LED lamps and luminaires are commonly available in 2700K, 3000K and 4000K colour temperatures, but how do you go about choosing the correct colour?

This question has been answered by Chris Shenton, technical and quality specialist at LEDvance UK.

Lamp colour temperature is often a personal or historical choice and it depends on what environment is being created.

Here is a general guide:

2700K is a similar colour appearance to incandescent lamps and is a warm, relaxing colour.

3000K is a similar colour appearance to halogen lamps with a warm but crisper colour than 2700K. Commonly called ‘warm white’.

4000K is a cooler, whiter colour than 2700K and 3000K. It’s the lamp that has traditionally been used in offices, waiting areas and most commercial applications. This is commonly called ‘cool white’,  or occasionally ‘neutral white’.

6500K is a very cool white that is used to simulate day light. It is also said to increase productivity when used in a work environment. It is commonly referred to as ‘daylight’.

The warmer colours work well in more relaxed environments with warmer colour decoration such as in domestic living rooms, restaurants and hospitality areas.

The cooler colours work well to help create a lively environment with lighter colour decoration such as domestic kitchens, offices, warehousing and in retail spaces.

Now that we have the ability for colour ‘tuning’ via LED sources, the extremes of warm and cold white sources are being used as the basis for ‘human centric’ lighting installations. Mixing of the two extremes allows interior lighting schemes to be adjusted according to the needs of the occupants.

See our range of LED lamps and luminaires here: www.novelenergylighting.com

An experimental human centric lighting scheme has been installed at Lindeborgskolan school in Malmo, Sweden, aimed at improving pupil performance.

The human centric system replaced a fluorescent lighting scheme, a change which pupils claim has improved their concentration, making them feel more alert throughout the school day.

The automatically changing light variation includes a period of intense rather blue light in the morning, to wake the pupils up, and a warmer light during other parts of the day.

Teachers are able to change the colour intensity of the lighting to create a calming or a stimulating atmosphere when necessary. The human centric scheme has also eradicated flicker.

The new lighting was funded by the Department of Internal Services in the hope of bringing Swedish schools firmly into the twenty first century.

You can find out more about the Malmo project by watching the video above. You can also learn more about the debate surrounding human centric lighting by reading our article: Are we experimenting on school children?