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Summer is coming to a close. The weather is changing, and so are the colors of the leaves. But if you want to hold onto summer a bit longer, or even all winter long, we have a tip. Try plastic fluorescent light covers from Octo Lights. With the right fluorescent light covers, your home, office, or classroom can feel like summer all winter long. So if you find yourself clinging to those last warm, sunny days of summer, decorative fluorescent lighting fixtures may be just what you’re looking for.

A Decorative Lighting Definition

Here at Octo Lights, we like to think of decorative fluorescent lighting fixtures as the solution to a serious problem. In fact, the term “decorative”, while true, may not adequately express what we do. Our fluorescent light covers aren’t just pretty. They are the solution to both aesthetic and health issues that are facing millions of Americans every day.

The problem we want to solve is the problem with fluorescent light. Fluorescent light, by its very nature, is unhealthy. Once upon a time, all of our light came from the sun or some type of fire. Campfires, torches, oil lamps, and candles were the only sources of artificial light. For the most part, humans lived their lives by the light of the sun. In fact, throughout most of human history, sunlight was all we had. So it’s not surprising that we evolved a very important relationship with the sun.

Humans, like many animals, get their cues from the sun. The sun tells us when to wake up, when to sleep, when to be active, and when to rest. But the sun doesn’t just help us set our clocks. Our bodies actually have an internal clock that is calibrated by the changes in sunlight over the course of the day. Complex systems that control everything from mood, to digestion, to our immune systems, and many other essential functions are aligned to the sun.

When artificial light became cheap, easy to produce, and ubiquitous in the early 20th century, everything changed. Humans no longer lived by the sun. But at least the light of incandescent bulbs was in some ways similar to sunlight, or at least firelight. But with the introduction of fluorescent light, we started subjecting ourselves to a type of light that threw off our internal clocks.

The Danger of Fluorescent Light

Fluorescent light is relatively cheap. The tubes have become very affordable to buy, they last longer than the old incandescents, and they are cheaper to run. With all of these savings, it’s no surprise that fluorescent light is as popular as it is. But the drive to light so many spaces with fluorescent light never had anything to do with health.

Today, with the advent of computers, smartphones, and a variety of attention-grabbing screens, a new emphasis is being placed on light and its effects on the human body. In fact, it’s pretty likely that you have already heard about the dangers of blue light coming from our devices. Blue light, the experts tell us, makes it harder to sleep and is bad for your eyes. Sleep specialists, neuroscientists, and researchers encourage us to put down our phones and step away from our laptops and tablets an hour before bedtime. Blue light is always the culprit.

But did you know that fluorescent lights are also a significant source of harmful blue light?

It may come as a surprise to many, but we have been living with blue light for decades. That’s well before the advent of personal screens and endless screen-time. It’s just never gotten as much attention as it is getting today. But if you’ve ever felt exhausted after a day at work or school, but still unable to get to sleep, it may have to do with the light in those spaces.

The Role of the Light Panel Cover

Most offices and schools today are lit with fluorescent light fixtures. Those fixtures give off light that is similar to the light of the sun at midday. The slight bluish tint is too subtle to be visible with the naked eye. But make no mistake, the light given off is heavily skewed toward shorter wavelengths. That leads your body to react as if it were midday, giving off all the signals of peak wakefulness. In nature, midday light only lasts for a few hours. But in our artificially lit spaces, we experience that kind of light from morning to night. No wonder our body clocks are so confused!

Luckily, there is a possible solution, and it’s not hard to do.

One way you could reset your internal clock is to spend more time outdoors, but that may not always be practical. So instead, modern humans need to find a way to tone down that nasty blue light. Would you believe that something as simple as decorative fluorescent lighting fixtures could be the answer?

At Octo Lights, we make replacement fluorescent light covers that you can install instead of the transparent or slightly clouded covers you have now. These light covers aren’t just pretty. They are carefully designed to cut down on blue light. That results in a healthier, more natural light reaching your eyes. Your internal clock will thank you! To see just how easy they are to install, check out our video here.

Kitchen Fluorescent Light Cover Replacement

One area where you might suffer from fluorescent light is in your home kitchen. For most of us, the majority of our time spent in the kitchen is in the evening. After a long day of work or school, we come home and head to the kitchen. Whether we’re whipping up dinner for a family or just foraging for leftovers in the refrigerator, many consider their kitchen the heart of the home. But those evening hours are the most sensitive to blue light. Remember all those experts urging us to get off our phones? Even without your phone, if your kitchen is lit by fluorescent light fixtures, you are being exposed to blue light.

One great way to cut down on your blue light exposure is to install kitchen light lens covers from Octo Lights. Any of our many covers will significantly reduce the harmful blue light. But as we said at the beginning of this post, decorative fluorescent lighting fixtures are the solution to both aesthetic and health issues. We’ve covered the health side. Now for the aesthetics.

The fall is a time of colder weather and earlier sunsets. Many people love this time of year for the coziness of a warm cup of tea on a cold evening. But what we don’t always love is the lack of natural light. So if you’re confronting shorter days and a lack of light, you may want to consider decorative fluorescent lighting fixtures. Try some of our gorgeous cloud-themed ceiling light diffuser panels. Installing one of these decorative fluorescent lighting fixtures is like installing a skylight. But with a cloud-themed decorative light cover, the sky is never dark or overcast, even at night! You can bring the warmth and light of summer with you all winter long.

Ordering and Installation

Unlike installing a skylight, ordering and installing Octo Lights covers for decorative fluorescent lighting fixtures takes only minutes and no special skills or tools. The first step is to take a look at our wide selection of light covers. There are dozens to choose from, or you can upload your own image. Once you have selected your favorite image, you’ll be asked to select the size. With just those two selections you’re ready to check out. We’ll print out your designs and send them to you via FedEx within two business days of receiving your order.

When you get your cover, installation is a snap. To learn how to replace drop ceiling light panels or pretty much any other type of fluorescent fixture, check out this video. The only tool you might need is a flathead screwdriver, though sometimes you don’t need any tools at all. If you’re not sure how to install your new light panel cover in your particular fixture, don’t worry. Just contact us, and we’ll be happy to walk you through it. We promise it will be one of the easiest things you do today!