The Kelvin scale (K) is often used to describe the colour ‘temperature’ of light in photographic and lighting contexts. A lower colour temperature will be ‘warmer’ with more red tones, and higher temperatures are ‘cooler’, with more blue tones. See our Colour Temperature Explained guide to find out which is right for you.
The Kelvin scale (named after the British scientist and engineer William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin) is a measure of temperature, starting at ‘absolute zero’, the coldest anything can be. The scale uses the same units as the more familiar ‘Celsius’ scale, so 0°C is 273K.
The colour temperature of daylight is generally accepted as 5600K. Relating this to light bulbs, a normal household incandescent bulb has a temperature of around 3000K, similar to halogens and ‘warm white’ LED light bulbs. ‘Cool white’ LED light bulbs are usually around 6000K.
Although our eyes are very good at adjusting to the colour temperature (unlike camera sensors and film), anything much above 6000K will look quite blue, ‘feel’ cold, and be unsuitable for normal domestic and commercial lighting.
While people are generally more comfortable with ‘warm white’ illumination, ‘cool white’ bulbs are ideal for accented lighting of objects and small areas.
Visit our GU10 LED and MR16 LED directional lighting bulb pages – these LED light bulbs are available in both ‘warm white’ and ‘cool white’.
Related posts:
The Ultimate Lighting GlossaryShopping for LED lighting can sometimes be confusing, especially with the amount of jargon that gets used. To simplify this process we...
Before you buy your LED light bulbs…You might want to consider these aspects first. But if you are unsure which LED light bulbs are suitable for you, SimplyLED’s...
LED Lamp Labelling ExplainedHave you ever gone to purchase an LED lamp and been overwhelmed with the labelling? With so much LED lingo used on...
How to use LED Light bulbs to make a room look biggerIf your home has small rooms, you can make it look larger by creating an illusion of space. Mirrors, light coloured walls,...
[…] temperature describes how warm or cold a light source appears. It is measured using the Kelvin scale. Warm colours are ‘orangey’ and create a cosy intimate atmosphere. Cool whites have a more blue […]
[…] colour temperature. Colour temperature describes how orange or blue a light is in colour. Lower Kelvin temperatures give a warmer, more orange-coloured light. Higher Kelvin temperatures are cooler, and give a more […]
[…] In this context, we’re not really thinking about red, green or blue, but rather the shade of white light produced. White bulbs are labelled according to their colour temperature (see our article on the Kelvin scale). […]