Philips Wake-Up Light HF3475/01 With Radio Alarm - White

Whilst I wouldn't call myself a sufferer of Seasonal Affected Disorder I do find waking up naturally with the sun shining through the gap in the curtains preferable to being dragged out of the darkness by the rude awakening of an alarm clock. This is where the Philips wake-up light comes in and I love it - waking up to a room filled with a warm glow, all cosy and coming to naturally, listening to the sounds of the birds chirping - sheer bliss.

The Philips Wake-up Light is designed to gently prepare your body for waking up during the last half hour of sleep. You place the appliance next to your bed at a recommended 40-50cm from your head. Half an hour before you set the alarm the light starts to build to your desired level and at the time you've set the alarm for you have the option of FM radio, Birdsong, a beeping sound, wind chimes or jungle drums.

It's not all good however, the light is large, white and plasticy looking, the controls take a bit of getting used to and the FM radio with its wire aerial doesn't pick up my preferred morning radio station. Hence it sits on my bookshelf and my trusty DAB clock radio still has pride of place on my bedside table set to come on 10 minutes after the wake-up light.

The bulb has an expected life of 7 years of normal use.

After using it for a couple of weeks now I didn't realise how much difference it made until I forgot to set it and instead was woken up by my clock radio and back-up alarm clock - it just wasn't the same.

UPDATE: 25 OCT 2009 - NO LIGHT BUT BIRDS SINGING IN THE DARKNESS
A couple of days ago I woke up in the darkness and thought I'd forgotten to set the alarm until I realised I could hear birds chirping away in the darkness.... The only solution offered by the manual or Philips web site was that the bulb was faulty or the light setting was too low, yet when I switched just the lamp on it worked fine at full brightness so the bulb appeared to be OK. By searching the internet I found that others had reported similar with previous models and the solution is to unplug the unit to reset it (had to be unplugged for several hours before the time displayed wasn't the current time) and thankfully my light's now working again......6 weeks on and it has worked every morning since.

FURTHER UPDATE: 13 DEC 2009 - Since writing this review I notice that Philips have added the following to the product description "2-years manufacturer's guarantee - Philips will replace the whole Wakeup light even if only the bulb is faulty "

END OF THE WINTER: And starting to get light in the mornings now..... From first use, this light has locked out on me a total of three times, each time leaving it unplugged all day and then resetting the time has sorted the problem. Despite this I would still thoroughly recommend it!

OCTOBER 2010: The dark mornings are with us again and after struggling to get up last week this weekend my wake-up lamp was brought back into use. This morning I woke up before my alarm went off, warm and cosy to a room filled with soft light and the sound of birdsong - makes me smile just thinking about it!

NOVEMBER 2011: This light's still going well but now relegated to another bedroom as I've got another model Philips HF3470 which whilst it has less options than this one, it had the ones that I use. The controls are in my opinion better laid out and for added peace of mind it has a bulb which is user-replaceable. Read more ›

This lamp has proved to be a pleasant way to wake up. The light really does lessen the shock of getting up in the morning since you become `aware' of it before the alarm sounds and prepare yourself. It is accompanied by your choice of sound which only activates at the actual time you set, unlike the light which very gradually brightens as the alarm time approaches. I chose the `soft chimes in the wind' sound which is a far more civilised way to wake up than the rude suddenness of a traditional alarm clock.
There are some minor issues to consider before purchase though. Firstly, the instructions state that the in-built bulb cannot be replaced, but it is of the low energy type anyway and with normal usage is reckoned to have a lifespan of around 7 years. Secondly there is a very low `hum' emitted from the lamp; this certainly isn't noticeable enough to bother most people but there may be some very sensitive people who will not like it. I had been concerned about whether the lamp would also wake my wife as it came on in the morning. That has proved not to be an issue as it does not appear to be bright enough to bother anyone who isn't sleeping next to the lamp. Lastly, there is no battery backup feature to this lamp although it does retain your settings for 15 minutes in the event of a power cut.
The cost of this lamp is going to be an issue when compared to a standard alarm clock but you must consider the value of your own well being, and decide whether you want to wake up with a start in the mornings or be gently roused from your sleep. I'm definitely pleased to be using this lamp and have no plans to go back.

It's not exactly a pretty appliance. It's a tapering, cylindrical tube with an elliptical cross section that looks very much like a lamp shade. It's also bigger than it looks on the picture on the front of the box. (Also, on the box it is shown to be right next to the sleeper's head whereas in the manual it recommends that it's positioned no nearer than 40cm.)

Having said that, it IS delightful! It's sheer luxury to wake up to gently waxing light and the gentle twittering of birdsong. I prefer the birdsong, but the bongo drums, wind chimes and alarm are pleasing too. One slight gripe: why is the digital radio ONLY FM when many stations, especially talk stations, are only in MW (AM) band? Also, why in sleep-timer mode is only radio allowed? Why can't I fall asleep to birdsong? And although the radio is digital, there is no LCD screen that displays the channel selected, only a convoluted method for storing a few stations.

I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and another affective disorder which is aggravated by gloomy, dismal days and I can honestly say that as a result of this device I wake up feeling refreshed and more energised in the morning from the moment I awake! However, I'm not sure what to make of the marketing spiel in which it says that this lamp helps wake you by increasing the amounts of cortisol, "the energy hormone", in your blood. Cortisol is, of course, also otherwise known as the STRESS hormone! It's the way you tell 'em, I suppose...

The controls aren't very intuitive either. I'm not saying they're complicated, but you certainly need to read the manual thoroughly before you start using this appliance.... It's nice that the manuals and other literature are reassuringly many in number and heavy, too, albeit only because they are provided in many languages! I like the little toggle switch which controls the alarm and snooze mode, too.

I wouldn't say it was any good as a reading light, though, because it has no shade so it will dazzle your eyes. Reading lamps need a shade to direct the light onto the pages and not into your eyes. This lamp would strain the eyes. If you tried to get round this by dimming it, it would strain your eyes by being too dim! However, I like the dimming feature on the clock display. Some illuminated clocks are too bright and may interfere with getting to sleep. On the lowest setting it is perfectly visible in low light.

Pamper yourself; buy this alarm clock! Read more ›