Monitor light bars, also known as monitor backlights, are a great addition to any workstation as they provide a subtle yet effective source of ambient lighting.
Light bars are great for improving the aesthetic of your setup, but they have functional uses too. They can significantly reduce eye strain and fatigue, especially in dimly lit working environments.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best monitor light bars on the market and what features to look for when purchasing one.
So, what are our favourite options?
Best Options At A Glance
Product Summaries
B.FRIENDIT Computer Monitor LED Light
- Brand - B.FRIENDIT
- Dimensions - 4.4 x 0.9 x 0.8 cm
- Weight - 590 g
- Bulb Type - LED
- Special Feature - Asymmetric Optics
The asymmetric optical design eliminates reflective glare off the screen to relieve eye fatigue by long-term viewing of the computer screen. There’s no need to tile your head or move the lamp many times to avoid screen glare, it will directly light up at your desk or keyboard. It features 128 LEDs, which emit a soft and visually appealing light level.
If you want a reasonably priced monitor light to test the concept, the B.FRIENDIT light is a good choice.
Buy the B.FRIENDIT Computer Monitor LED Light from Amazon for £28/$34:
Quntis Computer Monitor Lamp Auto-Dimming
- Brand - Quntis
- Dimensions - 40 x 2 x 2 cm
- Weight - 1.1 kg
- Bulb Type - LED
- Special Feature - Memory Function
The built-in ambient light sensor allows this light bar to intelligently adjust the brightness to a comfortable level according to the surrounding light throughout the day. The high quality light source emits soft light without any flicker, which can effectively relieve eye fatigue and protect eyes.
Additionally, it can be manually adjusted to change the brightness and colour temperature. 3000K-6500K step-less colour temperature adjustment allows you to switch between cold light and warm light for a comfortable work environment all day. The impressive memory function automatically remembers your last setting, no need to reset.
This Quntis light is a good option for users who want a light that’s slightly higher quality than entry level options, but also won’t break the bank.
Buy the Quntis Computer Monitor Lamp from Amazon for £45/$55:
Hapfish LED Desk Lamp
- Brand - Hapfish
- Dimensions - 44.3 x 21.8 x 8 cm
- Weight - 1.32 kg
- Bulb Type - LED
- Special Feature - Dual Head LEDs
Next we have the Hapfish LED Desk Lamp, which is a step-up from the lights that we’ve covered so far. It’s currently selling for £53/$64 on Amazon.
The Hapfish LED lamp features an ultra wide double head design (78cm wide). This tall desk lamp illuminates the entire desk, making it ideal for a multi-monitor workstation or large office space.
This bar lamp can be powered by a computer, phone charger or even a power bank. Hapfish’s exclusive patent fixing clip allows the lamp to be mounted on top of a computer monitor, making the light more stable and helping you save valuable desk space.
Equipped with 45° angled away LEDs and side lighting design, it illuminates only your desk and keyboard. With no flickers, glares during the usage, it can perfectly protect your eyes while your are reading or working.
This Hapfish lamp is perfect if you’re looking for something that’s a little bit larger, especially for a dual-monitor setup.
Buy the Hapfish LED Desk Lamp from Amazon for only £53/$64:
Xiaomi MI-BHR4838GL Motion Monitor Light bar
- Brand - Xiaomi
- Dimensions - 2.6 x 2.6 x 1.69 cm
- Weight - 100 g
- Bulb Type - LED
- Special Feature - Colour Control
The Xiaomi MI-BHR4838GL Motion Monitor Light Bar is another impressive option if you want something a bit more premium. It’s currently selling for a respectable £85/$103 on Amazon.
One of the most interesting features of the Xiaomi light bar is the remote control. The convenient control uses a 2.4-GHz wireless connection, and lets you adjust the colour temperature and brightness according to your preference.
This light bar utilises a wide angle pivot mount which allows for use on a variety of monitors. The 40° adjustable axis makes it suitable for curved screens with a thickness of 1–32 mm, with or without a bezel.
The detailed colour rendering is also really impressive. The Xiaomi light bar’s high Ra95 colour rendering index shows objects in full, natural colour. This can be a great help for design or colour adjustment.
This Xiaomi monitor light bar is great if you want a light that’s towards the premium end of the market, but don’t want to spend over £100/$120.
Buy the Xiaomi MI-BHR4838GL Motion Monitor Light Bar from Amazon for £85/$103:
BenQ ScreenBar Plus Monitor Light
- Brand - BenQ
- Dimensions - 8.9 x 45 x 9.1 cm
- Weight - 1.18 kg
- Bulb Type - LED
- Special Feature - Colour Control
Finally we have the BenQ ScreenBar Plus Monitor Light. It’s currently selling on Amazon for £119/$144.
BenQ’s built-in light sensor allows the ScreenBar to intelligently adjust to the perfect light level according to the ambient with one press. The LED lamp will illuminate to 500 lux, which complies with the American National Standard for office lighting. Additionally, the desktop dial makes it easier to adjust the settings manually.
The brightness and the colour temperature light can also be manually controlled by long-pressing the keys. With a light level from 300 lux to 1000 lux and a colour temperature from 2700K to 6500K, the light bar helps to create a comfortable work or entertaining environment for you. Covering 6500K colour temperature, it is also a suitable LED daylight lamp for visually demanding and colour sensitive applications.
The sand-blasted aluminium alloy light gives you a great touch feeling and build quality. It’s perfect home office accessory for business professionals and creators. It also has an impressively long lifespan, which is officially tested for over 50,000 hours.
If you want a monitor light from a trusted brand, the ScreenBar plus is the perfect choice.
Buy the BenQ ScreenBar Plus Monitor Light from Amazon for £119/$144:
How do you choose the best monitor light bar?
There’s a couple of key things to look at for when shopping for a light bar.
One of the most important factors is light colour. Correlated colour temperature (CCT) is measured in degrees Kelvin from 1,000 to 10,000. Warmer ratings (e.g 4,000K and below) are less intense and considered to be easier on the eyes, whereas cooler ratings (e.g 5,000K and above) are more intense and harsher on the eyes. Ideally you’ll want to look for a light bar with an adjustable colour temperature, but the light colour is definitely an important factor to consider.
Another important factor is adjustable brightness. A monitor light with adjustable lighting is almost always better than one without, as it allows you to change the intensity of your light bar depending on the time of day or lighting conditions of the room. This is ideal for ensuring you always have the desired level of illumination.
Brand is also a key consideration. As with any tech purchase, it’s always preferable to go with a reputable product from a brand. This is important both for quality during use and the overall lifespan of the product.
FAQs
The BenQ ScreenBar Plus Monitor Light is one of the best monitor light bars on the market. BenQ are a market leader in the consumer electronics industry and they have loads of experience with releasing quality products, so it’s no surprise that this light bar is so impressive. It’s got an average of 4.7 stars on Amazon and it’s packed full of useful features.
The B.FRIENDIT Computer Monitor LED Light is a great light bar if you’re looking for something affordable. It can fit on almost any monitor (8 to 60mm thick) and it’s highly adjustable in terms of colour temperature and brightness. It’s difficult to find a better offering at this price point.
In short, yes, there’s quite a few benefits of using a monitor light bar.
Monitor light bars can help to illuminate your desk or working environment without creating glare on your monitor. One of the biggest benefits of this is reduced eye strain, as using bright monitors in dim environments can strain your eyes, and this is especially true during extended use.
If you’re looking for a light bar for a dual monitor setup, the Hapfish LED Desk Lamp is a great choice. It’s also more affordable than the vast majority of it’s closest competitors.
Thanks for reading our article. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any thoughts or queries that you’d like us to take a look at – we’d be happy to help.
Are you looking for a portable monitor for your Macbook Pro? Check our article covering the Best Portable Monitor For The Macbook Pro
