RGB Lighting Fixtures Page 5

Where RGB and Tunable Lighting Earns Its Cost

Color-changing lighting is worth the premium when a single space genuinely has to serve different purposes. Where it does not, selectable CCT is usually the sensible spend instead.

Dance, yoga and fitness studios

The clearest case. A dance studio wants crisp 4000K to 5000K light so dancers can read their line in the mirror, while the same room running a restorative yoga class that evening wants to sit below 2700K. Fixed fixtures force a compromise. Tunable does not — and the color channel covers recitals and showcases. See our studio lighting range for the rest of the fixture package.

Restaurants, bars and hospitality

Bright and neutral for lunch service and cleaning, warm and low for dinner, brand color for a private event. One installation, three completely different rooms.

Retail and showrooms

Accurate white light for browsing, with color used deliberately for seasonal displays or window features. Tunable also lets you adjust as merchandise changes without re-lamping.

Event spaces, lobbies and entertainment venues

Where the room itself is part of the product. Color scenes for events, neutral white for setup and turnaround.

Offices and healthcare

Tunable white supports circadian lighting schemes — cooler and brighter in the morning, warmer through the afternoon. Worth looking at where people are in the same space all day.

Control method and range

Check how each fixture is controlled — Bluetooth app, wall controller, DMX or a 0-10V dimming input for the white channel. Bluetooth is convenient and needs no wiring, but it has real range limits and pairing gets awkward across a building with several rooms and thick walls. For a multi-room site, a wired control system is usually the better answer even though it costs more up front.

Who actually operates it

An app that lives on one manager's phone becomes a problem the day that person is off. If staff need to change scenes, specify a wall control with preset scenes rather than relying on an app.

White channel quality

If the fixture will be the room's everyday light, the white channel matters more than the color range. Look for RGBW rather than RGB, and check the CRI on the white channel specifically — that is the number that decides whether the room looks right on an ordinary Tuesday.

Dimming compatibility

Where a fixture also takes a standard dimming input, confirm the protocol — 0-10V, ELV, TRIAC or DALI — matches the dimmer going in. A mismatch shows up as flicker or buzz at the bottom of the range, after installation.

What is the difference between RGB and RGBW?

An RGB fixture mixes red, green and blue diodes to produce color. RGBW adds a fourth, dedicated white diode. That matters because mixing RGB to approximate white never looks as clean as a purpose-built white source — it tends to read slightly off, and skin tones and merchandise suffer. If the fixture is going to serve as the room's normal everyday lighting and not just as an effect, specify RGBW.

What is the difference between selectable CCT and tunable white?

Selectable CCT means a switch on the fixture sets the color temperature during installation, typically choosing between 3000K, 4000K and 5000K. It is set once and left. Tunable white means the color temperature changes live across a range, from a wall control or app, as often as you like. Selectable is the cost-effective choice when different rooms need different settings but each room only needs one. Tunable is what you need when a single room has to change through the day.

Can RGB fixtures be used as normal white lighting?

RGBW fixtures can, and that is the point of the white diode. Color-only RGB fixtures are better treated as accent or effect lighting rather than a room's primary source. If a fixture will carry the general lighting load, check the CRI and lumen output on the white channel specifically rather than the headline color specs.

How are RGB and tunable fixtures controlled?

Depending on the product, by Bluetooth app, a wall-mounted controller, DMX, or a combination. Bluetooth needs no control wiring and suits a single room well, but range and pairing become a genuine problem across a multi-room building with solid walls. For anything beyond one or two spaces, or where several staff members need to change scenes, a wired control system with preset scenes is more reliable than an app on one person's phone.

Is RGB lighting worth the extra cost over standard LED?

It depends entirely on whether the space genuinely changes use. A room that is always doing the same thing does not need it — fixed or selectable CCT is the better spend. A room that has to be a bright working space in the morning, a warm one in the evening, and something else again for events will get its money back in not having to compromise, and in not needing a second lighting installation for events.