Do you know what tunable lighting is? No doubt you are familiar with the color temperature of white light. Go into Home Depot for a bulb, and you will see designations like “warm” and “cool” on the package to denote color temperature.

To get more technical, this range of white light is measured in Kelvins. At the low end of the spectrum, like 2600K, is the incandescent bulb and its warm glow. At the high end, like 5250K, is midday sunlight, bright white with bluish and cooler tones. Of course, for years, you could buy bulbs and fixtures with warmer and colder light. But with modern LED technology, you can get dynamically “tunable” lighting that can change color temperature on the fly. 

Why is tunable lighting a game-changer in residential lighting design? Read more below to learn what it can do in your Chesterfield, MO, home. 

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Change the Ambiance at Will

Changing color temperature is more than just dimming or brightening lights. With tunable lighting, your light can match the activity or mood you want to set. Brighter, bluer light in the high Kelvin range is excellent for visibility, energy, and focus. If sunlight streams through your windows, you can also match the color temperature for a pleasing effect. 

But you don’t need or want bright light all day long. Let’s say you are cooking dinner in the kitchen. You might want a brighter scene with whiter light for a well-lit area. When dinner is ready, you can transform your kitchen into a calmer, more relaxed atmosphere for the meal, dimming the lights and bringing down the color temperature to more amber and redder tones, like candlelight – but a touch brighter for visibility!

Hidden Health Benefits

Are you familiar with "night mode" on a Mac or "night light" on a Windows PC? These features, introduced in the last few years, are designed to reduce eye strain. PC and phone screens emit lots of blue light, and these night modes reduce the brightness and increase the color temperature to reduce eye strain later in the day and promote relaxation. Human circadian rhythms have been tuned to eons of adaptation of life to the sun. The brighter, bluer hues of daylight promote energy and activity, and the amber, redder tones of the setting sun induce relaxation and preparation for sleep. Tunable lighting in the home can similarly follow that circadian rhythm to promote a healthier lifestyle with lighting that's closer to nature. 

Are you interested in upgrading your residential lighting to the aesthetic and health benefits of tunable light? Elite Technology Solutions brings the best in residential home technology to clients in Chesterfield and the St. Louis area. Call us today at (636) 939-4474 or reach out on our contact page. We look forward to working with you!