# What is the temperature/color of your lighting



## OldBull (Apr 30, 2020)

I have to buy lighting for my work space and want to get it right. Either this is a stupid question or a smart one. Daylight is 6500 K, The old round (orange colored) incandescent bulbs were I think 2700, the flourescent that turns our photos green are all over the place, the kitchen is bright 5000k and elsewhere cooler.

How white is your workspace, or how orange? how bright is your workspace?

Thanks, sorry for so many several threads today but it's money spending time.


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## DaveMills (Jan 17, 2020)

The LED lighting in my shop is 4100K and seems comfortable enough to work with. My camera deals with it fine on "auto white balance" and doesn't turn anything green or brown


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

I buy those cheap LED shop lights at sam's or Costco and as things change I just grab another to chase the shadows away. Not sure of the temp but they are very bright.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Our place has gone 100% LED. We use the Phillip's dimmable 60w equivalent (13w actual) 2 for $5 bulbs with great success in the warm white tone. For the outside garage lights we went with the bright white "daylight" candela base bulbs (with 3X 60w bulbs X 2 fixtures, the security cam can see across the street!)

The interior lights are wonderful and you really can't tell them apart from the 60w incandescents they replaced. The only visible difference is a slight shadow ring around the base of the LED bulbs. They dim nicely without any buzzing.

We also installed dimmable under cabinet lighting with no-touch switches in the kitchen.









No touch switches turn the lights on/off with a wave of the hand!

In the shop I have four, chained 4' LED fixtures over the major tools plus a twin tube ceiling mount fluorescent fixture with LED drop in replacements at $10 per tube. These were also used in the kitchen for soffit lighting and in both bathrooms. These are all "standard white".


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## OldBull (Apr 30, 2020)

Thanks everyone


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Most of the LED bulbs put out 2-1/2 X the lumens but only take 1/4 the power so are effectively 1/10th the cost per lumen.

Some panels (the better half has one over her workstation) can change color temp from warm to standard to daylight just by flipping the wall switch rapidly. So if you watch tv, use warm, working, use daylight. No need to be locked in.


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## clagwell (Dec 20, 2018)

I have a mix of 4000K and 5000K in my shop. There are nine 8' fixtures that I retrofitted to hold six 4' tubes each. Two of the six are 4000K and the other four are 5000K. The mix was selected by my expert color consultant (SWMBO the Quilter). Shop lighting now meets her approval. Of course my clothing choices still don't.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

I like the 5000K ones a lot…very nice.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

Anything above 4000 does the job in a shop, garage, bathroom and even the kitchen. In other areas I prefer the 3000 range. 
LEDs come in so many creative forms now and using voltages from 12v to 120v. it boggles the mind so do your research before hand to see what suits you situation the best. For example I changed out my garage 4' fluorescent lights to the direct wired 120v LED tubes, 4000k, that eliminates using the ballast but I was able to keep the fixtures. Twice as bright using 1/4th of the power.


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## Foghorn (Jan 30, 2020)

I have two of the "Big Ass" LED garage lights in my shop. 13000 lumens each at 5k. They came with sunglasses! 7 year warranty and said to be good for 137 years. We'll see.


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## squazo (Nov 23, 2013)

I didnt know which color to go with so I bought adjustable temperature lights, they go grom 3,000k to 6,500 and they live on 6,500. I got them from super bright leds.com and they were cheap. they are also dimable from 10 percent to 100


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## RPhillips (May 16, 2013)

I'm in the process of installing 12 5000K 4500 lumen LEDs for my 22×25 shop. Got 3 installed and they look t be plenty bright.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

I like things around 5000K, bright enough to see well, but keep in mind, especially with fluorescents and LEDs, is you really can't tell exactly what the color is of the wood/stain your are working with. It's hard to beat good old "free" sunlight for this.


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

not sure of temp of HF LED lights but i like them nice and light and bright :<)))

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-ft-led-hanging-shop-light-64410.html?_br_psugg_q=led+light


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

I have the 5000 k fixtures from Sam's. Bright, and no failures. I also have fluorescent fixtures that I left in place with 3500 k lamps. Flip a switch to change fixtures to have indoor color for color match. The adjustable led fixtures were not available at the time, but that is what I would buy today.


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## bigJohninvegas (May 25, 2014)

I have the florescent T8 fixtures in my shop. pre dates LED. and I use the 6500k. 
Love it. I have thought about upgrading to LED. But it seems to be very costly to do so. 
And I have never found a LED that I could confirm was equal to the light color or temp of my 6500k that I have now.
So for now I am just staying with the T8s. 
I really like what I have. Anyone here know the true equivalent to get that color/temp from LED?


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## bigJohninvegas (May 25, 2014)

> LEDs come in so many creative forms now and using voltages from 12v to 120v. it boggles the mind so do your research before hand to see what suits you situation the best. For example I changed out my garage 4 fluorescent lights to the direct wired 120v LED tubes, 4000k, that eliminates using the ballast but I was able to keep the fixtures. Twice as bright using 1/4th of the power.
> 
> - LesB


I agree with mind boggling. I hope to figure in it out before the ballast start to fail on the T8s. 
Would be nice to get a LED bulb that will fit my T8 fixture and give the same light as the 6500k I now have


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## sansoo22 (May 7, 2019)

> I didnt know which color to go with so I bought adjustable temperature lights, they go grom 3,000k to 6,500 and they live on 6,500. I got them from super bright leds.com and they were cheap. they are also dimable from 10 percent to 100
> 
> - squazo


The only full time wood worker i know in person has these types of lights in his shop. He told me its so when he applies finishes he can better match the lighting conditions of the client's home or office. I don't know how important that is but he makes a decent living so I take his word for it.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

I have mostly 5000. but will say they are also the ones most likely at a lower price point. The 6500's I have seen are always at least twice what I usually pay for a light. I freely admit I buy the fixture I can get the lowest price on.

In the past I used to go with "good quality" fixtures, regardless of price. In the more recent years quality is a myth, the light fixtures, even though they all work, are mostly junk, and an expensive one can go bad as quickly as a $5 winner, so I go with buy em cheap, and swap em out as needed. For this reason all mine are also plug and play, no hard wired. Pull the plug, get the dead one down, hang the new one, and be back working in a few minutes. I always have 5 to 10 NIB fixtures ready to go.

5000, and keep hanging them until you see no shadows.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

John in vegas-6500 is 6500, at least close. It is a value, not a name like warm or cool white. The self ballasted, t8 LEDs are out there, keep looking. Maybe super Bright LEDs .com. I wouldn't buy the ones that use the existing ballasts.


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## OldBull (Apr 30, 2020)

I went with 4100K which is almost the same as 6500k flourescents. Lowes had them, 2 bulbs per fixture, 44 dollars and you have to wire them, they are not linkable. The dual bulbs put out lots of light and they worked great for my old eyes.


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## lastingimage (Aug 11, 2015)

i purchased the Barrina led lights on Amazon. They are 6500k (daylight). They are very lightweight. The included Tiny clips can be screwed into sheetrock and easily support the lights. The lights power supply is linkable with the included cables. Best of all they are affordable at a cost of $43 per set of 6 lights. Every one of my friends who saw my new lights went out and set up their shops with them.


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## Axis39 (Jul 3, 2019)

I added a bunch of these to my shop a few months ago… 6500k.

I studied light in high school, college, the Army and since, doing artwork and photography. I enjoy daylight for working. So, the 6500k is a nice light.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

I need to find something that works as well. I absolutely HATE led lights for work/reading. When I move my head I see the flicker and it's annoying and gives me a headache. I don't like the heat of incandescent or halogen but nothing beats the light quality. I may have to settle for some decent flourescents.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

I have the 48", four flourescent bulb recessed fixtures in my shop. As the ballasts started to go I ordered a bunch of porcelain sockets, Installed three of them in the fixtures after removing all the florescents and ballasts and run three daylight (5000k) 60W bulbs in each fixture. So 180 watts of light in each fixture. It's very white and very bright. The fixtures also have the plastic diffusers, much better too.


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## sansoo22 (May 7, 2019)

> I need to find something that works as well. I absolutely HATE led lights for work/reading. When I move my head I see the flicker and it's annoying and gives me a headache. I don't like the heat of incandescent or halogen but nothing beats the light quality. I may have to settle for some decent flourescents.
> 
> - SMP


I use only Philips soft white with warm glow effect in the house. I have just a couple lamps left to convert over. I cant tell the difference between these and incandescent even when dimmed. They turn more amber the dimmer they get just like incandescent. I don't notice any flicker with the Philips like i did with other brands like Cree. I know some ppl see a flicker no matter what. Like 3d movies or VR goggles. I can't do either without getting a headache.

The other thing that might make my situation different is my house was built in 1965 and nothing has been upgraded. Most of my fixtures use standard A19/E26 bulbs. In my old house I had a lot of cheap home depot fixtures that used the candelabra base and those things drove me crazy with LEDs in them.


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## RPhillips (May 16, 2013)

Well I got my lights installed yesterday and boy are they bright. I love it. I did not notice any flicker or anything else. The lighting color is great for a workspace. I bought these Sunco LED Lights off amazon. I payed about $20 per fixture. If you are planning to surface mount, look some where else. These are made to be suspended from chains, but I made brackets and fastened them to the ceiling. For a $215 investment, I'm very happy with the results.


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## PBWilson1970 (Jan 23, 2020)

I outfitted my shop with some LED bulbs that could be adjusted between 6500K and 5000K. I much prefer the 5000K. I may sacrifice a few lumens but the color is much more pleasing to my eye.

I have a number of different LED flashlights in different tints and I find that the difference between 6500K and 5000K in my flashlights is much more noticeable than with my overhead lights. I actually prefer my flashlights in the 4000K range which gives a nice rosy and warm glow if the tint bin is not in the green range. There's a heck of a rabbit hole to go down with CRI (color rendering index) and tint bins for a given LED but for my shop, I've found what I like (luckily) and am glad I did since they'll last for a loooooooooong time.


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