Choosing appropriate lighting for a particular location can be challenging. Customers often wonder why they should choose a certain LED color over another. Two of our popular offerings are 2200K HPS color match and turtle friendly. As they can appear similar to the untrained eye, Access Fixtures breaks down the difference and which lighting type you should choose for your project.
What is 2200K HPS Color Match?
A car dealership lit with our APTI 2200K HPS color match fixtures.
Kelvins are the measurement by which color temperature is determined. All light sources emit a specific Kelvin temperature. Lower Kelvins translate to warmer light, and higher Kelvins appear cooler or bluish. Using warmer or cooler light in a project is simply a matter of preference, and LEDs are available in a huge range of color temperatures.
2200K LED lighting, therefore, is simply a particular light temperature. High-pressure sodium lighting, a traditional form of lighting used for grow lights, manufacturing facilities, and outdoor areas, has a color temperature of 2200K. Access Fixtures provides LED lighting solutions in all different temperatures. Someone looking to replace existing high-pressure sodium lighting may be interested in purchasing
2200K HPS color match LED fixtures. Traditional high-pressure sodium lamps only have a CRI, or color-rendering index of about 22. Colors will not appear true and bright under this type of lighting. Unlike traditional high-pressure sodium lamps, 2200K HPS color match LED luminaires have a high CRI (80+) and last much longer.
Much of the confusion between 2200K HPS color match LED and turtle friendly lighting has to do with the appearance of the light. To the human eye, both 2200K HPS color match LED and turtle friendly lighting appear very warm and yellow. However, there is much more than meets the eye when it comes to these different types of lighting!
What is Turtle Friendly Lighting?
Turtle friendly lighting seems similar to 2200K HPS in that to humans it appears as warm yellow light. However, the difference between these two types of lighting has everything to do with nanometers, not Kelvins.
Turtles that live along coastal areas use the natural light of the moon to breed and find their way to the ocean after hatching. Artificial light can disrupt turtles’ natural circadian rhythms and prevent them from reaching the ocean. Therefore, in order to protect endangered local wildlife, many coastal cities have set regulations and guidelines regarding lighting.
Turtle friendly lighting, then, relies on specific nanometers, or wavelengths of light. Turtle friendly lighting is also known as amber light. Light that is visible to the human eye ranges from 400 to 700 nanometers. Nanometers and color temperature are not interchangeable. Color temperature is the obvious temperature of light that the human eye can see. Nanometers measures wavelengths of light and is not readily measurable. Access Fixtures turtle friendly lighting is manufactured between 590 and 610 nanometers, being within the range of light that turtles cannot see. In addition, turtle-friendly lighting also reduces glare and light pollution along coastal areas as well as preventing turtles from going astray.
Color rendering is also another important thing to note if you are looking to purchase turtle friendly lighting. It should be noted that if you’re looking for high CRI, or color rendering index, turtle friendly lighting is not a good choice. Due to the very small spectrum that turtle friendly lighting emits, CRI is virtually nonexistent with these fixtures.
Which Should You Choose?
If you are looking to replicate traditional high pressure sodium lamps with LED, choose from our selection of 2200K HPS color match LED fixtures. We have wall packs, canopy lights, post lights, area lights, bollard lights, high bays, and more in this temperature. 2200K HPS color match LED fixtures lend a soothing warm glow to any outdoor environment without sacrificing longevity and color rendering.
If you are looking to follow wildlife-friendly code or live near a coastal area, choose from our large array of turtle-friendly LED lighting products. Like 2200K, we carry turtle-friendly canopy lights, area lights, bollard lights, wall packs, and more. Our turtle-friendly fixtures will last for years and prevent damage to local wildlife.
The chart to the right shows the radical CRI difference between traditional high pressure sodium lighting, turtle friendly lighting, and 2200K HPS color match LED. If you desire warm light with a high CRI, our 2200K HPS color match LED fixtures are perfect for you. Please note that CRI is more important in certain locations than others and if you don’t know what CRI you desire we can help you figure it out.
To request a photometric analysis, please contact 800-468-9925 or email [email protected]. We are always glad to assist with any high-performance lighting project and we can make appropriate recommendations based on your project needs.
