Do you prefer Warm White or Cool White lighting in your home ?

[balo]

When I moved to Thailand I noticed that most Thai homes use Cool White light bulbs in their homes.

I am used to the warm, yellow light which is called warm white . In the western world most homes use warm white so it feels more relaxed at home and offices and shops like 7 eleven use cool white lighting . I remember I had to change all the light bulbs in my rented condo that belonged to a Thai , I just did not feel relaxed by the cool white color.

So what color of light do you prefer, warm white or cool white? To give you an example look at the picture.

And why do Thais prefer the cool white color?

[BB1950]

Like you said, it's what you're used to. Thai's have been using cool white or daylight for decades. To them, it offers more light.

For me, I've never really like them, I like warm white. It's what I've been exposed to for decades.

[jamesjohnsonthird]

The human prefers warm or daylight temp bulbs. The cool white bulbs are horrible.

Thais don't notice. Same same with noise.

[Crossy]

Horses for courses.

Warm white in living areas (as noted previously, it's more relaxing), cool or daylight for the extra light it gives in the workshop.

I'm still undecided for outdoor lighting, we have a mix (it looks wrong I know), but I'm tending towards the cool white.

[jamesjohnsonthird]

Horses for courses.

Warm white in living areas (as noted previously, it's more relaxing), cool or daylight for the extra light it gives in the workshop.

I'm still undecided for outdoor lighting, we have a mix (it looks wrong I know), but I'm tending towards the cool white.

Use daylight or warm. Never cool. Cool light is ugly.

[GinBoy2]

I have warm white in the living room/bedrooms, and cool white in the kitchen/bathrooms.

On the 'what do Thai's prefer', well that depends. I would suggest that the HiSo's will go for the same combo I have, but for the less fortunate living with fluorescent strip lighting, warm white will appear almost like darkness.

[KhunBENQ]

Warm white in all living areas.

Cool white in kitchen, washhouse and gate.

I hate cool neon in the living area.

I am not in the office anymore

Edited April 24, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[IMHO]

I actually prefer natural white (AKA: soft white) which is half way between typical warm/cool colors - i.e. the color of good halogens (and some LED's) @~3000K.

Most of the warm white bulbs I see are too yellow, and cool white is only for work spaces, IMHO.

[KhunBENQ]

You usually find 2600K, 3200K and 5000K.

We have all three on different places.

[manarak]

Warm white, no question !

But actually, some warm white bulbs are much too yellow (for example the GY brand warm white).

I found some to be great, but they were mislabeled 2200K, so I don't really know the temperature - they were cheap knock-offs from China.

[lopburi3]

Warm white is aptly named - hot as hell. This country does not need more hot - cool white it is.

Not only does the cool white offer more viability it provides accurate colors. Was amazed when lost that tan old age cataract view when replaced eye lens a month ago - your old eyes provide enough warm colorization without adding to it - also you can get by with a lot less wattage using cool white.

Actually it is a personal decision - but for me once the cool white was explained as cool rather than warm have been happy to live with it. Any feeling of cool rather than hot in Thailand is a plus most of the year.

[sotsira]

For me, the best is a combo of the two.

Daylight in bathrooms and kitchen.

Warm white in living room, bedrooms and balconies.

[Forkinhades]

Cool white : Kitchen, Bathrooms, Study

Warm white: Living, Dining, Outside,

LED Dimmable warm white: Bedrooms

[lostoday]

This is what I use. I like it but have no idea what it is. It says 25,000 hours life. Is that possible?

[balo]

For me, the best is a combo of the two.

Daylight in bathrooms and kitchen.

Warm white in living room, bedrooms and balconies.

I tried that combo as well, but my eyes would not get used to it Especially in the mornings when I wake up I prefer normal warm white when Im in the shower or in the kitchen. My ex thai gf couldn't care less about the lighting so I just changed all the bulbs to warm white and that was for me like night and day, I just feel more relaxed and comfortable with warm white....

[BudRight]

This is what I use. I like it but have no idea what it is. It says 25,000 hours life. Is that possible?

It lists a blackbody temperature of 2700K. We should apply Wien's Displacement Law λ = b/T where λ is the wavelength of the peak of Plank distribution in meters, T is the temperature in Kelvin and b is a constant of proportionality equal to 2.9 x 10^-3 m*K.

We find λ = 2.9 x 10^-3 m*K/2700K = 1.074 μm or infrared. The plank distribution at 2700K has no blue in it - so the light is 'Warm White.'

This we can confirm from reading the box.

Now to answer your question. Yes, but LEDs become dimmer as they age. The rated lifetime is the number of hours of use at which the LED will be 70% as bright as when you bought it.

Edited April 25, 2015 by BudRight

[lopburi3]

Actually from my own less than good experience and everything I have read on the net the light loss is extreme and rather fast. I do have hopes that the newer generations of LEDs may be better but have not been impressed with lifespan of those I have used. I suspect replacements will be required in a lot less than the XXk hours most are being rated.

[manarak]

The cheap Chinese knock-offs lasted me 4-5 months in average, although a handful are still working after a year.

I have started to write down the dates I replace bulbs and I keep the receipts of the bulbs I buy, because at 150-200 baht per bulb they are quite pricey and I guess the majority won't keep the promises made on the package (cheap Chinese for 100 baht per).

The GY brand promises 50.000 hours.

BTW, does anyone here have a good source of cheap warm white MR16/220V LED in Pattaya?

[Pib]

I use daylight/cool white in most rooms, warm white in the living room only because the wife prefers warm white there. To me daylight/cool white allows me to see better.

[masuk]

Recent research has shown that warm white is better to use, especially in the hours approaching bed time.

I have a neat program called f.lux which warms up the white/blue light of a computer screen, to a more relaxing warm white. Certainly reduces glare and doesn't seem to affect colour if I'm watching a movie on line.

Once you entered your location, it calculates sunset time and the colour changes.

Like many others, I exchanged all the 'hospital white' lights to warm white. They've seen me through three places so far.

[BudRight]

The cheap Chinese knock-offs lasted me 4-5 months in average, although a handful are still working after a year.

I have started to write down the dates I replace bulbs and I keep the receipts of the bulbs I buy, because at 150-200 baht per bulb they are quite pricey and I guess the majority won't keep the promises made on the package (cheap Chinese for 100 baht per).

The GY brand promises 50.000 hours.

BTW, does anyone here have a good source of cheap warm white MR16/220V LED in Pattaya?

So the bulbs become dim after 4-5 months, or do they fail to light?

[Pib]

The cheap Chinese knock-offs lasted me 4-5 months in average, although a handful are still working after a year.

I have started to write down the dates I replace bulbs and I keep the receipts of the bulbs I buy, because at 150-200 baht per bulb they are quite pricey and I guess the majority won't keep the promises made on the package (cheap Chinese for 100 baht per).

The GY brand promises 50.000 hours.

BTW, does anyone here have a good source of cheap warm white MR16/220V LED in Pattaya?

I think I've seen a 50K hours rating on every LED bulb I've looked at...I expect most to all the LED bulb manufacuturers are using an approx 50K hour rating just for marketing and to remain competitive.

But what is deceptive about this rating is it's usually based on on the "expected lumen depreciation of the LED" and not the reliability of all the components making up a LED bulb. A LED or Florescent bulb is only as good as "all" of the components which make up the bulb assembly...if some of the components (i.e, resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc) in the base of the bulb are failure prone due to design or quality, then the bulb will probably have a reduced/short lifespan...while the "glowing portion of the bulb assembly" may be fine and very reliable if one of supporting components fail then the whole bulb assembly fails...no more glowing light. Kinda like when power adapter dies which is powering a TV settop box. I expect there is indeed a significance difference in quality of many LED (and florescent) bulbs based on the quality/reliability of "all" components use...a chain is no stronger than its weakest link.

[Pib]

Here's a short article on LED design and how thermal protection and quality driver components are critical to long life. Link.

Partial quote from the article below:

An LED-based bulb with no thermal protection whatsoever used under conditions where there is near zero air flow could result in a thermal runaway condition. Figure 1 shows the construction of a typical A19 retrofit LED bulb and the confined space in which the driver circuit needs to operate. This tight space exacerbates the temperature issues. Early examples of poorly designed LED luminaires include devices that failed after 1,000 hours, just like the incandescent bulbs they were intended to replace, and even a design where the bulb itself experienced thermal runaway, melting the casing and posing a potential fire risk. The end result was a costly recall of a large number of bulbs. These early models did not take into account the importance of thermal design on the overall quality of the LED bulb. A simple solution is to integrate a basic thermal shutdown circuit, something that is already very common in IC technology.

The second issue is less obvious, but much more crucial to the lifetime of the luminaire. At elevated temperatures, the passive components in the LED driver, including electrolytic capacitors, will see reduced operating lifetimes.

[manarak]

The cheap Chinese knock-offs lasted me 4-5 months in average, although a handful are still working after a year.

I have started to write down the dates I replace bulbs and I keep the receipts of the bulbs I buy, because at 150-200 baht per bulb they are quite pricey and I guess the majority won't keep the promises made on the package (cheap Chinese for 100 baht per).

The GY brand promises 50.000 hours.

BTW, does anyone here have a good source of cheap warm white MR16/220V LED in Pattaya?

So the bulbs become dim after 4-5 months, or do they fail to light?

they fail.

they start blinking for a while and then fail, which probably indicates an electronic component failure rather than failure of the luminescent components.

[manarak]

The cheap Chinese knock-offs lasted me 4-5 months in average, although a handful are still working after a year.

I have started to write down the dates I replace bulbs and I keep the receipts of the bulbs I buy, because at 150-200 baht per bulb they are quite pricey and I guess the majority won't keep the promises made on the package (cheap Chinese for 100 baht per).

The GY brand promises 50.000 hours.

BTW, does anyone here have a good source of cheap warm white MR16/220V LED in Pattaya?

I think I've seen a 50K hours rating on every LED bulb I've looked at...I expect most to all the LED bulb manufacuturers are using an approx 50K hour rating just for marketing and to remain competitive.

But what is deceptive about this rating is it's usually based on on the "expected lumen depreciation of the LED" and not the reliability of all the components making up a LED bulb. A LED or Florescent bulb is only as good as "all" of the components which make up the bulb assembly...if some of the components (i.e, resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc) in the base of the bulb are failure prone due to design or quality, then the bulb will probably have a reduced/short lifespan...while the "glowing portion of the bulb assembly" may be fine and very reliable if one of supporting components fail then the whole bulb assembly fails...no more glowing light. Kinda like when power adapter dies which is powering a TV settop box. I expect there is indeed a significance difference in quality of many LED (and florescent) bulbs based on the quality/reliability of "all" components use...a chain is no stronger than its weakest link.

the GY packaging claims "long life 50000 hours" without fine print, no asterisk, and if they die earlier I'll claim replacement.

[Pib]

the GY packaging claims "long life 50000 hours" without fine print, no asterisk, and if they die earlier I'll claim replacement.

How do you claim replacement? Easy or not so easy?

If you have to mail the defective bulb with purchase receipt to XYZ point on Earth it may not be worth the expense and time....and companies who offer lifetime replacement on low cost consumer items like bulbs know probably 99% (or more) of customers will never attempt warranty replacement so the companies offer lifetime warranty on the packaging knowing their item usually does not last a lifetime, 50K hours, etc.

[manarak]

the GY packaging claims "long life 50000 hours" without fine print, no asterisk, and if they die earlier I'll claim replacement.

How do you claim replacement? Easy or not so easy?

If you have to mail the defective bulb with purchase receipt to XYZ point on Earth it may not be worth the expense and time....and companies who offer lifetime replacement on low cost consumer items like bulbs know probably 99% (or more) of customers will never attempt warranty replacement so the companies offer lifetime warranty on the packaging knowing their item usually does not last a lifetime, 50K hours, etc.

Well, about 7 months now, and they haven't failed... YET.

My understanding of Thai consumer law is that the seller is responsible for returns.

I got 50 LED bulbs in my condo - imagine if I had to replace them every 6 months at a cost of 200 baht per bulb?

[Pib]

I wonder how the frequent voltage surges/spikes, thunder/lightning storms, low voltage, brownouts, blackouts, those few seconds of voltage loss when the electric company switches loads around your area, etc., effect the lifespan of bulbs, especially those florescent and LED bulbs which have additional circuity in them (i.e, mini-circuit boards) like shown in the image below. Aforementioned voltage events can have a detrimental effect on such electrical/electronic items and Thailand experiences many such electrical events.

[Pib]

My understanding of Thai consumer law is that the seller is responsible for returns.

Never heard the seller is responsible for returns in Thailand. When it comes to Thai consumer protection law it's weak at best...and usually the store you buy an item from will replace/refund the item if it fails during the first one or two weeks...after that you are dealing purely with the provisions of manufacturer's warranty.

[tifino]

I don;t mind the warm ones,

but have to side with missus for the cool ones -

- as she say they make her skin look whiter in the mirror

Edited April 25, 2015 by tifino