Definition
LRV is an acronym for Light Reflectance Value (also referred to as Luminous Reflectance Value).
British Standards Publication, BS 8300:2009 ‘Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people – Code of practice’ defines LRV as the total quantity of visible light reflected by a surface at all wavelengths and directions when illuminated by a light source. This is important as surfaces that differ sufficiently in LRV can be distinguished from one another by blind and partially sighted people.
LRV Scale
The LRV scale is from 0 to 100, with zero assumed to be an absolute pure black and 100 being a perfect white with a perfectly reflective surface. However, because of practical influences in any application, black is always greater than 0 and white never equals 100.
Sourcing the LRV
The LRV is often available from a supplier and all good paint manufacturers will provide these values for all paint colours (usually on the rear of the paint card or fan deck).
Where a supplier doesn’t have an LRV is where we can help. We can test timber, vinyl flooring, carpet, tactile indicators, concrete, stone, painted surfaces, metal surfaces, anything that has a minimum compliance requirement. After testing the materials, we can see if the luminance contrast achieves these minimum requirements.