🌡️ Color Temperature (Kelvin) to RGB
Drag the Kelvin slider (or pick a preset) to see the approximate on-screen colour of that light, in HEX and RGB.
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Cool (blue-white)
Colour temperature describes the colour of light on the Kelvin scale: low values are warm and orange (candlelight ~1900 K), around 5000–6500 K is neutral daylight white, and higher values are cool and blue. This converts a temperature to an approximate on-screen sRGB colour using the widely-used Tanner Helland approximation — a visual guide, not a calibrated blackbody spectrum. 🔒 In your browser.
How the color temperature (kelvin) to rgb works
Colour temperature describes the colour of a light source on the Kelvin scale — counter-intuitively, lower numbers are warmer (orange) and higher numbers cooler (blue). The tool maps a temperature to an approximate sRGB colour using the widely-used Tanner Helland approximation, valid from about 1,000 K to 40,000 K, and shows the HEX and RGB with a swatch.
This is a visual approximation for screen display, not a calibrated blackbody spectrum — real light also depends on the source and your display's white point. Common references: candle ~1,900 K, incandescent bulb ~2,700 K, neutral daylight ~5,600 K, an overcast sky ~6,500 K, and deep shade 8,000 K+.
Frequently asked questions
What colour is a given Kelvin temperature?
Low Kelvin is warm and orange (candle ~1,900 K, incandescent ~2,700 K), the middle is neutral white (~5,000–6,500 K), and high Kelvin is cool blue-white (8,000 K+). The tool shows the approximate on-screen colour for any value.
Why is lower Kelvin "warmer"?
It's the opposite of the temperature feeling: a physically cooler glowing object emits redder light, and a hotter one bluer. So "warm" light (orange) is a low colour temperature, and "cool" light (blue) is a high one — a naming quirk of the Kelvin scale.
What is daylight in Kelvin?
Average midday daylight is around 5,600–6,500 K; an overcast sky is near 6,500 K, and open shade under a blue sky can reach 8,000–10,000 K. Photographers set white balance to these values.
How accurate is the Kelvin-to-RGB conversion?
It's a good visual approximation (the Tanner Helland algorithm), not a spectrally accurate blackbody rendering. Use it to preview or choose a light's tone; for colour-critical work, measure with a colorimeter.
What Kelvin should a light bulb be?
Warm white bulbs are ~2,700 K (cozy, like incandescent), soft/neutral white ~3,000–4,000 K, and daylight bulbs ~5,000–6,500 K (bright, energising). Choose by the mood and task for the room.