Phosphor-converted LEDs with low circadian action for outdoor lighting

Dichromatic phosphor-converted (pc) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with low circadian action are proposed for low-luminance photobiologically safe outdoor illumination. The LEDs feature the partial conversion of blue radiation in an orange phosphor with the resulting correlated color temperature in the “firelight” range of 1700–2500 K. The circadian action factor, which is the ratio of the biological efficacy of radiation due to the excitation of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells to the mesopic luminous efficacy of radiation, is considerably lower than that of commercial white pc LEDs. The equivalent general color-rendering index estimated with regard to the reduced color-discrimination ability of human vision at low luminances has appropriate values in between those of common white pc LEDs and high-pressure sodium lamp.