Color temperature for woodshop?

[NuthinFancy]

I'm working on the lighting design for my new 14' x 30' woodshop.
Leaning towards using LED troffers with a drop ceiling that will be 10' high.

I'm trying to decide on the lighting temperature, given I'll be doing staining work and want to make the light as close to natural as the incandescent and halogen lighting in the house so the stain color looks the same in the house as it does in the shop.

This seems to be leading me to lower temperature, e.g. 2500K, lamps.
I like the more yellow end of the spectrum for aesthetics, but am concerned this might not be as 'efficient' for working with power tools and such (I realize the efficiency of the lamps is not necessarily related to color temperature) as the higher temperature lamps seem like they might do a better job for working with tools.

Does anyone have any experience with lower temperature lighting to share?

Color Temperature reference: http://www.westinghouselighting.com/color-temperature.aspx

 

[Showkey]

It's 100% personal preference......... but .........most would say 2500 is too warm for the general shop but perfect for the family room and the other extreme 6500 is too cool or blue, too harsh for most people. So some where in the middle is where most people land like 4000-4500.

In your case of woodshop I woulld lean to the warm side and never consider 6000 for that application. If in doubt buy a sample for bulbs and try them to see what you like best.

 

[mike93lx]

Imo, 2500k is way too low for any work area.

My shop is 5000k. Go with whatever works for you though. I would make sure to get something with a high CRI though.

 

[openwheelracing88]

I find the Costco Feit LED shoplights at 4000K to be a perfect match in my garage which has white ceiling white upper walls (red stripe and black lower wall). I would go to 5000K if I had yellowish walls. I find anything higher to be too harsh. "Bluer" light is not better, nor brighter. If lighting is still inadequate, then I would install additional fixtures to increase lumen output before changing to bluer lights. I would also make sure all fixtures are the same across the room. Just my preference.

Plus, you can always bring a piece from the house into the shop while you are staining. Use that as your baseline. I think it is better to do staining with 4000K shoplighting than 2500K. Same reason people would rather do staining during day time.

 

[Two Sheds]

For general illumination 4000K (cool white) lighting should be adequate, but most fluorescent and LED lighting is inadequate for color matching. There are some LED lights that are 93 CRI, but if you want to match stains for use under halogen lighting, use halogen lighting for color matching.

 

[NuthinFancy]

Thanks to all for the input and suggestions. I'll pickup a couple of samples to see which works best for me.

I got a kick out of your handle, Two Sheds. Or should I call you Arthur?

nf

 

[95riosnake]

I use 4100k in my wood shop. I personally find 5000-6500 to be a harsh color temp. I can tolerate 5000 in some situations, but I absolutely hate 6500k. It feels like there are 10 BMW's hanging from the ceiling with their high beams on.

 

[bczygan]

How about lighting the shop at 6000 for general work and then have a separate bank you can switch on over the finishing area to match the lighting where the piece will be used? This bank could be adjusted by changing bulbs too.

Bill

 

[woodzy]

I just put 176 tubes in my shop and they were 4000K. Stick around 4000 for the best overall viewing.

 

[AntonLargiader]

I don't see any reason to go above 5000k for anything, and definitely look for 90 or better CRI.

Having a halogen-lit area for a specific color matching task sounds like a good idea to me, but you don't need to light your shop that way to get good light color these days.

 

[Angelfire]

One thing you could do is outfit your shop with the color you like to work under (ie. 4-5k generally). Then have a separate single bulb desk lamp or similar where you would have a bulb that reflects your house lighting. Check your finish samples under it and dial it in.

 

[TTTTTT]

Just finishing my woodshop. Mine is 20'x24' with 9' ceiling s. Decent natural light. Osb white gloss ceiling, beautiful pine walls. I have 10 4' double flouresent lights. Originally put natural light bulbs in. Not enough light, switched to daylight bulbs which put it over 5000 range. Absolutely love the brightness. As I'm getting older but still young (57) the more light the better.

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[openwheelracing88]

Also, is it just me, or does color temp "seems" higher each time you install additional fixture?

 

[Falcon67]

5000 or 6500K, 2500 will be way too orange in color IMHO. Even 3500k can be off. 6500 is "daylight" but a bit too blue for some people.

 

[American Locomotive]

5000 or 6500K, 2500 will be way too orange in color IMHO. Even 3500k can be off. 6500 is "daylight" but a bit too blue for some people.

Daylight is 5000K-6500K depending on time of day and where you are. Morning sun light is closer to 5, while around noon tends to be closer to 6.

Also, is it just me, or does color temp "seems" higher each time you install additional fixture?

It's actually generally the other way around. As light intensity increases, you perceive the light to be "yellower" and more pleasant.

A single 6500K bulb in a room seems very harsh and blue, but put 40 of those bulbs in a room, and it will seem pretty natural and pleasant. Noon-time Sun is around 6000K-6500K, but it seems natural because the light intensity is so high.

For most workshops, you'd have to pack a lot of light into a room to make 6500K seem pleasant. On the other hand, you really only need like ~100 fc to make 5000K seem very natural and nice.

 

[mjoekingz28]

One thing you could do is outfit your shop with the color you like to work under (ie. 4-5k generally). Then have a separate single bulb desk lamp or similar where you would have a bulb that reflects your house lighting.

Sounds good to me.

 

[Showkey]

A single 6500K bulb in a room seems very harsh and blue, but put 40 of those bulbs in a room, and it will seem pretty natural and pleasant.

For most workshops, you'd have to pack a lot of light into a room to make 6500K seem pleasant..

Sorry not buying any part of this ^^^^^^^^^6000-6500 is harsh and blue is still harsh and blue in any dose size.

But like everyone said it's 100% personal preference

 

[Falcon67]

LOL, I won't buy anything but 6500K bulbs.

 

[American Locomotive]

Sorry not buying any part of this ^^^^^^^^^6000-6500 is harsh and blue is still harsh and blue in any dose size.

Your eye and brain are chemical devices. Human eyes are sensitive to different colors of light depending on light intensity (far more sensitive to blue light at low intensities), and the way our brains perceive certain colors is also dependent on how bright the light is.

Like I said, noon-time daylight is around 6500K, and it looks like normal sunlight to people. This is because the intensity is so high. If you put enough 6500K bulbs in a room, it would appear like natural daylight. A single bulb by itself will appear blue - especially in an environment with "warmer" bulbs.

 

[Radix2]

Your eye and brain are chemical devices. Human eyes are sensitive to different colors of light depending on light intensity (far more sensitive to blue light at low intensities), and the way our brains perceive certain colors is also dependent on how bright the light is.

Like I said, noon-time daylight is around 6500K, and it looks like normal sunlight to people. This is because the intensity is so high. If you put enough 6500K bulbs in a room, it would appear like natural daylight. A single bulb by itself will appear blue - especially in an environment with "warmer" bulbs.

That's interesting, thanks, I'm putting that on my list of what I learned today!

I really don't like the looks of the 6500k bulbs, so I wonder what illumination level would be required to to get past that perception... 100fc?

 

[American Locomotive]

Depends on the person. 100 fc might be acceptable for 6500K for some people. I find my 100fc worth of 5000K bulbs to be just about right, so I'd probably need 100-150 fc for 6500K.

 

[hedgehog]

i like the daylight color for everything. and i really dont like the yellow colored warm bulbs.

 

[Showkey]

Intersting lighting comparison. Walmart did a remodel......picture below shows the added warmer lights, "blue light specials" are still in the back ground away from the produce section.

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[5speedsoffury]

I have been down a similar road. I actually first started out with "cool blue" lighting. Frankly it felt as if I was working in a hospital or similar. I did not feel inspired in the shop and was not relaxed or even interested to go out. Sure it may be a personal feeling but it was not a welcoming creative space. I did much research on lighting and the only way I came to any conclusion was going out and actually looking at shop lights and standing under them. I have very sensitive eyes so my judgement may be skewed but in the long run I picked up some of these fixtures from Home Depot by Commercial Electric. They are 4000 lumen 4000k and are a very nice light in my garage workshop. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...-Integrated-LED-Shop-Light-54264141/206028859

 

[STx]

Incandescent is 2700ish with a fairly high CRI.

There are a lot of issues with color temp with LED lights. The biggest being that when the color temperature was established, it didn't account for blue hue in the light and LEDs start blue with coatings added to get the warm white or other colors. Because of this, it is possible to have an LED emitter that will be labeled as 2700 but, still appear blue. This was a big issue in the landscape lighting industry where we were all using halogen lamps in the 2700 to 3000 range as the early LEDs appeared off in that color temperature. Manufacturers have gotten a lot better about compensating for this but, you're still going to want to use quality emitters if color temp really matters.

Another issue you'll run into with the less expensive emitters is loose binning, where the color temp will wander in a given rating.

If you're trying to match what a color will look like inside under incandescent light, you're going to want to be around 2700ish but, remember that during the daylight hours, they're going to have natural light coming through the windows that will affect the appearance of the furniture. I think it's best to mix some natural and artificial light if possible, if not, I'd have some indirect lighting at daylight temps (6500) and more direct lighting at 2700. This will give you a more balanced idea of how the finish is going to look in a home.

 

[6PTsocket]

I'm working on the lighting design for my new 14' x 30' woodshop.
Leaning towards using LED troffers with a drop ceiling that will be 10' high.

I'm trying to decide on the lighting temperature, given I'll be doing staining work and want to make the light as close to natural as the incandescent and halogen lighting in the house so the stain color looks the same in the house as it does in the shop.

This seems to be leading me to lower temperature, e.g. 2500K, lamps.
I like the more yellow end of the spectrum for aesthetics, but am concerned this might not be as 'efficient' for working with power tools and such (I realize the efficiency of the lamps is not necessarily related to color temperature) as the higher temperature lamps seem like they might do a better job for working with tools.

Does anyone have any experience with lower temperature lighting to share?

Color Temperature reference: http://www.westinghouselighting.com/color-temperature.aspx

Even an incandescent is 2700K. 2500 is very yellow. Having worked for years under 4100K "cool white" fluorescents I find that comfortable. To me the so called daylight bulbs of6500K are too blue and irritating. You are forgetting a very important factor. It is called CRI or color rendition index. It compares bulbs to sunlight. Fluorescents and leds are far from linear and do not put out one single color. Only lasers do that. They put out a very uneven spiky mix of different colors in different amounts. Only sunlight is uniform. The color temperature is idependent of this fact. If you want to work with stains you should have at least one area with high CRI lighting, in the 90s. Most home stuff is around 80. There is even cheap stuff that is far worse. Low CRI causes causes colors to appear wrong which becomes apparant in sunlight. Body shops have hand held high CRI lights for checking paint colors. This info is usually supplied with the bulb.

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[2Big2Ride]

5000K bulbs throughout our shop. The better half does wood carving and wood turning with as many different finishes as you can imagine. Plus the studio side has windows on both the north and south sides (south side windows are under a covered porch) that help with lighting in the daytime. 5000K allows you to see the difference between blue and black.

 

[STx]

Here is a photo I took at Lightfair a few years ago that demonstrates just how important CRI is in choosing your lights. All of these lamps were rated at the same color temperature but, they obviously had very different CRI's. The top left was traditional halogen and had the truest color. All the shirts and ties were the same color.

 

[6PTsocket]

Here is a photo I took at Lightfair a few years ago that demonstrates just how important CRI is in choosing your lights. All of these lamps were rated at the same color temperature but, they obviously had very different CRI's. The top left was traditional halogen and had the truest color. All the shirts and ties were the same color.

Incandescents including halogens are are a lot closer to sunlight with a high CRI than most fluorescents or leds. They achieve it with a lot less complexity, too The filaments have a flatter response and they don't have to mess with multiple phosphers or led types to do it.

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[rburke65]

It's whatever you like. 5000 for me