A system and appertaining method calibrate a color LED light unit comprising at least first-, second-, and third-color LEDs, comprising: a) defining a target color on a color map to calibrate; b) selecting initial calibration coefficients associated with the target color; c) storing the initial or updated calibration coefficients in a non-volatile memory of the light unit; d) controlling the light unit to drive the LEDs to attempt to emit the target color, producing an attempted color, utilizing the calibration coefficients; e) measuring the attempted color to determine if it matches the target color within a predefined tolerance; f) if the attempted color matches the target color, then terminating the method; g) if the attempted color does not match the target color, then performing the following; h) selecting a color component; i) adapting at least one calibration coefficient associated with the selected color component; and j) performing (c)-(i) again.