Illuminations Lighting Design

Each light source has a unique color temperature that sets the appearance for the environment in which it is used. The actual color of the light that is given off from the source is represented in Kelvin and referred to as Correlated Color Temperature or CCT. A lamp can have a warm, midrange or cool appearance depending on its color temperature. These different color temperatures can set the mood, create an environment, improve a person's disposition, influence a person's buying habits and has even been know to affect a person's appetite.

"Warm" light sources have a lower color temperature, usually in the 2500K-3000K range. These lamps produce more light in the red/orange/yellow spectrum. As color temperature of a lamp increases the lamps appearance becomes "cooler." As the lamp's color temperature increases so does the amount of light produced in the blue end of the spectrum.

Here are some of the various Kelvin color temperatures and common applications for fluorescent lamps:

2700K - 3400K
Warm; Warm White
Specialty Retailers, Restaurants, Hotel Lobbies, Residential Applications

3500K
Neutral; Neutral White
Grocery Stores & Produce Markets, Retail Stores, Bank Lobbies

4100K
Cool; Cool White
Offices, Manufacturing, Schools, Hospitals

5000K - 6500K
Daylight; Daylight Plus; Full Spectrum
Printers, Paint Studios, Art Galleries, Car Dealerships

If you would like to learn more about how light and color can affect your environment, give the professional lighting designers at Illuminations Lighting Design a call toll free at 800-863-1184. They are a full service design build firm specializing in residential and commercial indoor lighting and outdoor lighting installation, service and maintenance as well as home automation, home theaters and lighting control systems. Visit them online as www.illuminationslighting.com.

Image and portions of this content courtesy of USHIO America, Inc.