LED desk lamps have a lot going for them. Besides being energy efficient, LED lamps run much cooler than conventional desk lamps, and you can expect the LEDs to last for 10-15 years. Watch out for poorly made LED lamps though — I have an Adesso Lamp that lost 7 of its 20 LEDs in the first year. I see many other Amazon buyers had the same problem with this lamp.
Here is our round-up of the best led desk lamps:
The Softech DL-90 Multi-FunctionLED Desk Lamp
This lamp was just released this year by Softech, and it has a lot going for it. The lamp incorporates 27 high-power daylight LEDs. The Color Rendering Index of the LEDs is rated at 90+ (excellent).
The lamp has four distinct lighting modes and 40 brightness levels in total. The first two modes are for desk work: a reading mode with mid-range colors (4300K-5300K) that are easy on the eyes, and a study mode which has a high range color temperature (6000K-7000K). The lamp can also be switched to a relaxation mode and a sleep mode — these have softer, warm color temperatures.
This lamp uses 10 watts or less of power to provide light equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent bulb. It is said to last about 40,000 hours or 20 years of normal use.
A handy feature of this lamp is “auto off timer”. The timer will turn the lamp off after one hour, saving your power if you forget to turn it off. It has has a USB charging port.
The Softech DL-90 lamp is available from Amazon for $139.99
The Z-Bar High Power LED Desk Lamp
The minimalist Z-Bar High Power LED Desk Lamp is an attractive lamp that features the latest LEDs.
It has six daylight white LEDs that use only about 9 watts of electricity at full brightness (the LEDs generate about 240 lumens of light).
The Z-Bar has a built-in 4-step dimming function that will take the light down to save even more on electricity or it can be used to create softer lighting for the task at hand. The adjustable joints can be placed in almost any position without tightening or loosening knobs or screws, simply move the light to where you need it and the lamp will hold to form.
The Z-Bar received an I.D. Magazine “best of category” award a few years ago.
The Z-Bar LED Desk Lamp is available from Amazon for around $170. It comes in three colors: red, silver and black.
The Finelight LED Desk Lamp
This minimalist aluminum lamp is has nice attention of detail. It has a heavy cast iron base, and the LED casts a pleasant light that emulates the warm white of incandescent bulb. The LEDs consume just 9 watts, and is said to be the equivalent of a 100 watt bulb.
This lamp won the Lighting for Tomorrow competition award in 2007 for quality in solid-state lighting.
It’s available from Amazon for $268.
LED Panel Desk Lamp
This lamp, known only as the “LED Panel Lamp” by EarthTech Products has a unique feature — it uses an electronic ballast to stop power drain when you turn off the lamp. Some LED desk lamps use 8 watts when turned off, this one uses 0.40 watts. The power adapter can also handle 120V or 240V, and it can switch between 50Hz or 60Hz.
The LEDs generate a coolish white light at 5,000° Kelvin.
It comes with all the important certifications: UL, CE and RoHS.
The LED Panel Lamp is available from Amazon for about $115.
Freeform Black LED Desk Lamp
This lamp, the Freeform LED Desk Lamp makes full use of the potential for minimalist LED-based design. It includes eighteen 1/2 watt LED lights, for a total of 9 watts. No word on the actual lumens generated though. This lamp is selling for $150.
The Freeform LED Desk Lamp is available from Lamps Plus.
Tri-L LED Work Light
Tri-L Rechargeable LED Work Light
Tri-L LED Light by Altus Lumen is another portable LED that works well as a desk light. The lamp has a metal housing made out of 85% recycled magnesium (lighter than aluminum). When folded up, the light acts as a flashlight, and measures just 110×60x20mm, so it fits nicely in a pocket. When unfolded, the light becomes its own 360 degree tripod stand, and can be used as a serious worklight or booklight.
The Tri-L’s hinges are also impressive – they are made with fraction joins instead of screws. The light can be fixed precisely in any orientation you set. The Tri-L has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which can be recharged using a USB cable (included). The runtime is about 1.8 hours for the flashlight, and around 8 hours for he worklight once the battery is fully charged. The runtime can be extended with an optional extended battery pack.
The Tri-L will also warn you when it’s about to run out of power. It flashes for 30 seconds when its about to shut off — you have 30 seconds before the spotlight turns off, or 10 minutes before the flashlight runs out.
The manufacturer Altus Lumen, states that 75% of the Tri-L is recyclable, and is built for easy disassembly. It is made with non-toxic components, and is LOHAS compliant.
The Tri-L sells for about $100 and is available from Amazon.
EcoLight LED Table Lamp
- EcoLight LED Table Lamp
The EcoLight LED Table Lamp receives great reviews from owners (see the comments on this post and on Amazon). Made by IMG Lighting, this lamp has a unique feature: a touchpad that allows you to adjust the brightness and warmth of the light. This is possible because the lamp has both yellow and white LEDs. The lamp uses just 12.9 watts of power at maximum brightness, and produces 600 lumens.
The EcoLight is available from Amazon for around $129.
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I’m an early adopter of LEDs. I bought the Balmuda Highwire when it first came out in 2007. I paid around $650 for the Highwire. The design was sharp and I got alot of compliments when people swing by the office. The problem back then and still exists now is that so many of the LED lamps were just for show, and weren’t that bright. However, whats the point of any lamp that you can’t use? I have to use the lamp to read, not just look good on my desk.
I went through like 3-4 high end speciality lighting stores checking out LED lamps and back in 2007 only the Balmuda performed as good as it looked. If you check out the Balmuda they only use 4 LEDs, but each diode was extraordinarily bright. So when we were moving into new offices I wanted to get a dozen more Balmuda Highwires for my management staff, but they don’t make them any more so I had to start the hunt all over again. I spent the time to look and test out the current generation of LED lamps from all the major manufactures. I don’t know why so many of these lights are so dim (most were about 40 watt bulb in brightness) or were stuck using LED technology a generation back (even Balmuda used only 4 LEDs back in 2007, why are these companies using like 20, 30, 40 lousy LEDs in a single lamp). If we’re spending hundreds on a lamp the quality better be there.
The only lamp that stood out were the desk lamps from IMG Lighting. The lighting quality is as good, maybe a bit better, than my Balmuda, and it seems to use the same formula as the Highwire by using a few high quality LEDs instead of a bunch of low quality ones. The other LED lamps from other makers were sleek in design, but they fell short when it came time to “shine.” Again, whats the point of a lamp if it won’t light up a desk. In the end, we bought IMG Lighting’s lamp for our offices and we’re very happy with them. I think Balmuda takes the cake when it comes to design with its sleek milled aluminum, but it was also expensive at $650 (back in 2007 too!). The IMG Lighting lamp it is great value for money.
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