Colour temperature

The meaning of colour temperature or light colour describes the impression of coldness or warmness of the lighting effect. Measured in Kelvin (K) the colour temperature moves on a scale of 1000 to 10 000. The redder a colour is the cooler or lower it is on a scale, the bluer colours are colder and on the hotter end. This scale is in line with the colours of a flame. The hotter a flame burns, the more it tends towards blue.

Tip from a lighting designer

Colour temperature is one of these subjective components of lighting. People will have different preferences depending on the situation, task, and time of day. At Studio De Schutter, we, therefore, do mock-ups to show our clients the effect of the different colour temperatures. We frequently recommend 3000K for workplace lighting, in some cases also 4000K which is colder, when there are larger windows. This way, the artificial lighting will be more in line with daylight. When the lighting budget allows, we recommend tunable white lighting. With this technology, the colour temperature of the interior lighting can be adapted to follow the course of the natural daylighting. Many studies have shown the benefits of tunable white, also known as circadian lighting of human-centric lighting, for workplaces.

When designing lighting for residential and hospitality we highly recommend using dim to warm technology. With dim to warm the light colour typically moves between 3000—2100 K, getting warmer as it dims. Being able to vary in lighting colour and thus mood lends multi-functionality to the space. Especially residential spaces require the ability to adapt to brighter light for home-schooling, home-office or cleaning, and warm white lighting for cosy lighting for evenings. 

Also have a look at our video “Living room lighting – 4 common mistakes”:

In this video, we are sharing 4 common living room lighting mistakes and how to avoid them. You will see examples of good and bad lighting. You will gain an overview of what to pay attention to and gain an understanding of how to create a well-lit living room space yourself. This means both cozy and functional lighting.