What is the Colour Rendering Index (CRI) for LED Lights

How to Use Lighting to Create Eye-Catching Focal Points in Your Home

There is no doubt that lighting is one of the most critical elements of decorating the home interiors. As per some of the top commercial lighting solution producers, illuminating the home rightly and uniformly is important to enjoy a comfortable living experience as well as from a functional point of view.

Having the best lighting not only makes the environment inside the home cosy and warm but also enhances the aesthetic appeal of the place. In addition, the right lighting is also necessary for the security of the premises and overall well-being. While having the right lighting is necessary for your home or office, you can choose the right lighting solution for your home only if you understand key technical aspects of lighting, like the CRI or colour rendering index.

If you are wondering what CRI is and why it is so important in choosing the best LED lights, then this guide is just for you. Read on!

What is CRI?

Have you ever had a problem with clearly distinguishing between a black and navy blue-coloured wall or a dress in the closet because of the old fluorescent lights? This could be because your existing lighting solution has a low colour rendering index.

CRI is essentially a measurement of how the natural colours look under an artificial lighting source as compared to the natural light. In other words, CRI is a measurement of lighting that affects the way you see the colours of the objects in your home. Having a good understanding of the CRI of the LED lights CRI ratings is necessary for choosing the right lighting fixture and how you want your home décor or the wall colours to appear.

The CRI is measured from 0-100, with a perfect score of 100 indicating that the colours of the objects placed under an artificial lighting source appear the same as they would look under natural light. Generally, CRI under 80 is considered poor, whereas CRI ranging over is considered great.

The CRI for home lighting must be high, as it renders beautiful and vibrant tones across the whole spectrum of colours.

Understanding colour rendering index range

When purchasing LED lights for your home, you must consider the colour accuracy in LED lighting and purchase LED lights with a CRI of over 90. However, in some cases, a CRI of 85 is acceptable; here is a brief explanation of the CRI range.

CRI 95-100

Under lighting fixtures with this CRI range, the colours appear as they should. The subtle tones of the colour pop-up and the skin tone would look more beautiful.

CRI 90-95

Under artificial lighting with a CRI of this range, almost all the colours pop, and they can be easily distinguished. Almost all the best LED lights made for residential purposes, like the Wipro Garnet LED Tubelight from the house of Wipro Consumer Lighting, have a CRI in this range.

CRI 80-90

LED lights that have a CRI in the range of 80-90 offer good colour rendering, and under these lights, most of the colours look good, and in most cases, these lights are acceptable for commercial use.

CRI 80 or less

Lightings with a CRI of 80 or less are considered to have poor colour rendering. Under these lights, the colour of the objects may look drab and faded. Sometimes, they may even be unidentifiable, and it can be hard to distinguish between two similar coloured objects.

Colour rendering index and LED lights

Over the years, LED (light emitting diode) lights have gained immense popularity all over the world. In fact, many homeowners prefer installing LED lights in their homes over traditional fluorescent lights or candescent bulbs mainly because of the various benefits these lights offer.

LED lights not only offer bright and even illumination in the room that significantly transforms the way the room looks and feels but also, they consume less energy. This also allows you to save a lot of money on your monthly power bills. Not to mention, LED lights are environmentally friendly, they can be recycled, and they don’t have any dangerous filament in them that harm nature.

In terms of CRI too, the LED lights score higher and better than the traditional lights. Most of the LED lights score in the range of 80-95 on the CRI chart, resulting in a brighter light in the room, making the objects appear bright and close to their actual colour as they seem to appear under natural light conditions.

Unlike fluorescent bulbs, LEDs are better suited for indoor home environments as the former can create an unnatural look and distort the colour of objects. Apart from CRI, LED lights also have better lumen output.

Conclusion

When you choose the best lighting fixtures for your home, you must consider several important factors, like energy efficiency, durability, style and design, price, etc. However, you must also take into account the CRI of the lights. This will help ensure that the environment in the room is bright and clear and the objects in the room appear in their natural colour.

And, this is why it is best advised to choose LED lights for your home, and today, the modern Led lights offered by reputed makers like Wipro Consumer Lighting offer a wide collection of LED bulbs and batons that have score high on CRI index.

So, when you are buying LED lights or any other kind of lighting fixture, do your due diligence and choose a light that has a CRI of more than 80.