Can smart bulbs replicate pink incandescents?

November 30, 2020 9:39 AM

I am used to using pink incandescent bulbs in some of my rooms. They’re not perceptibly pink, especially because the walls are a muted gold. The bulbs themselves are tinted only the very lightest shade of pink. But when I am forced to use a regular lightbulb I’m offended by the lack of warmth in the light. Can Philips Hue bulbs (or similar) produce this very subtle effect? If you’re an ardent lover of incandescent light filled with resentment for our new non-incandescent regime, your answer will be especially valuable to me.
posted by HotToddy to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Many of IKEA's LED bulbs have an adjustable colour temperature (warmth), you could buy one (+ a controller) and see how it works for you. They are quite inexpensive.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:41 AM on November 30, 2020

I have a few Hue bulbs I use in areas where I want different lighting effects. They can do a lot of colors, but (especially in non-white mode) they are not as bright as I would like. I don't know what wattage your existing bulbs are, but that might be a concern. I think the white+color Hue bulbs are called "60w equivalent" but only reach that brightness on full white mode.
posted by primethyme at 9:48 AM on November 30, 2020

I miss the pink tinted incandescent bulbs and have hated most options ever since. Lately, I've been pleased with the GE Relax LED bulbs in soft white. The light is warm and is as close as I have come to the pink bulbs. I have no experience with smart bulbs.
posted by wg at 10:17 AM on November 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

Of the smart lights I've seen, only the Hue is 5-channel (red, amber, green, blue, cool white). It also properly mixes white and color lights when tinting. So it's at least plausible it would do a decent job.

Their White Ambiance bulbs also go somewhat warmer than the competition (2200K) and have an extra super-warm LED to support this.
posted by doomsey at 10:32 AM on November 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

I have Hue bulbs in my kitchen, bedroom, and living room (one bedroom loft here) and you can make the lights pink. Super pink in fact. When you set up your rooms/bulbs, you get a bunch of presets to choose from - I keep the kitchen on "Concentrate" most of the time and the LR and bedroom on "Read" mostly, but there is also a color-wheel selector, and the purple/pink spectrum is represented.

I don't have any trouble with the brightness, but I only want super bright task light on my craft table (where I have speciality lights anyway) or in the kitchen, and it works fine for me. Happy to share photos of the lights on "pink" mode if you want to see them.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:52 AM on November 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

One option to consider - depending on the effect you are after - would be bright white spots used together with pink coloured filters - like this
posted by rongorongo at 11:04 AM on November 30, 2020

Response by poster: rongorongo, your link isn’t working for me.
posted by HotToddy at 11:38 AM on November 30, 2020

A cheaper solution might be a plain white bulb with a high CRI (Color Rendering Index) of say 93 or more, and tint it with a clear red / pink (like Tamiya Spray Lacquer TS-74 Clear Red).

When looking for richness of color on receiving surfaces, it's the CRI more than the color temperature or programability of the bulb. Most "Programmable" bulbs are really just adjusting R,G,B individually, and as a result, they have low or undefined CRI's for such monochromatic sources.

For instance, an incandescent bulb has a CRI of 100.
posted by nickggully at 12:07 PM on November 30, 2020 [4 favorites]

I have some Hue bulbs as well. I can make them very pink or what is to me a subtle pink, although it's hard to judge these things objectively. Might try some pictures later. I don't have a color checker, which would be ideal, but perhaps some "product placement" of a few well-known brands might serve as sort of a color validation.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:57 PM on November 30, 2020

When looking for richness of color on receiving surfaces, it's the CRI more than the color temperature or programability of the bulb. Most "Programmable" bulbs are really just adjusting R,G,B individually, and as a result, they have low or undefined CRI's for such monochromatic sources.

This, by the way, is why the extra amber LED in the Hue bulbs is relevant and important.
posted by doomsey at 12:57 PM on November 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm afraid my attempts to take pictures didn't work out like I'd hoped. What comes across as a subtle pink to my eyes IRL still comes off as moderately pink on the picture. Tried playing with settings but couldn't find a combination that reflected what I was seeing across the board, and of course changing settings for each picture individually goes back to the subjectivity I was trying to avoid.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:29 PM on November 30, 2020

I have some cheapo ones from Home Depot that I am satisfied with all of the colors I have tried. They are controlled over wifi using a app on your phone, so you don't even have to buy a controller. I think they were 2 for $15, if you want to try without a huge investment.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 10:26 AM on December 1, 2020