{"id":182,"date":"2026-04-29T11:55:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/?p=182"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:55:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:55:33","slug":"kelvin-colour-temperature-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/kelvin-colour-temperature-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelvin Colour temperature Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Posted on 19 September 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Maxine Clarke<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last updated on 2 August 2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Colour temperature is a relatively new consideration in household lighting. Forty years ago, a bulb was just a bulb. The amount of watts was the only real decision to be made when replacing bulbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern lighting, however, has brought more choice with it. The colour temperature scale is a way of measuring all types of lighting technology, both old and new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colour Temperature Theory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the 19th Century, British physician William Thompson (Lord Kelvin) devised the Kelvin temperature scale. During his research he heated a block of carbon, which began to glow red, then yellow, and finally produced a bright blue-white light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The path of these changing colours is the essence of the Kelvin scale because each colour occurs at a specific temperature. For example, the filament of an incandescent or halogen bulb produces a yellow light at a temperature of 2700 kelvin (2700 K).
The one thing to remember is that a higher kelvin colour temperature equals to a cooler bluer looking light. Lower colour temperatures mean a warmer light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In an incandescent or halogen light bulb, kelvin temperature describes both the colour of the light and the actual temperature of the filament. Because LED\u2019s and fluorescents do not use heat to create light, their colour temperature is estimated in relation to the colour of the light. This is called \u2018correlated colour temperature\u2019 (CCT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside the Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Many people choose a welcoming warm white light for their home exterior. Our exclusive Edit Pimlico LED Outdoor Wall Light<\/strong><\/a> emits a 3000K light and looks fantastic by the front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For home protection, the 5000K cool white Lutec Draco 17.5W LED Smart Floodlight <\/strong><\/a>delivers a crisp, bright light, giving it extra impact as a security light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hallways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A warm and welcoming light is ideal for\u00a0the hallway<\/strong><\/a>. This is also a common place to find pictures and paintings. A warm-light fitting such as the 3000K\u00a0Slimline Battery Operated LED Picture Light<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0will emphasise the reds in a picture. However, the cooler 4000K\u00a0Edit Graph 59 LED Picture Light<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0will complement bluer tones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitchens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Cooler lights are a good choice for the kitchen as they promote alertness.
Under-cabinet lights such as the Eterna Economy 8W Cool White LED T5 Linkable Strip Lights<\/strong><\/a> are a fine choice for the work surfaces. This fitting is a connectable strip light and can be extended with multiple fittings, making it ideal for long worktops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bathrooms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bathroom lights<\/strong><\/a> are more commonly cool white to increase alertness and give your room a cleaner feel, however some people still prefer warm lights as they are more suited to bathroom relaxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Integral 8.5W Fire Rated Cool White Downlight <\/strong><\/a>is available in cool options, and can be dimmed for perfect mood lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bedrooms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In the\u00a0bedroom<\/strong><\/a>, a cosy warm white light is usually desirable. Reading lights are popular bedroom fittings, usually with a warm white bulb. The\u00a0Carrie Reading Light<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is compatible with warm white bulbs, and we recommend the\u00a0Envirolight Dimmable LED<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to offer a long lifespan and years of maintenance-free use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living Rooms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In a living room<\/strong><\/a> or dining room<\/strong><\/a> you\u2019ll usually want a warm, relaxing quality of light \u2013 and often dimmable is a requirement for our customers. The Edit Omera Velvet Lamp Shade<\/strong><\/a> is a stunning, warm lighting solution, combined with a unique base<\/strong><\/a> and greatly complemented by a warm white bulb<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are looking for more great information? Try our Lighting Ideas<\/strong><\/a> section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted on 19 September 2019 Author: Maxine Clarke Last updated on 2 August 2024 Colour temperature is a relatively new consideration in household lighting. Forty years ago, a bulb was just a bulb. The amount of watts was the only real decision to be made when replacing bulbs. Modern lighting, however, has brought more choice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182\/revisions\/192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lighting-direct.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}