Color temperature warm white. How to choose the color temperature of an LED strip or LED lamp

LED products today are a huge success among consumers. In just a couple of years, new light sources began to be used almost everywhere. Light diode lamps needed for cars, outdoor advertising, home and other areas of human activity.

But today we will not talk about how these light bulbs are used at home, in public spaces, in cars, etc. In this article we will talk about what color temperature is. LED lamps and how this indicator affects their heating. But to understand such a concept as LED heating, you need to start with the basics.

The essence of light

Light, as a physical phenomenon, can have various manifestations. In different light, we will see objects and the reality around us in different shades, which will undoubtedly affect our worldview. At the same time, we can perceive objects more clearly or distortedly.
Color temperature and color rendering index are responsible for the correct lighting and how we perceive the surrounding space.

Note! For optimal selection any light source (not only LED) for home, street, car and other areas of human activity, it is imperative to take these two parameters into account. IN otherwise you will feel uncomfortable being in a lit room.

LED lamp glow

Colorful temperature LED lamps must meet certain requirements so as not to cause inconvenience. This is the main characteristic of any type of light bulb, especially those that are capable of heating. It is worth noting that LED light sources are capable of very minimal heating. Therefore, even though they can get a little warm, they are actively used in tandem with stretch ceilings.
Color temperature determines the spectral composition of light radiation, which must be objectively perceived by human visual analyzers (eyes). This indicator is measured for LED lamps, as with other light sources, using a colorimeter. And it is measured in inverse microdegrees or mireds.
When choosing LED models, the consumer must be familiar with this indicator in order to make the right purchase. There is a corresponding table to determine the optimal color temperature range.

Color temperature table

Note! This indicator is identical to other light bulbs widely used in the world.

When choosing a light source for your home, street or car, you must remember that the light emitted by the light bulb should be as close as possible to the natural level of illumination.

Features of LED light

A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor device that produces a glow when passing electric current through him. The light that such a diode is capable of emitting is located in a fairly narrow spectral range. In this case, the color itself will depend on the material from which the LED semiconductor is made.
The formation of white color in such products is achieved in the following ways:

combination of diodes different color glow to produce white light. This method allows you to get excellent color quality with the ability to adjust it. But this method is quite expensive, which affects the price of products that are not available to everyone;
the use of phosphors to coat diodes. This is a fairly cheap and beneficial method that allows you to achieve a higher color rendering coefficient. But here, due to the applied phosphor coating, the luminous efficiency decreases.

Lamp structure

An LED light bulb consists of several diodes or, as they are sometimes called, chips. In addition, there is a driver, which is a device that converts alternating current with a voltage of 220 Volts D.C., necessary for power supply of diodes. Thanks to this structure, these light sources create a directional luminous flux, which is characterized by the directional angle for the generated glow.

What you need to know

When choosing LED light bulbs, you need to know that they have such a parameter as operating color temperature. It reflects the level at which the light source will produce enough glow. Here it is necessary to remember that car headlights or home lamps must have different glow temperature parameters. Otherwise, they will not be able to effectively illuminate the space around them.
When the temperature is within 5000K, the spectral composition of the emitted light will be more balanced. Here it will be almost identical to daytime sunlight. The color rendering index with these parameters will be equal to 100. However, the maximum color temperature is rarely used, since borderline conditions can harm the eyes.

Colorful temperature

Note! As the color temperature decreases, the glow will become more red and less blue. And the higher the indicator, the more blue and green colors will be in the glow. This is clearly seen in the example of an incandescent lamp, which creates a glow with a reddish tint.

LED lamps in this aspect have the following positive aspects:

The lamp housings do not heat up. In fact, heating still occurs here, but it is almost imperceptible. Heating when using this kind of lamps is noticeable only in the example LED strip. But here, too, the main heating comes only from the power supply. The product bodies themselves do not heat up;
create high-quality White light, which is the most suitable for our eyes when it comes to artificial lighting.

Car lighting

Such parameters have made it possible to widely use LEDs for illuminating homes, streets and cars. It’s worth dwelling on the latter case in more detail, since the car can have LED tuning of both the headlights and the entire body.
However, there are also disadvantages here. So, despite the fact that such products hardly heat up, and their bodies do not deform due to constant overheating, they do not always effectively reproduce other shades of light.

Difference between LED lamps

LED products differ from each other in their color temperature coefficient. Today, all products, regardless of their purpose (street, home, car) are divided into three main groups according to their luminescence range:

range within 2700-3500K. Such products emit white warm light, which is very similar to the glow of incandescent lamps. Used for residential premises;
range within 3500-5000K. This is the so-called neutral range. The glow here is called “normal white”. The light emanating from paws working in this range resembles sunlight in the morning. Suitable for technical areas of the house (bathroom, toilet), offices, educational premises;
range within 5000-7000K. The glow emitted in this range is called “cool or day white” light. It corresponds to bright daylight. It is used for street lighting of parks, alleys, parking lots, billboards, etc.

Different glow of lamps

If the color temperature does not match 5000K, shades, with the exception of white, will have warm tones (if this value is exceeded) or cool tones (if this value is decreased). At the same time, the housings of the light sources do not heat up, which does not in any way affect the service life of these energy-saving light bulbs.
Remember, when choosing such lighting products, you must always give preference to the most suitable color rendering index.

Conclusion

Of course, it is difficult for artificial lighting to compare with natural light, but LED bulbs from all the different models come as close as possible to this. Plus they barely get hot! When deciding to use LED light sources for illumination, you need to be familiar with such an indicator as color temperature. The luminous flux that will have a direct effect on the human visual analyzer depends on this parameter. If you do not take color temperature into account, then your idea will not provide the desired convenience, but will only bring discomfort.

The color temperature of LED lamps is one of the parameters that characterizes the quality and shade of light, and also partly determines the brightness level lighting element. When choosing, be sure to pay attention to the color temperature. If the llama is chosen incorrectly, it will be difficult to ensure a feeling of comfort in the room.

Light source in Kelvin

In earlier times, when incandescent lamps were mainly used, characterized by a standard color temperature, this parameter did not play as significant a role as it does today.

With the advent of LED emitters, the task of choosing has become more complicated, since the shade of light varies in this case determined by the semiconductor material. Therefore, we should consider in more detail what this parameter is. The unit of measurement is degrees, K (Kelvin scale).

The range of values is very wide: from 1,800 to 10,000 K. However, for residential, office premises, and public facilities, the most preferable are lamps whose colors lie in the range of 2,700-6,600 K. Conventionally, several ranges are distinguished:

2,700-3,200 K (warm white glow);
3,500-4,500 K (neutral or daylight);
4,700K-6,000K (white);
over 6,000 K – cold white glow.

For comparison, an incandescent lamp is characterized by a color temperature from the first group. That is why light sources with such properties are more comfortable, and a warm glow adds coziness to the interior. The working atmosphere is created by lamps with neutral white light.

Features of the office lighting system

The recommended shade of radiation in workplaces is characterized by a value of 4,200 to 5,500 K, i.e. white or neutral light is preferable. This is due to the fact that in such conditions the performance will be maximum (up to 100%).

Choosing lighting for office spaces

With other lighting (yellow, red, blue, cyan and orange tints), labor productivity is noticeably reduced, especially when it comes to orange light (about 80%).

The expediency of using lamps with neutral or white radiation in a working atmosphere is explained by the fact that they contain a blue spectrum, which in the daytime helps to concentrate attention and speed up reactions.

All these factors are good for work when it is important to increase labor productivity.

Color temperature in residential areas

What is good for an office is not always beneficial in a private home or apartment. For example, light in which the blue spectrum predominates is not recommended for use in a nursery, bedroom, i.e. in rooms where a person is at night. For each room of private housing, there are individual recommendations for organizing a lighting system.

For example, living rooms and bedrooms should be equipped with lamps with lamps whose lighting temperature ranges from 2,700 to 3,200 K (warm white). This glow will add coziness to the room.

, it is recommended to equip kitchens with emitters with a color temperature of 4,000-5,000 K (daylight, white light). Radiation with this spectrum is also preferable for the reading area, home office, as well as local lighting (for example, near a mirror in the bathroom).

Bright white and cool light with a color temperature of 5,000-6,500 K is also suitable for kitchens and bathrooms. This type of lighting is ideal for a garage as it creates a special atmosphere conducive to work.

Lamp brightness and color level

The glow intensity of a light source is determined by a number of parameters: power, color temperature, type of emitters (diodes) and diffuser. There is no direct relationship between the spectrum and the brightness level, but this parameter still determines the efficiency of the glow, although it is not the key one. For example, lamps with the same power, but with a different emission spectrum will provide different glow intensities.

Brightness and color

This is because lighting a lamp with a higher value (cool shades of 6,000 K and above) produces the brightest light. But this rule only applies if the remaining parameters (type of diodes, power level) are different lamps equivalent.

If we compare a light source with a power of 18 and 5 W with different radiation spectrums (3,000 K in the first case and 5,000 K in the second), then it is obvious that an 18 W light bulb will be more effective, despite the fact that the color temperature of the radiation is noticeably below.

We must also not forget about such a concept as degradation, which means the natural process of clouding (decrease in luminescence intensity) of crystals. After a certain period of time, all diode lamps gradually become less efficient. In order for the light source to last longer, you need to select designs from reliable brands.

Thus, color temperature is one of the key parameters of a modern lighting element. If you ignore it, the lighting system may not be effective enough due to an unpleasant glow and low light brightness.

One of the important characteristics of any source artificial light is the color temperature (Tc). Speaking in simple language, this parameter shows what the light shade is - warm and yellowish, neutral white or bluish-cold. The color of LED lamps, unlike lamps of other types, can be in a much wider range of values. That is why in LED-based light bulbs the T c parameter is given special importance.

Unit

From a physics point of view, color temperature (T c) characterizes the intensity of radiation from a light source in the operating frequency spectrum and functionally depends on the wavelength. It affects the color perception of illuminated objects by the human eye. It is measured in degrees Kelvin (°K).

In some cases, as a more convenient value, the value in mireds (M) is used. Mired, or inverse microdegree, is equal to one million divided by the value of Tc in Kelvin.

The temperature of the light tint of LEDs used in general and additional lighting fixtures is set using a phosphor layer. Method of applying phosphor, chemical composition and the thickness of its layer are determining factors for the future color and brightness characteristics of the LED lamp.

SP 52.13330.2011

The color of any physical body is determined by its spectral composition and the nature of the lighting that affects it. This means that when the same object is illuminated with LED lamps with different color temperatures, this object will have different shades. In order to set certain standards, SP 52.13330.2011 “Natural and artificial lighting».

SP 52.13330.2011 is an updated version of SNiP 23-05-95, valid in Russia until May 20, 2011.

SP 52.13330.2011 establishes standards for all types of lighting used in buildings and structures, in production and in open areas. Regarding the color of light, the document provides for the use of artificial sources, the color temperature of which should not go beyond 2400-6800°K.

In addition to a number of norms and rules, SP 52.13330.2011 provides recommendations for lighting various types premises. For example, in residential premises it is recommended to use yellowish warm colors that create a cozy atmosphere. light temperatures, and in work areas - colder ones, conducive to a working atmosphere.

The importance and selection of the right light shade

It has been scientifically proven that the shade of light affects the psychological impact of space and can significantly change the perception of the appearance of illuminated objects. And it has also been proven that the correct choice of light temperature can have a beneficial effect on human behavior. For example, in a jewelry store, a well-chosen shade of display lighting emphasizes the beauty of the product and promotes sales.
The color temperature of LED lamps directly affects the comfort in the illuminated room. According to the value of T with all LED lamps usually divided into 3 groups:

warm glow 2700–3500°K;
neutral glow 3500–5300°K;
cold glow 5300–6800°K.

Warm-colored LED lamps are ideal for home and living room lighting, as their light is less irritating to the eyes. Warm tones give objects a yellowish tint and create an evening atmosphere. It is worth noting that LED lamps with a warm glow are indispensable for organizing lighting in recreation areas.

Neutral light is used in lighting production premises and offices. LED lamps with T = 4000-4500°K help improve performance, which has been proven by practical research. A further increase in color temperature with a transition to the cold region leads to sudden fatigue and nervous tension. Within an apartment, LED lamps of neutral light can also be used:

as the main lighting of the bathroom;
in table lamps designed to illuminate students’ workplaces;
in the kitchen where food is prepared.

LED lamps with a T of more than 5300°K can only be installed in non-residential premises and workplaces where high concentration of attention is required for a short time. In addition, they are effectively used in emergency lighting.

In conclusion, it is worth noting once again that the color temperature of LED lamps is an important characteristic, for the selection of which there are many tables. But you definitely shouldn’t choose an LED lamp based only on the light shade parameter. Right choice is possible only taking into account all technical features.