This is a legacy version of the WELL Building Standard. Please check the latest version here.
  1. Light
  2. Color quality

Color quality

Features>Light>58. Color quality

58. Color quality

Light color quality impacts visual appeal and can either contribute to or detract from occupant comfort. Poor color quality reduces visual acuity and the accurate rendering of illuminated objects. For instance, foods, human skin tones and plants may appear dull or unsaturated under lights that have low color quality metrics.

Though there are many ways to measure color quality, the color rendering index (CRI) is the most commonly reported and captures R1-R8 metrics. However, this does not accurately represent the saturation of warmer hues, which is part of the R9 metric. This feature includes the R9 metric as an extension of CRI to assure that lights with high color quality are in place.

Part 1: Color Rendering Index

To accurately portray colors in the space and enhance occupant comfort, all electric lights (except decorative fixtures, emergency lights and other special-purpose lighting) meet the following conditions:

a) Color Rendering Index Ra (CRI, average of R1 through R8) of 80 or higher.
b) Color Rendering Index R9 of 50 or higher.
Nervous

Applicability Matrix

Core & Shell New Construction WELL Interiors
Part 1: Color Rendering Index - O O
Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Retail
Part 1: Color Rendering Index O P O O

Verification Methods Matrix

Letters of Assurance Annotated Documents On-Site Checks
PART 1 (Design)
Color Rendering Index 		Architect Spot Measurement

80

U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service. Washington D.C.: U.S. General Services Administration (GSA); March 2014: 135-136.
58.1.a

The U.S. GSA's Facilities Standard for the Public Buildings Service Tier 1 High Performance rating requires CRI of 80 or higher.
58.1.b

The GSA's Facilities Standard for the Public Buildings Service Tier 2 High Performance requires a Color Rendering Index R9 of at least 50.
Features>Light>58. Color quality