Scribd
Upload
31 views1 page

Color Rendering Index (CRI) and LED Lighting WH

Uploaded by

hugoboss6998
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
31 views1 page

Color Rendering Index (CRI) and LED Lighting WH

Uploaded by

hugoboss6998
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Home / Resources / LED Learning Center + FAQ

What is Color Rendering


Index (CRI) and Why Is It
Important to LED Lighting?

Can’t tell the difference between the black and navy-


colored socks in your walk-in closet under your old
fluorescent lights? Could be that the current lighting source
has a very low CRI level. Color Rendering Index (CRI) is
a measurement of how natural colors render under an
artificial white light source when compared with
sunlight. The index is measured from 0-100, with a perfect
100 indicating that colors of objects under the light source
appear the same as they would under natural sunlight.
CRIs under 80 are generally considered ‘poor’ while ranges
over 90 are considered ‘great’.

High CRI LED lighting renders beautiful, vibrant tones


across the full-color spectrum. However, CRI is only one
measurement for light quality. To truly understand a light
source’s capability to render the colors you want, there are
deeper tests that we do and our lighting scientists
recommend. We will detail that further on here.

Which CRI Ranges to Use


When purchasing and installing white LED lights, we
recommend a CRI of over 90 but also say in some projects,
a minimum of 85 can be acceptable. Below is a brief
explanation of the CRI ranges:

CRI 95 - 100 → Phenomenal color rendering. Colors


appear as they should, subtle tones pop out and are
accented, skin tones look beautiful, art comes alive,
backsplashes and paint show their true colors.

Used widely in Hollywood production sets, high-end retail


stores, printing and paint shops, design hotels, art
galleries, and in residential applications where natural
colors need to shine brightly.

CRI 90 - 95 → Great color rendering! Almost all colors 'pop'


and are easily distinguishable. Noticeably great lighting
starts at a CRI of 90. Your newly installed teal-colored
backsplash in your kitchen will look beautiful, vibrant, and
fully saturated. Visitors begin to compliment the counters,
paint, and details of your kitchen, but little do they the
lighting is mostly responsible for it looking so amazing.

CRI 80 - 90 → Good color rendering, where most colors


are rendered well. Acceptable for most commercial uses.
You may not see items as fully saturated as you would like.

CRI Below 80 → Lighting with a CRI below 80 would be


considered to have poor color rendering. Under this light,
items and colors may look desaturated, drab, and at times
unidentifiable (like being unable to see the difference
between black and navy-colored socks). It would be difficult
to distinguish between similar colors.

Good color rendering is key for photography, retail store


displays, grocery store lighting, art shows, and galleries
just to name a few. Here, a source of light with a CRI above
90 will ensure that colors look exactly how they should,
accurately rendered and appear crisper and brighter. High
CRI lighting is equally valuable in residential applications,
as it can transform a room by highlighting design details
and creating a comfortable, natural overall feel. Finishes
will have more depth and luster.

Testing for CRI


Testing for CRI requires special machinery designed
specifically for this purpose. During this test, the light
spectrum of a lamp is analyzed into eight different colors
(or “R values”), termed R1 through R8.

There are 15 measurements which can be seen below, but


the CRI measurement only uses the first 8. The lamp
receives a score from 0-100 for each color, based on how
natural the color is rendered in comparison with how the
color looks under a “perfect” or “reference” light source
such as sunlight at the same color temperature. You can
see from the examples below, even though the second
picture has a CRI of 81, it is terrible at rendering the color
red (R9).

Lighting manufacturers now list CRI ratings on their


products, and government initiatives such as California’s
Title 24 ensure the installation of efficient, high CRI lighting.

Though keep in mind that CRI is not the stand-alone


method for measuring lighting quality; the Lighting
Research Institute report also recommends the combined
use of TM-30-20 Gamut Area Index.

CRI has been used as a measurement since 1937. Some


believe that the CRI measurement is flawed and outdated,
as there are better ways to now measure the quality of
rendering from a light source. These additional
measurements are Color Quality Scale (CQS), IES TM-30-
20 including Gamut Index, Fidelity Index, Color Vector.

CRI - Color Rendering Index – How closely the observed


light can render colors like the sun, using 8 color samples.

Fidelity Index (TM-30) – How closely the observed light


can render colors like the sun, using 99 color samples.

Gamut Index (TM-30) – How saturated or desaturated


colors are (aka how intense the colors are).

Color vector Graphic (TM-30) – Which colors are


saturated/desaturated and whether there is a hue shift in
any of the 16 color bins.

CQS - Color Quality Scale – An alternative to the


unsaturated CRI measurement colors. There are 15 highly
saturated colors that are used to compare chromatic
discrimination, human preference, and color rendering.

Read - What's the difference between CRI, CQS, & IES


TM-30 and why is it important?

Which LED Strip Light is Best for Your

Project?
We have designed all of our white LED strips to have a
high CRI above 90 with only one exception (for industrial
use), which means that they do an excellent job rendering
the colors of the items and spaces you’re illuminating.

On the top end of things, we have created one of the


highest CRI LED strip lights for those who have very
specific standards or for photography, television, textile
work. The UltraBright™ Render Series has near-perfect R
values, including a high R9 score. You can find here all of
our photometric reports where you can see the CRI values
for all of our strips.

Our LED strip lights and light bars come in many varieties
of brightnesses, color temperatures, and lengths. What
they have in common is the extremely high CRI (and CQS,
TLCI, TM-30-20). In each product page, you will find
photometric reports that show all these readings.

Comparison of High CRI LED Strip

Lights
Below you will see a comparison between the brightnesses
(lumens per foot) of each product. We are always available
to assist you in selecting the right product as well.

UltraBright™ High CRI LED Strip

Lights:

Further Questions?
Any more questions how CRI applies in your particular
lighting project? Contact one of our LED design specialists
and we'd love to help out any way we can!

Enter Your Email for an Instant


Coupon and Design Guide for
Your Project
First Name*

Email*

I am a:*

What best describes you?

Send my coupon

Quick Links

About
Project Gallery
Resources
What are LED strip lights?
FAQ
Ask Us Anything

Categories

LED Strip Lights


LED Strip Light Kits
Aluminum Mounting Extrusions
LED Power Supplies
Dimmers, AmpliMers, and RGB Controllers
View All

Customer Service

Customer & Partner Sign In / Account


Longest LED Strip Warranty
Shipping & Returns
ADA Accessibility Policy
OEM Partner Signup
Contractor Discount Program

Customer Reviews

FlexMre LEDs Product Reviews

2,905
Verified Reviews

Powered by Stamped.io

Contact Us

Toll Free Number: +1-844-353-9347


Local Number: +1-925-273-9080
Info: [email protected]

FlexMre LEDs, Inc


3554 Business park drive, suite F
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

All LED strip lights and LED eexible lighting kits are designed in
California, USA. We service Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange
County, San Francisco, Portland, Las Vegas, New York, and
much more. We're friendly internationally to all LED lovers. We
are activly looking for distributors in the USA, Australia, UK,
Vancouver and Ontario, Canada. We have the brightest LED
strip lights with the longest warranty on the market!

© 2023 FlexHre LEDs . All Rights Reserved. |


Sitemap | Terms

You might also like