Choosing The Right Color Temperature

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)

CCT is the appearance of white light, in terms of warmth or coolness. A warm color corresponds to a lower CCT, while cool colors are associated with a higher CCT.

Measured in Kelvin on a scale of 1,000-10,000, color temperature describes the appearance of the illumination provided by a bulb. The lower the Kelvin number, the more orange/red/yellow the light. Matching the color of light to the surroundings will create harmony for the eyes and make the space look and feel comfortable and “right.”

Tips: for residential lightings, usually the CCT fall between 2700K and 6500K

Kelvin (K)

The appearance of white light. CCT is defined in degrees Kelvin and correlated to the Black Body on the CIE color diagram. Warm colors correspond to a lower CCT value (2400K), while cooler or blueish light is associated with higher CT values (10,000K).

Color Rending Index (CRI)

A quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to reveal the colors of various objects accurately in comparison with an ideal light source. The higher the CRI (1 to 100), the better the color rendering, given the color temperature of the lamp.