Choosing the right LED lighting for your kitchen can be confusing. The LED One Distribution team has some advice to help you choose the right LED light strips for your kitchen.
Your kitchen is the gathering area and the heart of your home. It should be an enjoyable place for your family to meet at the end of your day and spend time together. At the same time, you need lighting so you can use knives safely and read recipes. Understanding the basics of LED lighting will help you make the best choices to meet your needs.
Lumens and Color
When choosing your kitchen lighting you need to understand lumens and color temperature. Lumens measure the brightness of the bulb. The Correlated Color Temperature (or CCT) determines the color of the light.
If you’ve recently shopped for lighting you’ve discovered wattage is no longer used. Wattage is not an indicator of an LED’s brightness. Wattage measures how much electricity (energy input) an incandescent bulb uses. Lumens measure the amount of light emitted by an LED (light output), so watts and lumens are not the same thing.
If you are used to wattage as your guide to choose lighting it can be difficult to make a good LED lighting decision. The labeling on LED lighting measures brightness in lumens. You know what to expect from a 60 or 80-watt incandescent bulb. You may not know what to expect with lumens. A 100 Lumen light is going to give low-level lighting. A 500 lumen light will give you very bright light.
How Do I Choose Color Temperature?
The brightness of your LED bulb choice will affect the color temperature choice. Color temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) units. Color temperature varies from ultra warm to ultra cool.
Lighting in the 2000k-3500k CCT range are warm colors. At the low end of this range is the warmest color, ultra warm. With a lot of orange and yellow tones, it will remind you of a warm and cozy bar or restaurant. At the higher end of that range is warm white which is closer to the light you’d see at dusk on a warm summer night.
Between 3500K -5100K are more natural or neutral white daylight tones. The lower range is closer to natural daylight color. The higher range is ‘cooler’ lighting, bringing in blue tones. The high-end range is ‘cool white.’ Ramp it up even higher into the 5100K -20000K and you’ll get the bluest Ultra Cool coloring.
Think about the atmosphere you want to create or your style preferences when considering color range. Are you trying to create a warm and relaxing environment? Or do you like something that feels more exciting and energetic?
Mixing It Up
Mixing warm and cool lighting in the same room is noticeable and can be confusing. Have you looked at street lights when you’re driving at night and noticed sometimes some are warm colored, and others are bluer? Mixing lighting colors in the same room can create the same effect as those street lights.
If you want two different light colors in the kitchen try using natural color ceiling lights. Use the other color direction you want in your under cabinet lighting to make it less noticeable.
For different lighting levels consider installing a dimmer switch. Buy the brightest light you might want then use the dimmer switch for less brightness.
There isn’t any right or wrong. It’s all about what you want in your home. Labeling on LED lighting includes lumens and CCT values. It will help you choose the lighting you want.
Call Us For Help
The LED One Distribution team hopes you have found this information helpful. If you have questions we are always available to help. Get in touch with us so we can help you. Lighting is our passion, and we want you to be thrilled with the lighting installed in your home.