Color rendering index R9 is one of the 15 pigment colors established by scientists to measure color rendition. The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a scale from 0 to 100% indicating how accurate a “given” light source is at rendering color when compared to natural light. However, the current CRI does not account for the R9 value. Why does this matter to you? The R9 value produces a saturated strong vibrant red. Again, you are asking, why should I care? The R9 value is prevalent in most skin tones, clothing, and food. Making this a critical factor for anyone considering an LED retrofit, especially for retailers, restaurants and grocery stores, to name just a few.
Do You Need a Good R9 Value?
For most exterior lighting applications, a lower R9 value is going to mean nothing to you. But for interior lighting applications where red will be present, a strong R9 value is going to be of paramount importance. When we look at the Energy Star definition for an acceptable CRI. We see a CRI value greater than 80, with an R9 value greater than zero. While this produces a good light quality and color reproduction for standard lighting applications, it does not meet the standard needed to produce vibrant reds. To make matters worse, many LED products fail to meet even these minimum standards. Here at Action Services Group, our lighting specialists do NOT recommend the bare minimum color rendering threshold. We highly recommend an R9 value of 60 or higher for any customer who wants to render a quality red.
Color Rendering Index R9 for Retail
If you own or manage a retail establishment, chances are your sell red clothing. We would also imagine you have customers trying on the red clothing. The lighting you choose for your main floor, dressing rooms, and display areas need to be of a high R9 value to accurately showcase true red. Like we mentioned earlier, most skin tones contain red. Not only do you need to worry about how your red merchandise is perceived. You also need to consider how it is viewed, on a customer.
Looking for more tips on Retail Lighting? We have created a Retail LED Lighting guide to walk you through the do’s and don’ts that affect your customer’s buying habits.
Color Rendering Index R9 for Restaurants
When you go to a restaurant and order from a menu, you order based on what sounds good. Once your food comes, you eat based on what looks good. The other day I bit into a juicy apple. While the apple tasted fine, when I looked down, I discovered it was browning. There went my appetite. The same goes for the customers visiting your restaurant. A customer orders a rare stake and patiently waits for the order to be delivered to their table. Only to see an unappetizing brown color. Chances are no matter how delicious that stake is, they are not going to enjoy it. Plus, you know severely limit the chances of that customer returning and (shudder) they may even give a bad review. This problem could have been avoided entirely. When Action Services Group performs an LED retrofit for any restaurant, we make sure our customers are aware of the benefits of a high R9 value. We also provide them with LED selections that optimize how customers perceive your food and establishment.
Looking for more tips on Restaurant Lighting? We have created a Common Lighting and LED Retrofits guide, to walk you through some choices for restaurant lighting.
Color Rendering Index R9 for Grocery Stores
A grocery store is another place where how the customer sees visible color affects their buying habits. A meet department that has a low R9 value to their lighting is going to have fewer sales. That ground beef is looking a little brown, and there goes the customer. A produce department with lighting that has a zero R9 value, is going to be empty. A grocery store that does not have adequate lighting is soon going to be out of business
See how we help a 162 unit supermarket chain improve their lighting performance while reducing their energy costs by 71%.
Final Considerations When Reviewing LED R9 Value
We have one final consideration for you. When looking for an LED Retrofit Company to manage your organization’s lighting conversion. Consider a national LED retrofit company like Action Services Group. We are a product-neutral organization with a national footprint. Our lighting specialists have over 25 years of experience helping customers select the best lighting applications and installation programs that fit their specific needs. For more information on Color Rendering Index R9 value or about our national LED Retrofit capabilities, call us at 610-558-9773, email [email protected], or schedule a call.
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