CRIwaarden

CRIwaarden are the color rendering index values of a light source, used to assess how accurately colors appear under that light. In Dutch contexts, CRI-waarde or CRIwaarden describe a light source’s ability to reproduce colors compared with a reference illuminant of the same correlated color temperature (CCT). The most common figure is Ra, the average of eight standardized test colors, R1 through R8. Some specifications also report R9 and other color samples to provide a fuller picture of color rendering.

Measurement and interpretation: The Ra value is derived from eight color samples; a higher Ra indicates better color fidelity for those colors. Typical domestic lighting aims for Ra around 80 or higher, while professional settings such as galleries or studios often seek 90 or more. R9, which represents strong red, is increasingly reported separately, because some light sources score well on the general set but perform poorly on red tones.

Limitations and evolution: CRI values have limitations; they do not capture how color appearance changes with different objects, materials, or observers, and they can be insensitive to saturated hues. They also depend on the reference CCT. Because of these issues, lighting professionals sometimes use TM-30-18 or other metrics, which provide broader color rendition indices and color gamut information.

Usage: CRIwaarden are widely used in product specifications, marketing, and procurement to compare lighting products. They are most informative when considered alongside other performance metrics such as efficacy, glare, and additional color fidelity measures. Related topics include the color rendering index (CRI) itself and newer metrics such as TM-30-18.

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