With the continuous development of LED technology, the continuous reduction of costs, and the global trend of energy saving and emission reduction. From home decoration to outdoor municipal engineering construction, more and more LED lamps are adopted by consumers and projects. When people choose a variety of lamps, most customers only pay attention to the price of the lamps, emphasize the quality of the power supply and LED chips used in the LED lamps, and often overlook the importance of color temperature in LED lamps and various usage scenarios. Roles. Choosing the right color temperature for LED lamps will enhance the texture of the project and make our lighting environment more reasonable.
So, what is color temperature?
In theory, the color temperature refers to the black body temperature, which refers to the color that the absolute black body will appear after being heated from absolute zero (-273°C). After the black body is heated, it gradually turns from black to red, turns yellow, turns white, and finally emits blue light. When heated to a certain temperature, the spectral component of the light emitted by the black body is called the color temperature at this temperature, and the unit of measurement is “K” (Kelvin). Simply put, it is the different colors of light.
So, what are the common color temperatures of light sources in life?
The following is a comparison table of common light source color temperatures:
| Light Source | Color temperature |
| Halogen lamp | 3000K |
| Incandescent lamp | 2800K |
| CFL | 6000-6500K |
| Tungsten lamp | 2700K |
| Candle light | 2000K |
| Fluorescent lamp | 2500K-5000K |
| High pressure sodium lamp | 1950K-2250K |
| High-pressure mercury lamp | 3450K-3750K |
| Metal halide lamp | 4000K-4600K |
| Clear sky | 8000-8500K |
| Cloudy day | 6500-7500K |
| Summer noon sun | 5500K |
| Afternoon daylight | 4000K |
Remark:Picture come from internet
At present, most of the LED lamps on the market are in the following three color temperature ranges. Each color temperature has its own unique characteristics:
♦ Low color temperature. Below 3500K, the color is reddish, giving people a warm and stable feeling. Using low color temperature LED lamps can make red objects more vivid. It is often used in leisure places for people to rest and relax.
♦ medium color temperature. The color temperature is between 3500-5000K. Often referred to as neutral color temperature, the light is soft, giving people a pleasant, refreshing, and clean feeling, and it also reflects the color of the object itself.
♦ High color temperature. Also called cold light, the color temperature is above 5000K, bluish, bright, calm, and cool, which can make people concentrate. Generally not suitable for families, it can be used in offices, hospitals, and other places that require concentrated work. At the same time, high color temperature light sources generally have higher luminous efficiency than low color temperature light sources.
The specific performance of different color temperatures on LED lamps is shown in the figure below:
Remark: This picture came from the internet
After clarifying the color temperature and the specific performance of color temperature on LED lights, we also need to understand the relationship between sunlight and color temperature in daily life. This often affects our choice of lamp color temperature. The right picture is clearly showing the relationship between sunlight and color temperature:(It comes from the internet)
As can be seen from the above picture, the natural light source during the daytime has a higher color temperature, while the natural light source at dusk has a low color temperature. Therefore, the human brain will be more energetic under high color temperature lighting but will think under low color temperature lighting Time to sleep.
For indoor LED lights, when we choose the color temperature of LED lamps, we often choose according to the above relationship and the different use environments. The details are as follows:
Residential area
♦ Living room: As the main area for home activities, the living room generally adopts a neutral color temperature of 4000-4500K, and the light is soft, giving people a pleasant, refreshing, clean, natural, and unrestrained feeling, and it also reflects the color of the real thing in the house. that is why most of the magnetic rail lights are mostly 4000-4500K, especially for European markets. Of course, it can also be matched with yellow floor lamps and table lamps to create a sense of warmth and make the lighting atmosphere of the living room more layered.
♦ Bedroom: As the core resting area in the home environment, the bedroom is suitable for a low color temperature of around 3000K, which can relax people, feel warm, and make it easier for people to fall asleep quickly.
♦ Kitchen: The led lights with 6000-6500K color temperature are usually used for the kitchen. After all, knives are often used in the kitchen. The kitchen led light should be able to make people concentrate and prevent accidents. And the kitchen is easy to hide dirt and dirt, white light makes dirt nowhere to hide, a clean kitchen will look cleaner and brighter under white light.
♦ Dining Room: Suitable for reddish low color temperature LED lamps. Food under low color temperature has higher color saturation, which can improve people’s appetite. The lamps can be Modern linear pendant lighting.
♦ Bathroom: The bathroom is also relaxing space. Too high color temperature is also not suitable. It is suitable for 3000K warm light or 4000-4500K neutral light. At the same time, it is best to use waterproof lamps such as waterproof downlights in the bathroom, which can avoid the erosion of the internal led chips by water vapor.
At the same time, what color temperature is used for indoor lighting must match the basic color of interior decoration. The correct use of white light color temperature can greatly enhance the interior decoration effect. Using color temperature lighting suitable for the decoration color is an important method to ensure the quality of lighting. The color temperature should be considered comprehensively with indoor walls, floors, furniture, decorations, and the purpose of the room. In addition, the blue light hazard generated by the light source should also be considered. For the elderly and children, low color temperature lighting should be used as much as possible.
Commercial area
Indoor commercial areas include offices, supermarkets, underground parking lots, schools, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, shops, etc.
The selection relationship of lamp color temperature is as follows:
♦ Offices: 6000k-6500K cold white. 6000K color temperature is not easy to doze off, can invigorate people and improve work efficiency. You can find most of the led panel lights used in offices are all with 6000-6500K color temperature.
♦ Supermarkets: 3000K+4500K+6500K mix color temperature. The supermarket contains different areas. The color temperature of the lamps in each area is also different. For example, the meat area is good to use 3000K low color temperature, which will make the meat look more vivid. But for the fresh food area, the track lighting of 6500K color temperature is the most suitable. It can make seafood products look fresher under the reflection of crushed ice. Just contact us if you have detailed projects for supermarkets, we can make a good design freely for led lights for your reference.
♦ Underground parking lots: The 6000-6500K is the best. 6000K color temperature can make people concentrate and drive safer.
♦ Schools(classrooms):4500K color temperature lamps can take into account the comfort and illuminance requirements of the classroom, while avoiding the disadvantages of 6500K color temperature that will aggravate students’ brain fatigue and visual fatigue, and reduce learning efficiency.
♦ Hospitals: Mainly use led lights with 4000-4500K. In the ward area, patients need to stabilize their emotions. A healthy light environment will enhance their happiness; medical staff pursues focus and efficiency, and a good and comfortable light environment will make them more engrossed. Therefore, it is recommended to use lamps with high CRI, high illumination, and medium color temperature 4000-4500K is the best.
♦ Hotels: A hotel is a place for travelers to rest and reorganize. No matter what the star hotel, the atmosphere should be warm and friendly, emphasizing comfort and friendliness. Hotel lighting fixtures should use warm colors to express their demands in the light environment, and the color temperature should be 3000K. Warm colors are closely related to psychological evaluations and emotional activities such as kindness, warmth, and friendliness. led spotlight lamp wall washer type with 3000K warm white is popular in markets.
Industrial area
Industrial areas refer to places where there is a lot of work, such as factories and warehouses. Generally, two types of industrial lighting are used-normal lighting and emergency lighting. The color temperature table of lamps corresponding to different places is as follows:
| Area | Color temperature | Reasons |
| Workshop | 6000-6500K | The workshop has a relatively large working density and high illumination requirements. Therefore, the 6000-6500K color temperature lamp is the most suitable, which can not only meet the maximum illuminance requirements but also make people concentrate on work. |
| Warehouse | 4000-6500K | Warehouses are generally used to store goods, and the staff is mainly responsible for the tally, inventory, and pick-up. The color temperature is suitable for 4000-4500K or 6000-6500K.it will be with enough brightness to deal with cargoes |
| Emergency area | 6000-6500K | Industrial areas generally require emergency lighting installations to prepare for the rapid escape of the staff in the event of an accident. Or when there is a power outage, it is convenient for the staff to quickly deal with the current affairs. |
In addition to the above personal households, commercial and industrial areas. Outdoor lamps such as floodlights, street lamps, landscape lighting, etc. also have strict requirements on the color temperature of the lamps.
Road lights: As an important part of urban lighting, street lights play an important role in urban lighting. Different color temperatures will have different effects on drivers. It deserves our attention. So what do we need to pay attention to when choosing street lights? The following table shows the characteristics of color temperature on streetlamps:
| Color temperature | Advantage | Disadvantage |
| 2000-3000K | Looks yellow or warm white. It has the strongest penetrating power on rainy days. | it is the lowest brightness |
| 4000-4500k | It is closest to natural light, and the light is relatively soft, which can provide higher brightness while maintaining the driver’s attention | Lumens less than 6000-6500K |
| 6000-6500K | Its brightness is the highest. | the glare of 6000-6500K color temperature is the most serious, and it can easily cause visual fatigue. This is very dangerous for the driver. |
As can be seen from the above table, the most suitable street lamp color temperature is 2000-3000K Warm white and 4000-4500K Natural white. This is also the traditional mainstream street light source on the market (metal halide lamp color temperature 4000-4600K Natural white and high-pressure sodium lamp color temperature 2000K Warm white) color temperature. Among them, the 2000-3000K color temperature is mainly used in rainy and foggy weather. For road projects in other areas, a color temperature of 4000-4500K is the best choice. However, when people began to adopt LED street lights, many customers chose 6000-6500K cold white as their main choice. In this case, customers often pursue high light efficiency and high brightness. As a professional LED street lights manufacturer, we have the responsibility to remind customers of the choice of street light color temperature.
Outdoor floodlights. Floodlights occupy a large proportion in the use of outdoor lighting. For example, outdoor courts, squares, or some outdoor municipal lighting projects can use floodlights. At the same time, red light is often used in some lighting projects. Greenlight, blue light cast light. Among them, the stadium floodlights have the most stringent requirements for color temperature. Generally, there will be some competitions in the stadium. When choosing color temperature or lighting, it is necessary to consider that the lighting can not cause adverse effects on players. For stadium floodlights, 4000-4500K color temperature is a good choice, it can bring moderate brightness while reducing the glare value to the greatest extent.
Landscape lights such as pathway lights, outdoor spotlights, etc., are generally used for outdoor recreational places such as gardens, path decorations, and local lighting. Generally, 3000K warm color light is more suitable, which looks warm and relaxing.
Conclusion:
Color temperature plays an important role in the performance of LED lamps, and a suitable color temperature will bring a qualitative improvement to the lighting in the place of use. As a professional LED lights manufacturer, greenlights has helped customers complete thousands of lighting projects perfectly. We will give customers the best advice in a responsible attitude towards customers and projects, and at the same time meet their different requirements. If you have any questions about the color temperature or the choice of lamps, please feel free to contact us.