What is Natural Light

What is Natural Light

Natural light is a lighting source that closely emulates the illumination provided by sunlight. It is characterized by a kelvin temperature of approximately 5,000 degrees kelvin and a color rendering index (CRI) of 100. The kelvin temperature of natural light can vary throughout the day, typically ranging from 5,000 to 6,000 kelvin, depending on factors such as the time of day and cloud cover. The CRI is a metric used to describe how accurately a light source renders colors compared to natural sunlight. For a lighting source to be classified as natural light, it is generally considered appropriate to have a CRI above 90.

Some companies may have their own interpretations of what constitutes natural lighting, but it is generally agreed that lamps with color temperatures of 6,500 kelvin and a CRI of 82-84 do not meet the criteria for natural lighting. Similarly, lamps with a color temperature of 4,100 kelvin and a high CRI cannot be considered natural lighting sources, as the color of the light deviates significantly from sunlight and bears little resemblance to it.