30 June 2022
 Categories: , Blog

Something a number of people don't know about with regard to light bulbs is the viewing angle. On one hand, this is understandable. Viewing angle addresses being able to see the light when you look at the bulb and not what the light is illuminating, and most of the time, people don't do that with bulbs, at least not consciously. But if you work with anything that has an indicator light, become familiar with viewing angles if you aren't already. They can be the cause of an indicator light being very difficult to see.

Three Angles to Remember

When you work with bulbs, you have three angles to deal with. These include the beam angle, which is the cone of light in which you get a certain concentrated percent of the light emitted by the bulb; the field angle, in which you have a more diffuse and dimmer amount of light emitted from the bulb; and the viewing angle, which is the range between the points where it becomes hard to see the light when looking directly at the bulb. If you've ever seen your laptop screen suddenly become dim as you moved to the side and looked at it from the side, that point is at the edge of the viewing angle. The same concept applies to things like indicator-light bulbs.

Viewing Angle and How You See the Indicator Light

If you have a bulb with a narrow viewing angle, you won't see that bulb light up if you're looking at it from outside that angle. If you're having trouble seeing an indicator light, and you've made sure the bulb is bright and has a good beam angle, it could have a viewing angle value that you need to research. However, not all bulbs have viewing angles listed when you buy them.

Adjusting to Bad Viewing Angles

Sometimes there's not a lot you can do because the bulb you need does not have a wide enough viewing angle to make the indicator light more visible when you're sitting to the side. Plus, the panel the light is in is fixed, meaning you can't turn the panel to face a slightly different direction. If you're stuck in this situation, you can still adjust where you do your work in many cases, so you can be closer to the indicator light. Failing that, a well-placed mirror may be necessary, or you may need to decide on a schedule to purposefully check the light. If you end up in this case, make sure you look for a reputable brand of indicator light because the quality of the manufacturing will be essential in keeping the light working and shining bright when it turns on.

For more information about different lights, like YuCo YC-22R-3 lights, contact a local company.