What is CRI?

March 14, 2022

If you’ve been the victim of critically looking at your complexion in harsh bathroom lighting, you’ve probably experienced a light source with a not-so-great CRI. CRI, or color rendering index, measures how well a light source reflects the true colors of an object that it shines upon. The colors that are represented by these lights are compared to how they appear in natural daylight, which is the standard. For instance, the color of a lampshade might look differently in sunlight than it does in the glow of a fluorescent light bulb.

The CRI of different light sources is measured using a scale, ranging from 0 to 100. The higher the CRI, the better the color will be represented. A perfect 100, for example, is an incandescent bulb with a color temperature of 2700K.

You might be asking yourself, what does this all mean for me? How does CRI relate to home lighting? Well, the CRI of different types of light sources is important to consider when selecting bulbs. If you’re looking for color accuracy, you’ll want to make sure that the bulbs you purchase have a rating of 85-90 or higher. Otherwise, you may be left with an unappealing glow in your home.

Our LEDs

Historically, LED lights have not performed well in the CRI department. Despite their energy saving benefits, they were snubbed because of the “muddy” color they reflected on different objects, often casting a strange blue tone.

We’re proud to say that our innovative LED bulbs don’t fit that bill. With a CRI of approximately 85 - nearly that of incandescent - you can get both an accurate color representation and the energy efficiency that LEDs are known for.

With a CRI of 90, these LED bulbs let you have your cake and eat it, too.