A small Bay Area startup is changing the way we think about lighting.
Sunlight Inside has recognized that blue light is essential during the day but harmful at night. They just released mySun, one of the first lighting products that can change in color and brightness automatically throughout the day to support productivity and sleep.
Just plug it in and turn it on, and mySun automatically starts changing in response to the sun’s daily patterns.
What makes mySun shine is that it doesn’t require any complicated setup. Nor is an app needed. Just plug it in and turn it on, and mySun automatically starts changing in response to the sun’s daily patterns.
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Smart Lighting’s Identity Crisis
Philips Hue* and LIFX* showed the world that lighting can be much more than a simple source of illumination. Suddenly, you could make your lights change to any of a million-plus colors from an app halfway around the world.
The ability to change colors or control lighting remotely is not worth the effort and cost for 99% of the population.
Both Hue and LIFX were launched almost six years ago. Since then, we have seen no major reductions in cost or complexity. If you want a Hue system in your home, you’ll pay about ten times what you would for regular LED lighting. Setup still requires technical savvy that goes way beyond simply replacing a light bulb.
Smart lighting has valid use cases, but the value proposition is just not there for most people. The ability to change colors or control lighting wirelessly is not worth the effort and cost for 99% of the population.
Circadian Lighting in Its Infancy
You may be familiar with Elon Musk’s top secret master plan for Tesla:
Build sports car
Use that money to build an affordable car
Use that money to build an even more affordable car
While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
mySun is to lighting what the Tesla Roadster was to cars. It’s expensive and exotic. But it represents a groundbreaking idea that will change the future of lighting.
Simple, Gorgeous, Healthy Light
Why does mySun cost $250? You might think that even Philips Hue is a comparative bargain. As my home is outfitted with Hue lights, I am qualified to compare the two systems.
Like Hue, mySun mixes several different LED colors to generate different shades of white. But mySun produces richer, more vibrant colors—which translates into people and objects looking better under its light. According to the manufacturer, it’s the closest you can get to natural light right now.
mySun is also brighter than any Hue bulb. This means you can get adequate blue light during the day — even if you don’t spend much time outside.
At night, all the blue light disappears automatically, even if mySun is still on. I was surprised to learn that mySun could be really bright and still emit no blue.
By contrast, to make Hue emit absolutely no blue, it has to be quite dim and basically red. More like a night light than a normal light bulb. It’s nearly impossible to read a book under Hue’s no-blue setting.
For anything more than basic control, Hue requires setup with an app and a hub connected to an internet router. Even after all that setup, Hue doesn’t really have an automatic circadian lighting mode. You’ll have to purchase a remote control or use an app to manually change lighting modes.
By contrast, mySun changes color automatically, and all you have to do is plug it in and turn it on. Sunlight Inside preprograms the light to your time zone. Too bright or too dim? Just adjust the attached dimmer accordingly. It’s that simple.
My Recommendation
If you can afford it, you will not be dissatisfied with mySun. mySun’s simplicity, functionality, and quality of light are far superior to anything else currently on the market.
If you work in a poorly-lit office, especially away from windows, you should make the case for your employer to purchase this for you. A $250 purchase is a lot less than all the lost productivity due to poor light exposure.
mySun is also great for the home. You could use this at your desk and other task areas to support healthy energy, mood, metabolism, vision, and sleep.
bottled sunshine Table Lamp
Sunlight Inside also makes a table lamp, bottled sunshine*, which puts the same functionality in a different form factor. bottled sunshine provides all the same benefits of mySun, but it might be a better fit on your nightstand and in other non-task areas.
mySun and bottled sunshine are handcrafted in California from real wood and glass. Both are designed to last 10–20 years with no bulb to replace. I’m confident you’ll enjoy every minute of them.
mySun is a glimpse into the future of lighting. By supporting Sunlight Inside, you are making that future possible.
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I was not compensated by Sunlight Inside or any other party for this review. The opinions presented here are completely my own. I may make a small commission from purchases made after clicking affiliate links marked with *.