Colour rendering is defined as the following: “The ability of a light source to faithfully reproduce the true colours of an object as seen under natural daylight”

The Colour rendering index is measured on an index chart of 0-100 Ra, where 100Ra = sunlight, i.e. replicating how the product looks under sunlight, and where value of 0 means that the product Does not demonstrate colour at all – a good example of this, which we have all seen, would be under old-fashioned street lights.

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Why is colour rendering important?

All lamps are not made equal and there is a range of LED lamps that have a CRI rating, from 50-95Ra, which can have an impact on the way your decoration looks.

For example, under a poor CRI the room can lose its ‘spark’ and the area can look flat and the colours dim – for example we recently transformed a hotel corridor, with a tired ‘mustard’ coloured corridor carpet, and gave it a new lease of life when the lighting was changed! Suddenly, the carpet looked ‘golden’ again and we breathed new life into the grain on the doors, giving the area a more attractive and refined look and feel.

How do you make sure the CRI is good enough?

The EU directive for lighting suggests that lighting should have a CRI of equal or greater than 85.

So how do we know what CRI a lamp has?

The colour rendering index should be clearly marked on every product – this is usually in 2 forms. It can either be detailed on the outer packaging/box or on the lamp/tube itself.

Many manufacturers have differing forms of codes on their products, to ensure you order the correct item please do not hesitate to contact our sales team.