What Does the 4000, 5,000, 6,500 Numbers Mean When Choosing a Light?

Hey all.

I was looking around at some budget lights to pick up and just about all of the ones I was looking to get had options to choose that were 4,000, 5,000, 6,500 and so on. I can’t recall if there was a suffix behind the number listings.

Can you all tell me what these numbers mean and how I would choose the right one for my needs.

Thank you all.

BD

Hi Nalajr.

This number is the color temperature of the light in degrees Kelvin.

6500 is cold light and as it goes down it gets warmer.
3000 is warm white like incandescent lights.
5000 is often described as daylight white

Which one looks better is mainly personal preference combined with the kind of usage.

Some people like warmer lights at night, during wintertime, in nature.

It refers to the color temperature of light. The higher the number the bluer the cast, the lower the number the yellower the cast. It’s more than a little confusing in that warmer light is lower color temp than colder light. Color temp comes from the output of stars like the sun, alpha Centauri, Betelgeuse, etc. each has a different color that corrresponds to the surface temp of that star.

Here’s an example

Thank you all kindly for the help.

Like if u want use a light upclose i tend to favor something more warmer, if u want flood a huge area outdoors then its better have something cooler white i think since color rendition isnt as important then but its different taste for everyone.