【Lighting Knowledge】Color Rendering Index (CRI)
Jun 29, 2016
Definition:
Effect of an illuminant on the color appearance of objects by conscious or subconscious comparison with their color appearance under a reference illuminant.
Explain:
Average color rendering index (Ra):
This is the average of the color rendering index of 8 colors (R1 ~ R8).
Special color rendering index:
Strong red (R9), Strong yellow (R10), Strong green (R11), Strong blue (R12), Caucasian skin color (R13), Moderate olive green (leaf) (R14), Asian skin color (R15)
| Light source | CRI | CCT (K) |
|---|---|---|
| Incandescent/halogen bulb | 100 | 3200K |
| Ceramic metal halide | 96 | 5400K |
| Tri-phosphor cool-white fluorescent | 89 | 4080K |
| Quartz metal halide | 85 | 4200K |
| "White" SON | 82 | 2700K |
| Halophosphate cool-daylight fluorescent | 76 | 6430K |
| Tri-phosphor warm-white fluorescent | 73 | 2940K |
| Halophosphate cool-white fluorescent | 64 | 4230K |
| Halophosphate warm-white fluorescent | 51 | 2940K |
| Coated mercury-vapor | 49 | 3600K |
| High-pressure sodium (HPS/SON) | 24 | 2100K |
| Clear mercury-vapor | 17 | 6400K |
Actuality Application:
High CRI – Color Saturation and Vivid
Low CRI – Color Unsaturation and Dull