RLF3000 Red Light Panel UK

The RLF3000 is the full-body panel in the Dermfix RLF range. It stands 150cm tall and 42cm wide, which is enough to cover a standing adult from shoulders to ankles in one position — front, then back. Nothing is repositioned mid-session and no area is treated twice by accident.

It runs the same seven-wavelength engine as the rest of the range. What the extra size buys is treated area per session, and a deeper control set built around 11 preset modes and three programmes you can save yourself.

Measured output

The RLF3000 reads 90 mW/cm² at 15cm on a Hopoocolor OHSP350IR spectrometer.

What that number is worth depends on where on the panel it was taken. Every LED array is at its brightest directly on axis in the middle of the face, and output tapers as you move out towards the frame. For working out a session length, we suggest planning against roughly 80 mW/cm² as the average across the whole face rather than the peak.

We publish the instrument reading and say where it came from. A brightest-single-point figure quoted as if it applied to the entire panel is a different thing entirely. The method we use, and why a solar meter is the wrong instrument for this, is written up in our note on irradiance testing and CE certification.

Wavelengths

Seven wavelengths are fitted across 600 dual-chip LEDs. Each wavelength dims independently from 0 to 100%.

Channels can be run on their own or mixed. A standard session usually combines red with near-infrared. Blue sits on its own channel and does not have to be switched on at all.

Controls

The panel carries a touchscreen, and a handheld remote duplicates the same functions from across the room. Each wavelength has its own 0–100% dimmer. Near-infrared pulsing is adjustable across 0–9999Hz. The timer covers 1 to 30 minutes and cuts the output when it expires.

Eleven preset modes come loaded on the panel. Each one is a fixed combination of wavelengths and intensities, so a routine can be started from a single selection rather than dialling in seven channels by hand every time.

Three further slots are left empty for you. Set the channels how you want them, save the arrangement, and it can be recalled later. This is the main functional difference between the RLF3000 and the RLF1500: on a full-body panel used by more than one person, or for more than one routine, having settings stored rather than rebuilt each session is what makes it practical day to day.

Output is flicker-free, which is worth knowing if the panel shares a room with a camera or with anyone who notices light modulation.

Specification

Mounting

At 150cm and 21.5kg the RLF3000 is a floor-stand panel. Four stands take it:

Choosing between panels

Irradiance is held at a similar level right across the RLF range, so stepping up a size does not make the light stronger. It makes the treated area bigger. A larger panel covers more of you inside the same session; it does not push a higher dose into any one patch of skin.

The question is therefore how much of the body you want lit at once, and how many positions you are willing to move through.

The RLF3000 is the point at which repositioning a half-body panel stops being necessary. If that shuffling is the part you expect to find tiresome, this is the size that removes it. For a wider comparison, including which specification claims are worth checking before you buy, see our UK buyer's guide to red light therapy panels.

Supply and delivery

Stock sits in a UK warehouse and ships from the UK, each panel supplied to UK specification with a BS 1363 three-pin plug fitted. Nothing crosses a border on its way to you, which means no bill for import VAT when it lands, no customs clearance charge and no courier handling fee at the door. UK delivery is free on orders over £400. Warranty claims and returns are dealt with here rather than routed abroad.

Questions

How long should a session run, and how far back should I stand?

A common starting point is 10 to 20 minutes at 15 to 30cm. Dose is irradiance multiplied by time, so standing further back and running the timer longer arrives at a comparable total to standing closer for less. At full-body height, the extra distance also helps the light spread evenly down the panel.

Do I need eye protection?

The panel throws a lot of visible light and is not something to stare into at close range. Goggles do not ship with any panel in the RLF range. For treatment below the neck, keeping your eyes shut or your head turned aside deals with it. Narrowband UVB lamps sit under different rules, and there eye protection is mandatory rather than optional.

Can it run from an ordinary socket?

Yes. The RLF3000 draws 935W and a UK 13A socket supplies up to around 3,000W, so it sits comfortably inside that. The panel is supplied with a UK three-pin plug on the lead, so it goes straight into the socket without an adaptor. Plug it into a wall socket on its own rather than a daisy-chained extension lead.

What do the preset modes and the saveable programmes do?

The 11 presets are combinations of wavelength and intensity already stored on the panel, selected in one step from the touchscreen or the remote. The three user programmes are blank slots you fill: build a combination that suits you, save it, and recall it next time. Useful where a household shares one panel and each person wants their own settings back.

How much floor space does it need?

Allow for the stand footprint plus standing room in front of it. Most people work at 15 to 30cm from the face of the panel, so a clear metre in front is a sensible planning figure. At 935W and 21.5kg it is a serious appliance rather than something to move about the house, and it is better given a dedicated spot.

What does the three-year warranty cover?

Cover runs for three years from purchase and is administered in the UK. The LEDs themselves carry a 50,000 hour rating, so at 20 minutes a day the diodes outlast the warranty term several times over.

Is the RLF3000 a medical device?

No. In regulatory terms a red and near-infrared panel does not fall into the medical device category that our narrowband UVB lamps occupy. Where a diagnosed skin condition is the reason for buying, red light therapy compared with narrowband UVB sets out which of the two does which job.