Quick Tips about Color Temperature

Catherine has been called away to concentrate solely on our Project Homes division, so we've been struggling with how we will fill her "shoes" here on the blog.  It is going to be tough!  She started Enlightening back in 2008 and really made it successful.  She even won a tED Magazine "Best of the Best" award for it.  We will miss her insight.  Hopefully, she can pull free for a post or two and let us know what is working for the project homes side of the business.

From time to time, please drop us a line! Let us know how we doing and what you want to hear about.  We appreciate the input and want to make Enlightening a useful resource for you.

LED has been a big focus in our industry - for our counters and for our lighting showrooms.  Changes are constant and improvements happening quickly.  Liz Iacone, our representative for Philips, has given several presentations for our customers on LED basics, and for our first post we've summarized it for you.

LED Lighting is all the rage and we LOVE all the fun and fabulous things manufacturers can do with it!  Along with better lumen output and color rendering, dimming capabilities have vastly improved, and no longer is LED limited to recessed lights.  It’s everywhere, from bathroom fixtures to crystal chandeliers for the dining room––an emphatic acknowledgement of the homeowner’s desire for quality design that truly addresses energy efficiency. 

If you are thinking about purchasing a LED fixture or replacing some of your light bulbs, consider these tips.  Color Temperature is a way to choose lighting that gives you the look and feel you want in a space.  It is expressed in Kelvin measurements "K".

For residential homes, a Color Temperature of 2,700-3,000K would be appropriate, creating a warm, inviting atmosphere, particularly for communal or high-traffic areas like the living room and kitchen. Temperatures within this range are called “warm white” and are on the lower end of the color spectrum.

Lighting above 3,500K are known as “bright white” or “cool white” and appear more neutral in color. Commercial lighting tends to fall within the 3,500K-4,000K range. The higher the Kelvin measurement, the cooler the color, a bluish white and often referred to as “bright white” or “daylight” in product packaging.  Keep in mind, the eye sees more yellow as we age, so cooler Kelvin temperatures may be more desirable as we get older.

When you are purchasing LED light bulbs to replace your old incandescent light bulbs read the packaging.  All bulb packaging must list the “Lighting Facts” now.  Go to  http://www.lightingfacts.com/ for more information.  

Rule of thumb, one 60W medium base screw in light bulb (A Lamp) is 750 Lumens (light output).   The higher the number, the more light is emitted.

Buy equal LED output to what you are replacing in incandescent.  If you are looking to dim your LED lighting, make sure the LED product says it is dimmable and you get the suggested type of dimmer so the LED performs correctly. LEDs do not become warmer in color when dimmed like regular incandescent or halogen light sources.  If you are interested in that sort of effect, look for “warm dim” or “dim to warm”.  

Interested in LEDs?