Decoding Color Temperature

Color temperature is easy to take for granted. When it’s right, we hardly notice, but when it’s wrong, everyone notices. The wrong color temperature literally puts things in the wrong light and affects how everything in a room looks.

color temperature

If you ask someone if they’d be willing to change all their incandescent bulbs over to something more energy efficient, like an LED bulb, chances are you’ll get one of three responses:

Sure, I’d love to.
Nope, they’re too expensive.
I would, but I hate the cold, blue light they give off.

We’ve already shown that LED bulbs end up saving people hundreds of dollars over their LED bulb’s lifespan, but often saving a little extra doesn’t matter if the consumer doesn’t like the color temperature of the light.

Color temperature is easy to take for granted. When it’s right, we hardly notice, but when it’s wrong, everyone notices. The wrong color temperature literally puts things in the wrong light and affects how everything in a room looks.

What is color temperature?

Color temperature has nothing to do with heat. Instead, it is the measure of the color that a light makes. Color temperature ranges from blue on the high end of the scale to yellow on the low end, with whitish light in the middle. If that seems hard to remember, just think of a flame. It starts out yellow and orange, but as it gets hotter, it will turn blue.

How light bulbs compare

Incandescent bulbs are generally at the bottom of the color temperature scale and have a yellowish light. CFLs and LEDs are typically thought to be on the other end of the spectrum with a bluer light.

The higher color temperature of CFLs and LEDs has been a common complaint among consumers. Fortunately, manufacturers have been listening and more and more CFLs and LEDs with a lower color temperature have been hitting the shelves.

To help consumers understand their color temperature options, many manufacturers are beginning to color code their packaging: blue for high-color-temperature bulbs, yellow for low-color-temperature bulbs and white for bulbs that are in the middle of the spectrum.

As the number of energy-efficient color temperature choices continues to increase, the idea that warm, cozy lighting will be lost along with the incandescent bulb is becoming more and more of a myth.