system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are lights yellow?

Asking for a friend. All the houses on my street look yellow on the inside at night.
gpt
The standard for streetlights for at least the last 50 years (probably longer) is *low pressure sodium lamps*.  This bulb design emits light in the yellowish end of the spectrum and the human eye us very sensitive in that area. On the downside, they render colour poorly.   They are/were used because they are rather efficient. 


 There is a huge push to move to LED lights, which are more closely full spectrum (i.e. whiter).

Edit:  Low pressure, not high pressure!