6500k lights too "harsh" of a color for the garage?

[wifehatescar]

Anyone has 6500k tube lights in the garage?



My last garage I had T8 32watt 4100k cool white color tubes and really liked them. Now I`m cnsidering the 6500k lights and they seem real "blue" to me and almost hard on the eyes, although the CRI is suppose to be better. Anyone have these? I like the idea of a whiter light but to my eye I seem to be preferring the 4100k lights. :hm

[nudave]

I purchased 5000k for my 4 4` Strips that will be going in the garage....

[KELVINATOR]

My neighbor put those 6500k lights in his garage. It made his garage have a weird blue glow and not very pleasing to work with imo. I use sylvania T12 40 watt 4100k bulbs. It is a "clean" light with good lumens (3300).

[KiaDude]

If you like the color of the 4100K lamps but want a higher CRI, go to either an "800" series or a "SPX" series lamp (depending on the manufacturer). You`ll be looking for the color designation (ending of the cat. #) to be either "SPX41" or "841". These lamps will give you the same color that you like but an improved CRI.



I agree that the 6500K lamps drive me nuts with the "blueness" and really don`t even like the 5000K in most cases for shop/garage work. Ultimately, get what you like best but don`t fall into the "higher Kelvin=better light" trap because the Kelvin color alone does NOT determine CRI.



One last thing-you most likely will NOT find the "800" or "SPX" lamps at your local retail store or home center. Best bet will be an electrical supply house or residential lighting center. The lamps will cost quite a bit more than the standard CRI lamps, but in my opinion they are worth it if you are a perfectionist.

[wifehatescar]

Thanks for the tech. I just went with the "2 for $4" 4100k lights, with enough ballasts they look great in the garage. The higher k ones were too blue for me IMO as it turned out.

[RedSnakeGTS]

Just so you know, the reason you see a blue tint to the 6500K lights is because the max whiteness is achieved a little below the 5000k area. The higher you get above 5000 it starts to dip into the blue area. It`s the same reason some aftermarket headlights appear purple. Some manufacturers belived that if they upped the K count it would make them brighter and whiter, but really it makes them blue/purple.

[jfelbab]

6500k is the color of noon day sunlight. Seen at night they look blue. A noontime photo of the sun would look blue. 4100k is very orange. I actually prefer something around 5000k. Much warmer thatn the 6500k.

[jfelbab]

6500k is the color of noon day sunlight. Seen at night they look blue. A noontime photo of the sun would look blue. 4100k is very orange. I actually prefer something around 5000k. Much warmer than the 6500k.

[boywonder]

I just started studying this thread and it`s given me some thought. If we followed the same rule of thumb on these bulbs as we would for HIDs on cars...



4100k - 5000k = White

6000k = Purple

6500k+ = Blue



In HIDs, the higher you go in K, the lumen ratings tend to fall off. Would that be applicable to these bulbs as well?

[KiaDude]

PrinzII--Here`s my 2 cents worth about the Kelvin vs. lumen situation, along with some other ramblings related to lighting. This will put a lot of people to sleep, but some might find it helpful:



Fluorescent lamps are typically rated at the same initial & mean lumen output for a given lamp size / wattage with no lumen adjustment made for color (Kelvin). The *real* brightness will be the same for a given physical size and wattage of a lamp.



HOWEVER, your eye will typically perceive the same lumen output to be "brighter" with a higher Kelvin (shorter wavelength) lamp. It`s just the way most people are wired internally.



A good example of this would be on a police car with a split red/blue lightbar on top. Same lamp or strobe tube inside, but the blue side of the light is typically "seen" first due to the way the mind processes the shorter wavelength of the blue light, even though the red side actually reduces the lumen output less (e.g.-it`s brighter) than the blue side as the light passes through the colored lens.



That being said, I still recommend that a person buy whatever Kelvin output that they personally like best. The one area that I am a believer in spending some extra $$$ is for the higher CRI lamps. The higher CRI is one of those things that you won`t immediately notice, but most people will come to wonder how they got by without them after working under the improved CRI for a while.



In closing, I`ll say that answers in lighting are a lot like trying to pin down that question that comes up every so often--"What`s the best AIO / LSP / (whatever) for my car?" Answer, "Whatever works best for you!" as there are too many variables for there to be a finite answer. Go to a high end lighting center that can show off the effects of different Kelvin & CRI of lamps in a demo area and then buy what feels right to you--you`ll swear off those $1/each tubes from the big-box stores!