CRI

Units & Measurements abbreviation · Engineering Unit

CRI
Stands forColor Rendering Index
CategoriesUnits & Measurements

CRI stands for Color Rendering Index, an engineering unit abbreviation.

A score up to 100 measuring how accurately a light source shows colors compared with a reference source such as daylight. Bulbs with CRI 90 or higher are recommended for kitchens, art, retail displays and makeup.

Example: The LED strips have a CRI above 95 for accurate skin tones on camera.

Usage notes

Standard CRI averages only eight pastel test colors, so manufacturers sometimes add R9, the saturated-red score that affects skin and food. The newer TM-30 method from the Illuminating Engineering Society gives a fuller picture. Incandescent and halogen lamps score close to 100.

More engineering unit abbreviations

  • BTU – British thermal unit
  • C – Degree Celsius
  • Cal – Food Calorie (kilocalorie)
  • cfm – Cubic feet per minute
  • Ci – Curie
  • CID – Cubic inch displacement
  • dB – Decibel
  • dBA – A-weighted decibels
  • dBm – Decibel-milliwatts
  • F – Degree Fahrenheit
  • fc – Foot-candle
  • fpm – Feet per minute

See all 103 engineering unit abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.