app, but also manually;
- the light rings and arm are movable;
- it has a classic look.
What I don't like:
- the base of the lamp is bulky (even if you can put objects on it);
- the symbols on the keys are too big;
- no light can be obtained other than that reminiscent of sunlight.
P.-S.: fancy improving the lighting in your home without cluttering up your office? There's also a floor lamp version of this lamp.
Headline photo: Pia Seidel
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
