The colour temperature in lighting design is used to describe the visual characteristics of the light source, it is in fact a measurement in degrees known as Kelvin. White LED’s used to  produce a colour temperature of 6,000 kelvin which is considered to be cool white, this cool white colour emitted from the LED bulb tends to have a slight blue tint in the colour, which is similar to what fluorescent lighting produces.

Over the past few years LED manufacturers have made great strides in the white led development and have created  lower colour temperatures which move toward the warm white colour temperature on the kelvin scale. With the warm white LED’s they can go as low as 28,000 kelvin, as like with the cool white the warm white also has a colour tint to them, the colour is usually a yellow or orange tint.

As for what colour you should go for depends on what your preference is, do you prefer the warm colour lighting or the cool colour lighting? But there are a few rules that can help you make that decision. For domestic lighting most customers will purchase the warm white as this is more inline with the colour of incandescent and halogen bulbs that they will replace. For the comercial side of lighting most customers will choose the cool white as they give a much brighter light and also a modern feel to the space, but if the colour temperature is too high then there is a risk that it can make that space too clinical or harsh.

In the home cool white can be used in the kitchen or bathroom to great effect to enhance the aesthetic of the room. The kitchen is a great place to in fact use both sets of colours with the warm white on the ceiling for the everyday use and to use the cool white inside the cupboards and under the cabinets to light the surface desktop.