Lighting quotations often list colour temperature in kelvin and a colour rendering index, or CRI. Neither number tells a squash, tennis, badminton or padel club whether its whole lighting design will work. They answer different questions and should sit alongside the layout and performance requirements.
What does colour temperature describe?
Correlated colour temperature, or CCT, describes the apparent colour of white light. Lower kelvin values generally look warmer; higher values look cooler. It is not a measure of electrical power or the amount of light reaching the court. Choosing a higher kelvin value does not automatically produce more lux.
What does CRI describe?
CRI indicates how a source renders colours compared with a reference. It is different from CCT and is not a glare rating. The US Department of Energy's LED basics guidance distinguishes light appearance from colour fidelity and explains why one metric cannot describe every aspect of colour quality.
Specify the playing experience first
Start with the sport, level of play, surface colours and any recording requirements. Ask the designer to consider visibility, illuminance, uniformity and glare as well as colour characteristics. A colour specification cannot compensate for a poorly positioned fixture.
- Squash: consider the ball against the walls and floor.
- Tennis: assess the court surface, ball and surrounding background.
- Badminton: consider the shuttle and upward viewing directions.
- Padel: include the playing surface, enclosure and reflections.
Avoid accidental differences during phased replacement
Record the exact fixture model and colour specification for each court. If you replace only part of an installation, discuss the appearance alongside existing fittings before ordering. A sample viewed in the actual hall can be more informative than comparing photographs taken with different camera settings.
Do you film matches?
Give the supplier your recording requirements separately. CRI alone does not establish camera suitability, flicker performance or broadcast compliance. For this topic, see our guide to tennis lighting and video recording.
Ask for a complete, consistent proposal
Request CCT and CRI for the exact offered configuration, plus the lighting calculation and relevant product documentation. Do not select a value solely because it is the highest on a comparison sheet. Tell Global LED Lights which sports you host and how the courts are used, and we can help prepare the specification for your project.