He found that as the temperature of a black material increases, its color changes from red to yellow and eventually blue. The Kelvin scale was established by a British physician, Lord Kelvin, who researched color changes in heated metals. White lights can produce warmer or cooler visual effects, and this is measured in degrees Kelvin.

Color temperature, whereas, refers to the shade of white light emitted. ‘Color’ refers to the color of light that the diode emits – this can be any color of the rainbow. The Difference Between Color and Color Temperature Flexfire LEDs, inc., Brenton Patrick Mauriello Before I dive in, it’s worth clarifying what I mean by color, and how this differs from color temperature. In this blog, I’ll be talking about how colored LEDs work, whether you can change the color of your existing LEDs, and how color differs from color temperature. Want to know more? Then let’s get started. As well as decorative applications, they’re being used for communication and indication purposes. Adjusting the intensity of each diode allows a range of different colors and shades to be created.Ĭolored LEDs are all around us. When all three diodes are switched on at full capacity, white light is produced.

Each of these diodes emits its own, specific color – red, green, or blue. Nowadays, one small diode is enough to supply an endless amount of colors.īut what is it about LEDs, in comparison to traditional bulbs, that allows them to change color? How can something so technologically advanced be so small?Ī color-changing LED contains three separate diodes within the same bulb casing. Gone are the days of using lighting gels to change the color of a light source.

How the led works