LEDs could be harmful to health – the EU halogen ban will make it worse

The European Union recently announced a ban on halogen light bulbs, to persuade the public to switch to LED lamps. It’s unlikely to raise many eyebrows. There are, after all, lots of different lamps on the market. LEDs are low-voltage devices and the light they give depends on the circuitry hidden in the lamp itself, which changes the alternating current to provide the low voltage the LED needs. Some electronic circuitry is insufficient to reduce the variation in the supply voltage and this process can generate flicker.