Color of LED bulbs

One thing a friend told me as I was trying to understand how to convert to LED's. As we get older, the lenses in our eyes yellow and we see things as being yellower. She recommended going to a higher K light to offset the yellow that my eyes naturally see. I like one in the 4000-5000 range.

For reading lamps there are special LED modules that resemble a PAR light bulb and do a much better job of directing the light for reading. Concur with the statement that a 5000K color temp output is best for reading. Some LED's are advertised as being warmer with a 2800-3400K color temp and the produce light with a yellow cast.

Info on Standard automotive lights....
May help with yellow or Bright white Etc

2700K-3000K=warm white=similar to incandescent

4000K=similar to typical cool white fluorescents

5000-6000K=similar to daylight fluorescents bluish cast.

The LEDs likely have better color rendering ability than traditional cool white fluorescent lamps.

My suggestion would be to try one bulb and see if it is satisfactory. If you think the 1141s are too yellow, try a 4000K LED to start. I personally like mine in the 3000K range for RV interior.

I replaced my 1141 bulbs with warm white 36-3528 LED panels, that is the panels had 36 LEDs of the 3528 type. I also used some 18-5050 cob style LEDs. 3528 and 1210 are the same LEDs, 3528 is metric, 1210 is english.

My objective was to reduce the current drain while maintaining the same level of light. You might like more LEDs since you want brighter lights. I have never trusted the lumen ratings listed in the listings.

Color is a personal thing. I suggest you buy a couple of the type you think would be right for you and try them out.

I bought all of mine on eBay.

Here is a link to a vender that I used and has been good.

LEDs are pretty much monochromatic, so colors are achieved by using combinations of emitters and filters, trying to approximate the color temperature of a black body (incandescent) emitter, much as was done for fluorescent lamps.

There will be names like "warm white" or "cool white" or "daylight" and maybe a degrees Kelvin range to suggest comparison to an incandescent source, but don't expect a typical color temperature curve, the light will be a spike somewhere in that range.

Incandescents, we are accustomed to brighter also being whiter. LED replacements, brightness and color are two different things. The brightness will be described in lumens, most typically (sometimes also candles per sq ft) and the color will have a name.

I like cool white LED replacements for my low-wattage bedside lamps, though my 15-40 watt bulbs were much warmer, the warm white LEDs are too yellow for me.

I put cool white LED replacements in the over the mirror lights for the bathroom, find the color kind of ghostly, but as I have no longer have women in the house using those lights for trying to figure out makeup colors, who cares?

I like Cool or Natural White.. I have cool and warm. (I can tolerate warm no problem)

Best way is to check out the different colors at different stores, When you find a color you like note the "Color Temperature"

Then compare LUMENS with the incandescent lamp you are replacing.. NOTE in some cases,, The LED's will give more efficient lighting, that is 100 lumens may be as bright as 150,, This is due to the fact that a "Bulb" shaped bulb is omnidirectional and and a Disc type LED is very directional.

Not that any of our responses will help unconfuse the issue :) , but I returned my batch of warm whites in favor of the "natural white" ones.

The warm whites were too yellow for my taste (more yellow than the existing incandescent ones, even) and of course the cool whites have a bluish look to them, like fluorescent lights.

The less expensive LEDs reportedly do not like the changing voltage of an RV. I would head over to M4 Products. Lots of info and they will help you with all your questions.

regarding color ... LEDs are marketed typically as "warm white" and "cool white" but there are also "daylight" and "bright white" colors out there to confuse things.

warm-white is going to be the most yellow or should I say, least blue, but will still look blue if you run it next to an incandescent bulb. technically the color temperature is between 2700 and 3500 kelvin

cool-white is going to look brighter because it has more green in it, and our eyes perceive green as brightness. the color of the light is blue like the sky on a cloudy day, and might not be the most attractive color to use indoors or at night 4100 - 5000 kelvin

bright-white is sometimes a synonym for cool-white, and sometimes a color in between warm and cool. 3500-4100 kelvin for a a bright or "neutral" white

daylight-white is also a synonym for cool-white but sometimes means it's even bluer than cool-white, blue like the sky on a sunny day. 6500 kelvin typically

Multiply the LED wattage by 6 or 7 to get the incandescent equivalent power. I found the smd 36 led panel from ebay sellers (2010_led) was the same brightness as the 1141 bulb, then ordered the 48 led ones to get a significantly more light.
My DW is an artist, very sensitive to light colour. She likes the warm white white LEDs. As others have said, a good idea to buy one of several kinds and see for yourself before buying a bunch.

The cheap LEDs have no voltage regulation and will draw much more power when you are on shore power and the DC voltage goes up toward 14 volts. They get hot just like the incandescent bulbs and likely the lifetime is diminished. If you both boondock and use shore power, the LEDs that simply connect to the 1141 socket are an advantage - easy to swap back to 1141s for a few days. Mine are all soldered in but we always boondock.