Building a Lumenator in Canada (2024)

lumenator

What you’ll need:

1. Lighting String

  • I couldn’t find anything for sale in Canada and had to order from a US provider on Amazon, who would ship to Canada. You will want one with 20-30 sockets. I purchased one with 25 sockets ($52 usd to the string + $35 USD in shipping). 10 sockets would make for a great mini lumenator, perfect for bedrooms, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find any to buy in Canada of a smaller size.  You ideally want the light string to be white, and without hooks. For the lighting string I purchased, the sockets have a little rubber edge that protruded too long, and in order to screw in my light bulbs, I needed to use scissors to make an incision in the rubber (other people who purchased this light string shared a similar complaint online).
  • Amazon
  • https://archive.is/zrVtB 

2. Bulbs

  • You are optimizing for two things here: lumens and CRI. Ideally, you want your bulbs to have at least 1500 lumens to get as much light as possible, and at least 90 CRI. I ordered half 2700K and half 5000K based on conventional wisdom I could find online. It does have a noticeably warm aesthetic during the daytime (i.e., it feels like it’s constantly sunset), so it may be better to have more 5000K bulbs, but generally, I like the colour, so I’m happy with how I have it. I bought two 6-packs of each colour temperature for a total of $46 (plus, I used one lightbulb I already had at home). This was the only brand I could find with high enough lumens and 90+ CRI.
  • Amazon
  • https://archive.is/iJzPp

3. Command Hooks

  • I ended up using 7 large Command hooks to hold up the lights, which I purchased for $21. My lights are hung in a somewhat droopy manner; if you want the lights to be hung in a straight line with no slack, then purchase many more Command hooks. Otherwise, 7 large ones are enough to support their weight and still look good.
  • Amazon
  • https://archive.is/WmIfL

4. Extension Cord

  • Since you will be hanging the lights near your ceiling, and you likely don’t have an outlet near the ceiling (and you also don’t want the light bulbs to climb your wall), you will need to buy an extension cord for the light cord to plug into. You will likely also need to buy some sort of switch to turn your light bulb on/off, so it’s probably better to buy a combined switch/cord. I bought a 15-foot white one for $19, which, when I purchased it, was labeled only for use with Christmas lights and couldn’t be used for long periods of time. However, after doing the math and checking the voltage numbers, which were all fine, and since I only use the light during the day, I wasn’t worried about the extended periods of use.
  • Amazon
  • https://archive.is/8Io7m

5. Paper Lanterns

  • People recommend encasing the light bulbs in paper lanterns. I bought 25 6-inch lanterns, only to find out that they are too small for the bulbs I purchased. I haven’t found a suitable place to find 8-inch paper lanterns, so for now, I am settling for no lanterns.

Final thoughts:

I’ve used the Lumenator for one month now and am really enjoying it. I highly recommend it to other people experiencing depressing winters. When it’s on, it feels like how the lighting should be. Even on relatively bright and sunny winter days, as soon as I turn my Lumenator off (or revert to standard lighting), it becomes incredibly noticeable how much darker it is. I’m curious to see if I feel the need to use it in summer. One of the other benefits of having a daytime lighting setup is that it enables me to have much nicer (warm) lights just for evening time, which has had the effect of making my apartment more cozy.

Guides I referenced:

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