Colour of CFLs?

[Spamlet]

Is there any indication/code on the boxes or any other way of telling what colour CFL lamps are going to be, before one buys?

There seem to be at least two kinds - one more like the old tungsten, with a pinkish/yellowish tinge: the other with rather cold greenish/bluish output. We recently bought a new light fitting that had the narrow screw fittings, and found there was not much available in this size. The first three lamps we bought turned out to have a very bright but not particularly illuminating, cold light, getting towards the colour of led torches. Rather an expensive way to make the bedroom seem a lot colder and less cosy.

Looking to replace these with the warmer looking kind, I can see nothing on the boxes in the shops to denote what colour they give out. Does anyone know of a chart/table I can look at to tell me what I need to buy.

Cheers, and a merry Xmas.

S

[jim]

look for "colour temperature" often expressed as "XXXX K" (where xxxx's are numbers) warm white is abt 3000K, blue "looks like a closed butcher's shop" crap is abt 6500k

cheers jim

[unopened]

What you want to check is the Colour Temperature of the CFL - sometimes it is well hidden. The phosphors used in the fluorescent tube to convert the UV produced by the mercury discharge into visible light are chosen by the lamp manufacturer to approximate to an incandescent lamp operating at a particular filament temperature. The lower the temperature of the filament, the more orangey-red the light becomes.

Colour temperature//Marketing description Less than 3000 Kelvin//'Warm White'

[meow2222]

Colour temp may be indicated in any of 3 ways: a) Kelvin figure. 2700K - 3000K is warm, 4500K is cool, 6800K is icy cold. b) Kelvin temp and CRI may be encoded into one figure. 827 means 2700K with a CRI in the 80s%, 854 means 5400K. c) colour names such as warm white or daylight. Daylights are very cold icy lbuish, avoid them.

NT

[ransley]

Soft or warm white is most like incandesant.

[Spamlet]

Thanks for the handy info folks:

I've copied it to go on my 'spare lamps' box.

A warm white new year to you all.

Cheers, S