Holloway Painting

Light Reflectance Value, what is it?

Light Reflectance Value, or LRV, is a rating to determine how much light is reflected off a colour. Furthermore, colours have different shades all with different LRV ratings. This light reflection rating is an important consideration when choosing a paint color and if you pay attention, you will see the LRV rating on paint labels and colour swatches. You should consider the importance of Light Reflectance Value when you are picking the paint colour of the exterior of the house and the interior. This is such an important aspect of your home that we highly recommended that you consult a painting expert to find the perfect LRV.

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Light Reflectance Value

Light Reflectance Value: Painting the Exterior

You probably have an idea of what color you want to paint the exterior of your home and this colour will obviously have an LRV rating. Consulting an expert will help you determine the right shade of this colour to give you the LRV you need. There are two big issues to think about when deciding on the LRV of the paint colour and shade:

  • The amount of heat the paint will absorb.
  • How bright your paint will make your house?

A Light Reflectance Value close to the 100% mark can make your house difficult on the eyes to look at. On the opposite spectrum, the closer your paint’s LRV is to the 0% mark the more it will cause heat issues due to a low LRV absorbing light bringing heat with it.

LRV: Painting the Interior

A lot of people’s considerations on painting an interior revolves around how warm and inviting they want the room or entire interior to be. The determining rating for whether the paint will make the room warm and inviting vs stodgy will be around the middle of the LRV rating: 45% to 55%. Lower than 45% to 55% will make the room darker and fitting for an old-word study/ office or modern sophisticated area. An LRV rating above 45% to 55% will make the room inviting and warm.

Now you can see how important the Light Reflectance Value is and how it can greatly affect the paint color you pick. This is why we strongly recommend consulting a painting expert to get the correct Light Reflectance Value for your next project.