Light bulbs that are available today are mostly Light Emitting Diode (LED). The advantage of the LED bulb is they are highly energy-efficient and fit standard light sockets. This kind of design allows them to produce the same amount of light using less electricity. Most LED bulbs last for up to 20 years. Different rooms require a different kind of lighting. The light color and light temperature on the Kelvin (K) temperature scale. The lower the Kelvin numbers the yellow the color of the lights gets whereas, with higher Kelvin number, the light gets whiter and brighter.
The kind of lighting you want to use in your home depends on the area of the room and in which part of the house you want to install it. For example, 2000K to 3000K lighting is best for a bedroom since the lighting is yellowish and soft. A kitchen needs warm colored bulb ranging from 3000K to 4000 K. And study areas need 5000K to 6000K LED bulbs for a bright daylight color.
The staff at LTC created this blog to help you choose which LED bulb will be best for your kitchen.
3000K vs 4000K vs 5000K: Which one should you use for the kitchen?
A 3000K LED bulb produces soft white or warm white or yellowish color light. This one is best for places where you relax such as the bedroom and the living area since this kind of color temperature gives you a cozy and sleepy feeling.
A 5000K LED bulb produces a bright daylight kind of color. So, it’s good for bathrooms, basements area and your study room. You can even use it in the kitchen when you work.
A 4000K LED bulb produces a bright white or cool toned kind of color which gives a warm effect as well as bright enough to work beneath it. It is mostly used in kitchens.
Important things to consider about your kitchen
Your kitchen is the heart of the home. May it be a weekend night or a party at home, we end up occupying this space of the house to cook food and do things to serve to our guests. Basically, this is a place where you need to work. The kitchen is responsible to feed our body and soul. The way you decorate the kitchen says a lot about your personality. As this a place for cooking and doing household stuff, the particular space needs to be bright as well as it’s important that the color of the light soothes your mood.
How does the light color in the kitchen affect the mood of people?
It’s true that color temperature can actually change the mood of people. A low colored temperature light triggers the release of Melatonin hormone which causes relaxation and makes you sleepy. Similarly, a high color temperature causes the releases of Serotonin which boosts up your energy level.
Now the kitchen is a place where you need to work after returning home. So, this place can’t be of too low colored lighting or extremely bright colored lighting. A medium bright color with slightly yellowish tone will be best for the kitchen. The more lumens the brighter the bulb. A kitchen needs 500 to 1000 total lumens. Apart from brightness, the color temperature of the light is an important consideration.
The kind of light used is a very important consideration while you are remodeling your kitchen. Okay! Now let’s divide the kind of lighting into three different categories:
1. Recessed Lighting
Ambient Lighting is the best lighting that makes a room usable. Ambient lighting means it provides a consistent light layer throughout the room so that you can work under it. Putting out recessed lighting in the kitchen is a good way to fill up space with an adequate amount of light.
But where to put the light? You need to check in which parts of the kitchen do you stand the most? If you have a narrow passage like the kitchen, a single row of recessed lights with a gap will do the work. But if you have a kitchen the hugs to the walls with noting in middle, you need to install the lights in a grid pattern.
2. Under cabinet Lighting
The second way to light up the kitchen is by putting a light under the cabinets. Your kitchen is your workplace so you need to have the right amount of lighting in the spots where you work the most. Mostly the lights should be above the area where you work especially where you need to show your knife skills. Under cabinet lighting is the best lighting to improve the environment and efficiency of the kitchen. For open shelving, do not despair. Whereas small down lit pendants can be designed in a dramatically way.
3. Track Lighting
This is a kind of lighting with which you can do a lot of fun. This is what a designer lighting looks like. Some of the important places in the kitchen where you can out this lighting is above an exposed countertop, over the kitchen sink and over the table (in case you have an eat-in table inside the kitchen space). This kind of lighting is meant to hang from the ceiling and is fitted on tracts, allowing variable positions. A decorative fixture changes the whole ambience of the kitchen yet lighting remains equally efficient to work. Accent Lighting works best for large open spaces.
Final Thoughts
Considering all the above factors a 4000K LED bulb is the best color temperature for your kitchen. It provides a color of light which is both energetic as well as relaxing. The design for lighting your kitchen is also quite important. If you have a larger space and you want to bring an edgy look in your kitchen, the track lightings are the best. But if you have small and narrow kitchen recessed lighting will be good for your kitchen as it spreads the light evenly from the ceiling. If you want to use a particular space in your kitchen to do knife work, then you must install under cabinet lighting to focus on that particular area.