LED Light Color for Residential

[drcampbell]

I'm a 5000k guy. I hate that orangey 2700 glow and once you start paying attention to how well you can see things lit with higher color temp you don't want to go back to the land of orange.

I'm with Dave, but also acknowledge:
- It's a matter of personal preference, and
- My eyes are 60-plus years old.

FWIW, I also prefer the slow startup of CFLs to the instant-on of LEDs and don't like mixing fruit & chocolate. (It's a matter of personal preference)

 

[Beaches EE]

It is a matter of personal taste, and many clients like 3000k for most applications. A few like 5000k for its brightness and some like 2700k since it's warmer and similar to incandescent.

 

[mayanees]

I just so happen to have a comparison pic of 3000K vs 5000K; this was a week or so ago at my brothers house trying out new LED halogen replacements.

3000K on the left, 5000K on the right.

I much prefer 3000K.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's an excellent comparison of the difference between 3000k and 5000k. I thought I was in the 3000k camp, but after seeing this my 61 year-old eyes prefer 5000k. And from the discussion here, I'd say age has allot to do with it.

 

[GoldDigger]

That's an excellent comparison of the difference between 3000k and 5000k. I thought I was in the 3000k camp, but after seeing this my 61 year-old eyes prefer 5000k. And from the discussion here, I'd say age has allot to do with it.

My 73 year old eyes certainly agree that 5000K (not k, because Kelvin is a proper name) appears brighter for the same power, but the unpleasant sensation of glare causes me to still prefer a lower color temperature.

 

[hbiss]

What about for undercabinet lighting? it seems like 3000k doesn't provide enough light to see what you're doing clearly as your body casts a shadow from the overhead light.

3000K is a measure of color temperature NOT brightness! If you don't have enough light you need more or higher wattages. 3000K is at the red end of the spectrum like incandescent. 5000K is up towards the blue end of the spectrum like sunlight.

For undercabinet I would keep the color temperature the same as the rest of the room lighting.

-Hal

 

[hbiss]

My 73 year old eyes certainly agree that 5000K (not k, because Kelvin is a proper name) appears brighter for the same power, but the unpleasant sensation of glare causes me to still prefer a lower color temperature.

73 also and I don't see any difference in brightness, just color in that picture. I definitely agree with you about glare though. I find LED ceiling lighting most annoying, especially the 2 tube industrial fixtures used in warehouses like HD for instance. I feel like I should wear a baseball cap with a visor.

-Hal

 

[Knightryder12]

I prefer 5K for outside, 4K in space like the kitchen, laundry, garage, etc.. 3k everywhere else.

 

[GoldDigger]

I have long been an advocate for 3500K (SPEC35 in linear fluorescents) for general purpose indoor and outdoor use. But that spectrum is hard to find in LEDs, and mixing a 3K and a 4K in a luminaire is kind of tacky.

 

[Peter Furrow]

Wow I’m surprised to hear theses comments.. insightful ..
4k seems to be the sweet spot . Not to blue and not to red.
To me it's the perfect spectrum like stepping outside..
Its all preference..
I think the millennials like 5k , baby boomers like 2700
Lol

 

[LarryFine]

I like white. Unfortunately, there are many different ones.