Pictures of each temperature on the color scale.Differences Between Warm and Cool Lighting.VOLT ® offers LED bulbs in all the above color temperatures so you can select the color that you prefer. It is also used to simulate moonlight (4200K). Cool White (4000K). Quite bluish compared to 2700K, this is sometimes used to illuminate blue vegetation (such as blue spruce).It tends to accentuate greens and blues in vegetation. Warm or Natural White (3000K). Noticeably cooler than 2700K, some landscape lighting pros prefer this temperature.Psychologically, it is thought to be more welcoming and soothing compared to higher color temperatures. Warm White (2700K). Similar to halogen-type landscape lighting, it is the most preferred color temperature for landscape lighting.It is also similar to High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) commonly used for street lights, and less commonly for 120v moonlighting. Very Warm White (2200K). This is the lowest possible color temperature for white light (any lower is yellow light!) Also referred to as candlelight, this is used for very romantic, low key settings such as around outdoor fireplaces and hot tubs.Here is a list of the most popular color temperatures of LED lighting and their typical applications. Warm and cool lighting is an industry term that doesn’t refer to the color temperature of lighting but rather the psychological characteristics of it.Ĭolor temperature is often an aesthetic choice that depends on location and application. VOLT ® LED bulbs are available in a variety of color temperatures – cool bright whites to warm yellows. Lower Kelvin numbers indicate that a light source appears more yellow higher Kelvin numbers mean the light is whiter or bluer. The supposed warm lights have a lower color temperature, while cool lights have a higher color temperature. Lighting that is described as warm or cool is ironically actually quite the opposite on the Kelvin color temperature scale. Why Does Color Temperature Matter?Ĭolor temperature is particularly important in the lighting industry where differences in color temperature can affect how color is rendered and ultimately the mood and emotional impact of a room or environment. He noticed that with lower temperatures, most of the energy was converted to heat. The heated carbon block first produced dim red light and eventually a bright blue-white glow as higher temperatures were achieved. As the carbon heated, he noticed that it produced an array of colors as the temperature was increased. This measurement began in the late 1800s when William Kelvin experimented with heat and a block of carbon. There are, however, other subtle effects of these differences discussed in this article. It is only when two sources of different color temperatures are side-by-side that they appear different. Of interest is that human vision compensates for these tints, and perceives both high and low color temperature lights as being white.
High color temperatures are bluish while low color temperatures are yellowish. Color temperature is a measurement that indicates the extent of a yellowish or bluish tint to white light.