subject: Use the Right Light Bulbs in Your Kitchen [print this page] Use the Right Light Bulbs in Your Kitchen
Light bulbs probably aren't the first thing to come to mind when thinking about kitchens, but they're one of the most important aspects of a good kitchen. The quality of light in a kitchen correlates to the ease of making food and mixing ingredients. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are currently the best light bulb for kitchens for a few reasons.
The range of color temperatures which compact fluorescents can produce is one of the main reasons CFLs are ideal for kitchens. The bright white light of 5000K color temperature compact fluorescents provides a neutral base that doesn't change the color of things it illuminates. When mixing ingredients together you want to be able to distinguish between one ingredient and another, and the aforementioned light bulb allows just that.
High CRI (Color Rendering Index) is also important. CRI refers to how "true" colors appear under a certain light; for example, natural sunlight has a CRI of 100, so colors illuminated by the sun are the most "true". Compact fluorescent light bulbs are made with CRIs above 80, which is quite close to the light of the sun. This type of light in a kitchen means you can fine-tune the appearance of foods, which is a very important aspect of cookery.
In time I expect LED light bulbs will have their place in kitchen lighting, but until their prices come down they will probably not be very popular among the average consumer. It's a shame, because they are definitely the lighting technology of the future. Nonetheless, until their prices are more reasonable to consumers, compact fluorescents will remain the best light bulbs for kitchens.
