I need a SOX light indoors. Is that possible?

Hello,

(I know virtually nothing about lighting or the correct terms to use.)

This is going to sound weird and I'm going to come across as a bit odd, but..

I have 2 spare rooms in my house I have in one room a large window to let in day light and have a nice 'daylight bulb'. It gives off a bright, clean, slightly blue (hard) feeling light. I use this room to read in when I can. White paper looks very white.

For the other spare room I want a 'dirty' orange/yellow light (bordering or maybe even slightly bleeding into red). It would have to be a soft and have a comforting feel to it, if it . They only lights I've seen close to what I want are low powered street lights with sodium pressure bulbs. From the little I've understood from reading, the bulb that might work would be a SOX bulb? Paper would look very yellow and creamy like very old newspapers.

Can I buy a free standing lamp that will accept one of these bulbs? Or is there a much better solution you can advise. I don't want to spend more then £150-200 if possible.

_EDIT_

Some further searching leads me to believe that I need a light averaging a 589.3nm wavelength. Also it needs to be low pressure if its a SOX.

I like the way the light washes out most colours and leaves a muted feel to your surroundings so they become less of a distraction.

I don't think I've ever seen a low pressure sodium bulb set up in a indoor light... I know you can buy high pressure sodium lighting in outdoor security type lights....

http://laserpointerforums.com/f66/lps-sox-sodium-lamps-73309.html might have some more helpful information.

I have a low pressure sodium lamp (Philips 18 watt SOX-E) that I've installed in a modified Lights of America fixture . It lights up yellow-orange and since the light is monochromatic, everything pretty much appears black and white when it is lit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NNw0PTrSw

Low pressure sodium lamps are not too common in the US but you can find them at a few lighting suppliers (expect to pay around $45 for the 18 watt) The proper ballast for them are also very expensive but I've gotten mine to run of an electronic instant-start ballast for a compact fluorescent lamp.

All this interest in sodium lighting all of a sudden - can't understand the appeal of ~20 CRI light that destroys color and depth perception. I personally find it more distracting than full-spectrum light (ie, metal halide) because I'm straining to fill in the visual blanks that it creates... but there's little point in arguing taste and I'm not going to try.

I would think that running 240V incandescents at 120V would produce a similar effect without the complexity, cost, and potential risk of trying to rig a sodium bulb / ballast for indoor usage. Or perhaps there's some flavor of neon tubes that gives off an approximation of the color the OP is seeking?

Low pressure sodium lamps are readily available.
They cant be easily retrofitted into any standard fixture though because they need the correct control gear.
It might be possible to add the control gear to the fixture, if there is enough room.

Not certain though that low pressure sodium lighting is suitable for what you require ?

A deep orange CFL might serve ? these are cheap and work in any standard fixture.

Thank you for your replies.

I do indeed want this type of light as it washes out most colours. Thank you for the links! I also found there is a few websites made by 'street light' enthusiasts, who collect and renovate old street lamps. I have email a couple of them and am discussing one of them possibly helping me out. The deep orange CFL that broadgage suggested may be an easier and cheaper option so I will look into this, do you know if they will wash out most colours to black, yellow and shades of grey?

Thank you

A deep orange CFL will wash out most colors, but not to the same extent as a low pressure sodium lamp.
A SOX lamp is virtually monchromatic, whilst a deep orange CFL emits a range of wavelengths centered around the orange.

Search for the Pharox 200 Flame: it is 2200K very warm white, almost orange but you can still distinguish colours (I have it in my bedroom). Furthermore it is as cheap as any standard led bulb, fits any standard Edison socket, has no warmup time, etc.

Should you have trouble arranging the SOX light, you might also consider a string of amber LEDs, perhaps with a few reds thrown in to shift the overall color.