What is the CRI (Color Rendering Index)? 2024 Ultimate Guide
The color rendering index is a measure of how light affects the way you see colors. So in any application where color appearance is important, CRI considerations are critical. Understanding the CRI of LED light strips and fixtures plays an important role in the appearance of your home.
High CRI LED lighting delivers beautiful, vibrant hues across the full color spectrum. However, CRI is only one measure of light quality. In this article, we will comprehensively analyze what CRI is, the importance of CRI, and how to choose the appropriate CRI.
What is Color Rendering Index (CRI)?
Simply put, the color rendering index (CRI) is a measure of how well natural colors appear under an artificial white light source versus sunlight.
Part 1: Color Rendering Index (CRI) Maximum score of 100
CRI is a convenient metric because it is expressed as a single quantitative number. The index is measured on a scale of 0-100, where a perfect 100 means that the color of an object under a light source appears to be the same as under natural sunlight. A CRI range below 80 is generally considered “poor,” while a range above 90 is considered “very good.”
Part 2: Color Rendering Index (CRI) for measuring artificial white light sources
Light sources can be classified into artificial light sources or natural light sources. Typically, we are only concerned with the color quality of artificial forms of lighting such as LEDs and fluorescents.
What is the Relationship Between CRI and LED Lighting?
The LED lighting you use in your home can have a profound impact on the appearance of your room. This is often attributed to the color rendering index.
Also known as CRI, this index measures the ability of a light source to reveal the color of an object compared to natural light sources, such as sunlight through a window. In other words, it is a measurement of light in relation to how light affects the appearance of color. The range also depends on the “temperature” of the light.
What is the Importance of CRI for Lighting Fixtures?
The CRI of lighting plays an important role in choosing the right lighting color temperature for your home. Choose lighting with a higher CRI rating so you can ensure you get the most accurate depiction of color in your home.
- 1: The color should be clear so you can see your decor, paint color, and furniture clearly without any color difference.
- 2: It may also affect your vision when you read a book or watch TV.
- 3: The ability to notice mold when you are preparing food in the kitchen.
- 4: Delicious food needs clear colors to look beautiful and delicious.
What are the Scope of the Use of CRI?
When purchasing and installing LED light strips, we recommend a CRI over 90 or 95, but in many projects, greater than 80 is acceptable. You can refer to the following content:.
CRI 95 – 100 → perfect color! Colors come out as they should, subtle shades pop out and are accentuated, and skin tones look beautiful. Widely used in Hollywood production sets, high-end retail stores, art galleries, and residential applications where natural colors need to shine brightly.
CRI 90 – 95 → perfect color! Excellent lighting starts with a CRI of 90. This looks beautiful, vibrant and completely saturated. Every detail looks exquisite.
CRI 80 – 90 → Good color rendering; most colors render well. Suitable for most commercial uses and can also display great color effects.
CRI Below 80 → Lighting with a CRI below 80 will be considered to have poor color rendering. In this light, items and colors may look desaturated and dull. Sometimes it is not even possible to identify the original colors of vegetables and fruits, and it is difficult to distinguish between similar colors.
How to Choose the Right CRI (Color Rendering Index)?
In fact, for most indoor and commercial lighting solutions, 80 CRI (Ra) and CRI 90 are acceptable color rendering properties.
And for applications where color appearance is important to the interior work or helps improve aesthetics, 90 CRI (Ra) and above may be a good starting point. Lights within this CRI range are generally considered high CRI lights.
- Hospital, textile factory, printing facility, or paint shop. Applications that may require 90 CRI (Ra).
- Areas where improving aesthetics may be important require CRI90 or above, including high-end hotels and retail stores, residences, and photography studios.
- Photography, television, and textile work require CRI90 or above, which can excellently present the colors of the items and spaces you illuminate.
Note that when comparing lighting products with a CRI value above 90, it is helpful to compare the individual R-values that make up the CRI score (especially CRI R9).
Our LED strips and neon strips are available in a variety of brightness, color temperature, and length options. What they have in common is the extremely high CRI80 and CRI90, and there are also LED light strips with a CRI > 95 to choose from.
High CRI, Real Color
There are many things to consider when you choose the right LED lighting (LED strip lights) for your home or building. Of course, paying attention to the CRI rating (Color Rendering Index) can also help ensure that your environment is brighter, clearer, and filled with perfect color. You need to choose the right CRI based on your needs to get clear colors and enjoy its benefits. We are a manufacturer of LED strip lights and neon lights; pls contact us if you have any needs.
FAQs
CRI, or Color Rendering Index, is a measure of a light source’s ability to accurately render colors compared to natural sunlight. CRI is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating better color rendering capabilities.
CRI is important because it affects how colors appear under artificial lighting, affecting the visual appearance of objects, spaces, and people. A high CRI value (usually 80 or above) means that the light source can accurately reproduce colors, making them appear more natural and vivid.
A CRI value of 80 or above is generally considered suitable for most indoor lighting applications. However, for tasks that require precise color discrimination, such as photography and film, a CRI of 90 or higher is recommended.
CRI is important in art galleries and photography studios because it ensures accurate representation of colors in paintings, photographs, and other artworks.
CRI measures color accuracy, while CCT measures the color appearance of light (e.g., warm white, cool white). Both are important for understanding light quality, and you need to pay attention to the CRI value when choosing the appropriate color temperature.
