The Difference Between Warm White, Cool White & Daylight LED

When choosing your lighting, which is better for the living room, bedroom, and bathroom – warm white or cool white? What about daylight and how will your choice affect a room?

The image above shows 3 identical wall lights lit on a bench demonstrating warm white vs daylight, warm white vs cool white and cool white vs daylight colors.

The link between a lighting color description and a specific shade of white light will vary across manufacturers of LED lights, but they will be within ranges.

Warm light has a Kelvin range of 1,000K to 3500K and simulates ambient sunsets, while cool light has a Kelvin range of 3200K to 6500K and is brighter and more clinical, with Daylight being 6500K up to 10,000K and is a blue tinted white light.

To create a cozy atmosphere, use warm white LED bulbs for relaxing areas and cool white LED bulbs for active areas. When purchasing LED bulbs, choose from a range of LED light colours to enhance your living space, bring your decor to life and enhance your wellbeing.

The most commonly chosen light colors are Warm White, Cool White and Daylight. These colors are measured in degrees of Kelvins, and the more Kelvins a light has, the brighter and whiter it will appear.

Here is a comparison between each of these color temperatures and their ideal use.

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Warm White

If you want to create a comfortable ambiance in spaces where you spend time with friends and family, warm white between 2700-3200 Kelvins is an ideal choice. It is a popular colour for living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms, where people gather together.

Cool White

The cool white lighting between 4000-6500K is perfect for contemporary and modern interior designs as it provides a clear and refreshing brightness. Due to its task orientated clarity of white light, it is commonly used in bathrooms and kitchens.

Daylight

If you want to create a natural-looking atmosphere, you should choose the 6500K color daylight. It imitates the tone of natural light and is suitable for any room in your home.

LED Color Comparisons

Warm White vs Daylight

Use Warm white for creating a relaxed, cozy atmosphere with bulbs used in table lights and wall lights. Daylight bulbs are best used in areas where clarity and focus is needed with bulbs used in reading and craft lights.

Warm White vs Cool White

Warm white is great for creating a calming ambience in accent lighting while cool white provides crisp, clear lighting for task orientated activities, such as offices, dental surgeries and retail.

Cool White vs Daylight

Cool white will give you bright and vibrant illumination from LED ceiling panels or LED batten lights, while daylight will provide a natural and fresh look in any room but when seen at night will create a blue enriched hue of white light that is unflattering. Use daylight bulbs in areas of activity, such as utlitity rooms.

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When choosing lighting it’s helpful to know how light effects our body, read more on the Best LED Lights Colors and How LED Light Colors Effect Mood.

For more comparisons check out the difference between 3000K and 3500K and the difference between 3000K and 4000K

Andrew Orange, the owner of Orange Lighting qualified and worked as an interior designer in 1993 before specialising in lighting working on high profile projects based in London. Since starting Orange Lighting Ltd in 2003 he has been sharing his knowledge and unique teaching style mostly to his designer clients, offering practical real life advice born from running a busy consultancy and lighting supply business. Launching in 2020, his blog has evolved into Quick & Easy Lighting, curating some 25 years design experience into making the lighting choice and design process achievable and easy to understand for all.