9 / 84
7
www.westinghouselighting.comUNDERSTAND LIGHT
LIGHT APPEARANCE
Color
Temperature
(KELVIN)
2000K - 3000K
3100K - 4500K
4600K - 6500K
Light
Appearance
Warm White
Cool White
Daylight
Ambience
Cozy, calm, inviting, intimate
Bright, vibrant
Crisp, invigorating
Best for
Pendants, wall/coach lanterns,
restaurant/commercial
ambient lighting,
residential recessed lighting,
table & floor lamps
Basements,
garages, work environments,
task lighting
Display areas,
security lighting, garages,
task lighting
Color temperature and Kelvin temperature
Color temperature is a way to describe the light appearance provided by a lamp. Color temperature is measured in degrees
of Kelvin (K), and typically falls on a scale from 2000K to 6500K for commercial and residential lighting applications.
Color temperature of a lamp is assigned using the basis of
correlated color temperature (CCT)
If you heat up a metal object, the object appears to glow. Depending on the Kelvin temperature used to heat the metal object,
the glow will typically be a shade of orange, yellow or blue. The color temperature of lamps is meant to replicate the Kelvin
temperature of the metal object in the above example, thus providing a standard against which to measure the color
temperature of all lamps.
What color temperature is right for me?
The color temperature of a lamp lets you know the look and feel of the light it will provide. At the lower end of the scale,
from 2000K to 3000K, the light produced is called “warm white” or “soft white” and ranges from orange to yellowish-white in
appearance. Color temperatures between 3100K and 4500K are referred to as “cool white” or “bright white”. Lamps within this
range will emit a more neutral white light and may even have a slightly blue tint. Above 4500K brings us into the “daylight” color
temperature of light. Lamps with color temperatures of 4500K and above will give off a blue-white light that mimics daylight.
WARM WHITE
COOL WHITE
DAYLIGHT