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LED Kelvin Color

​Disclaimer - Not intended for medical advice, consult your doctor.

LED Kelvin - Learning Objectives

  1. What does Kelvin Temperature mean?
  2. What is warm and cool light?
  3. Is Color Temperature on Lighting Facts packaging?

What is Kelvin Temperature?

Since LED light sources do not mimic daylight, there is a need to have some metrics for comparison to familiar light sources of daylight, incandescent and halogen.

Warm or cool temperature?

Kelvin temperature is a number that indicates a point on the Warm - Cool Scale and connects the color temperature of a light source to a known value. The lower the number the warmer the light - up to 3000K is considered warm and seems yellowish or reddish.
5000K is considered cool indicating more bluish light. You would expect that the 4000 range to be in the middle, it will appear warm or cool depending on what is being illuminated, the surrounding wall color, and the amount of bias of the light source.

What color is sunlight?

Natural daylight ranges from 4000K to 27,000K. Daylight contains all colors, so we can see all colors, if the color is not in the light source, then it cannot reflect the color back to your eye or camera. See more about color wavelengths on our Color page.

Natural & Artificial Light measured in Kelvin

Light Source
Kelvin
Candle
1700K - 2000K
Turtle Friendly
570nm or 1700K [1] [2]
Low Pressure Sodium
589nm 1740K
High Pressure Sodium White Son
2700K
HID
3000K - 20000K
Incandescent
2500K
Halogen
3190K - 3500K
Noon Sunlight
4000K - 6500K
Overcast Sky
6500K - 7500K
Northern Sky
8000K
Blue Sky
15000K - 27000K
Moonlight
4100K
 LED = Light Emitting Diodes - now the standard for new construction in the state of California, mandated by Title 24 energy code power limits, the most restrictive power allowances in the world, preceding adoption of similar codes worldwide. LED bulbs (or lamps as the lighting industry calls them, or Light Engines as the lighting designers call them) are inherently color biased. Since the Blue White chip was developed for the commercial market, manufactures have been struggling with achieving balanced white light.  A combination of coatings, voltage, age, and manufacturing processes all affect an LED's spectral and lumen output, industry terms for color and brightness.
Good lighting design should always include analysis of color rendering, light intensity, beam spread, flicker, and glare.
Lighting Facts Card from DOE
Retail packaging Lighting Facts includes CCT - Correlated Color Temperature a bar graph from warm to cool showing  - Light Appearance in Kelvin
  • CCT - Correlated Color Temperature -K = Degrees Kelvin, or color temperature of the light

DOE - Department of Energy
Lighting Facts

 Standard Label with Optional Metrics Anatomy of the LED Lighting Facts®  Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)
  • Measures light color.
  • “Cool” colors have higher Kelvin temperatures (3600–5500 K).
  •  “Warm” colors have lower color temperatures (2700–3500 K).
  • 2200K is considered candlelight, 10000K is considered daylight at high-noon.

Other color rendering indicators include CRI, R9, TM-30
Consult individual LED manufacturer for published test results.

Related Topics

Search hand for related topics
Manufacturer's Educational Links, LED for your B&B, Color in Paint - Why they Fade

Footnotes

  1. How are hatchling sea turtles able, and unable, to locate the sea?  page 127  http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/species/turtlesymposium1991.pdf
  2. https://conserveturtles.org/project-overview-stc-beachfront-lighting-program/
  3. www.lightingfacts.com​

Photo Credits

  • Lighting Facts Card - DOE - Department of Energy
  • Test Colors for CRI & Light Source Color Rendering Chart - EYE Lighting
  • TM-30 Test Colors - IES TM-30-15 Errata

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  • Home
  • Color & Perception
    • CHROMA Topics
    • Color Spectrum - Light is Energy
    • Color in Light
    • Color in Nature
    • Color in Paint
    • Why does paint fade?
    • Color Names & Meanings
    • Color Phenomena
    • Color Perception is Individual
    • Color In Fashion
    • Color for your home
    • Color in Space
    • Color Blindness
    • Color Blind Interview
    • Synesthesia
    • Synesthete Deborah Borrowdale-Cox
    • Synesthete Stephen Orr, BH&G Editor
  • Circadian & Light for Health
    • Circadian & THERAPY Topics
    • Circadian Explained
    • Circadian Ganglion Cells
    • Circadian Melatonin
    • Circadian Animals
    • Circadian Research
    • Autism & Lighting for the Spectrum
    • Blue Light Dimming Apps
    • Red Night Lights
    • Vitamin D & Light
    • SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder
    • Alzheimers and Light Therapy
    • Photosensitivity - Light Sensitive Drugs
    • Red Light Therapy
    • Sleep & Lighting
    • Dreams and Second Sleep
    • NASA - Lighting in Space & Undersea
    • Jet Lag
    • Sunglasses
    • Chakras
    • Crystals, Minerals, & Gemstones
  • Lighting Design
    • LIGHTing Design Topics
    • UV Germicidal Disinfection Light
    • LED Lighting Facts Card
    • CRI - Color Rendering Index
    • LED TM-30
    • LED Kelvin Color
    • LED LPW
    • LED Flicker
    • LED Glare
    • OLED - Organic LED
    • Human Centric Lighting
    • Lighting with Daylighting
    • Lighting for Healthy Buildings & Zero Net Energy
    • Lighting for Healthcare
    • Lighting for Horticulture
    • Lighting for Hospitality & LED Retrofits
    • Lighting for Museums
    • Lighting for Seniors & Low Vision
    • Lighting Design Tips & Codes
    • Parking Lot Lighting
    • Solar Lighting for Humanity & World Health
  • Dark Sky Topics
    • Dark Sky & Light Pollution
    • Dark Sky - Ecology of Night Lighting
    • Dark Sky - Turtle Safe Lighting
    • Landscape Lighting
    • LED Street Lighting Retrofit in Davis
    • Dark Sky Ordinances
    • Dark Sky & Astronomy
    • Dark Sky Reserves
  • Lighting Research & Books
    • Lighting Research
    • Lighting Publications
    • Lighting Education
  • ABOUT ChromaTherapyLight
    • About Topics
    • About Trish
    • Contact & Disclaimer
    • Social Media
    • Newsletter
    • Guidelines for Guest Writers
    • Site Map
  • Davis Insectary Garden
  • Santa Barbara Mesa Insectary Garden