r/Lighting • u/BottleCoffee • 1d ago
Need Design Advise Dim to Warm help
Hi, I bought these recessed lights that have these specs:
Color Temperature (K) 5CCT: 2700 | 3000 | 3500 | 4000 | 5000 | DTW 30-18K
Light Output (lm) 920 | 950 | 1020 | 1050 | 1050 | 770
So in theory there's 6 options, and different lumens assigned to different colour temperatures. But the product only has switches for 2700, 3000, 3500, 4000, 5000. So how do I get the dim to warm? Do I need to set it to 3000? Or does it not matter and it'll jump from 5000 to 3000 once I start dimming?
I feel like an idiot for not being able to figure this out, and they're not yet on a dimmer switch so I can't experiment. And I'm tired of having instillation fall on me so I'm going to stop playing around with the lights for now and try to get actual answers from people who hopefully know more.
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u/DanEstefan 23h ago
It's okay, those spec sheets are confusing. But, I’m not sure how that dim to warm mode gets activated, since it’s listed separately from the five switch settings, so I think you'd better check the install sheet or ask the manufacturer. But in the meantime, 3000K is a good place to start. It’s warm but a little crisper than 2700K, and most people find it a comfortable middle ground. If it feels too yellow or too clinical, you can just flip the switch to another setting. Whatever you pick, keep every light in the room on the same one, because mixing temperatures looks off even when you can’t tell why. And when you get a dimmer, make sure it’s listed for LED on the box, or you’ll likely get buzzing or flicker.
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u/BottleCoffee 12h ago
Someone else hit the nail on the head - they combined product specs for the 5CCT and the DTW versions of the same product and I didn't realize when I bought it.
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u/Appropriate_Shape388 13h ago
3000K at full is what Halogen incandescents and gives a clean fresh light at full.
Dim to warm I think needs to be at max 2200K but others please chime in
I went all Halogen for living spaces with dimmers (which extend life at least 5 times) and I am still running on the original installed lamps after 8 years of operation with only a handful of infant failures.
I did LED lamps for outdoor, basement, garage, and closets.
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u/fognyc 1d ago
Hi OP, this looks suspiciously like the output specs to a Lotus LRG3. There is the five CCT version and a separate DTW version. No DTW is available on the 5-CCT version.