The Silk bulb has been created by Utah-based Saffron and is currently seeking $100,000 of crowdfunding on Kickstarter. With 43 days to go, the project has raised over $16,000 already.
The campaign explains Silk will automatically adjust the temperature of the light that it emits throughout the day, akin to how the warmth of sunlight changes from dawn to dusk. This means that your circadian rhythm will be more regular and your biological clock calibrated correctly against the sun.
It is known that we have been getting progressively less sleep in recent years. A primary contributor to this is the blue light emitted by the cold screens of televisions, computers and mobile phones. Silk says that even the lightbulbs in our homes could be emitting too much blue light though. We really need warmer, redder hues at the end of the day, which promote rest and relaxation.
Medical schools and health institutes agree. An out-of-phase circadian rhythm “is a health hazard,” according to the National Institute of Health. Our technologically-enhanced lives can make it difficult to keep our biological clocks working properly though.
Silk aims to solve this issue. By default, Silk will wake you up with an energising cool hue that becomes increasingly blue-tinted throughout the day. This suppresses the hormones that induce sleep so that you feel motivated to carry out your daily activities.
As the day continues into the late afternoon, Silk will gradually move the light towards the red end of the spectrum to promote the sleep hormones, making it easier for you to wind down. The red light is easy for the body to interpret because that is what it has been used to from the sun for thousands of years.
The bulbs will work with most standard light bulb sockets and can be controlled from a normal light switch with no modification required. They can also be paired with a phone app via a Wi-Fi bridge, allowing you to set up automated light schedules and zones to define warmth and brightness by time and location.
The bulbs use a unique technology dubbed nClick that allows you to use your ordinary light switch to control them. Simply flicking the switch will set the bulb to its normal behaviour while flicking it twice will give a boost of blue light and flicking it three times will slowly dim it to off. These actions can be changed in the companion app.
Silk has produced several prototype designs of the bulb before settling on the rounded design shown in the concept artwork and render above. It looks very unobtrusive and similar to a regular modern lightbulb so it shouldn’t stand out too much in the home or protrude above lightshades on lamps.
Each bulb will produce 800 lumens of light. Silk says that the bulbs are very similar to normal LED bulbs but include a second bank of LEDs which enable the colour temperature flexibility.
Saffron is currently advertising an Early Bird special for the first 1,000 Kickstarter backers. This includes three bulbs and one Wi-Fi bridge for $99. The standard pricing is $129 for three bulbs and a bridge while additional bulbs are priced at $24.95. International purchasers should note that extra shipping charges will apply outside of the U.S.
Saffron aims to begin shipping Silk in January 2016. Although the cost may be too high to make outfitting a whole house viable, it could be worth considering for a bedroom or lounge where restoring the natural circadian rhythm of the body is deemed to be particularly necessary.
With the ability to be controlled from your phone or your ordinary light switch with no specialist installation required, there doesn’t seem to be an easier method than Silk if you want to get the temperature of your light matching that of the sun. Saffron is seeking funding for the project until August 7.
