Watts a Lumen

Wattage has always been the understanding of how bright a bulb will be. To this day everyone can still easily grasp what a 100w bulb can do for lighting up a space, but what is all the other stuff written on the bulb boxes? What does it all mean?!

In the 30+ years that Eurolite has been providing Great Lights for Great Spaces, not only has main stream lighting fixtures transitioned from beloved age-old incandescent to halogen sources; compact fluorescent lamps became a sweeping demand. Finally (and thank goodness) the ever improving LED’s of today seem to be here to stay. 

So while it feels like colour temperature (Kelvin) of bulbs & light sources is finally understood as a necessary decision maker, now it seems that it is all about lumens! What the heck is a lumen? What does it mean?!

To explain, we actually need to look at what ‘wattage’ really means first.

Watts are a unit of power which measures the amount of energy (joules) used over a period of time (seconds). This is an extremely useful measurement to determine how much energy you are drawing, and which bulbs will draw less power over the same amount of time.

The lower the wattage = the better for your electricity bill & the environment!

Lumens (brace yourself!) … is the actual measurement of the brightness of light, or more technically: The total quantity of visible light emitted by a source over time.

The higher the lumen, the brighter your light!

Different light sources actually require a different amount of power to produce the same amount of lumens. This is why it is important to look at both the ratings together when considering the energy efficiency and quality of light from the light source (or) light bulb you are choosing.

The win win = lowest watt with highest lumen!

Ultimately, choosing the right bulb can depend on the circumstances, and if outfitted with a dimmer switch, any bulb can be used to produce whatever volume of light you might need.

 

Still confused? Don't worry! Eurolite can help. Not only do we offer a variety of light fixtures including chandeliers, pendants, wall, and recessed lights from our Toronto Lighting Store, we can help you choose the most suitable light fixture and lamping (bulb type) for efficiency and colour temperature. There are so many options on the market to choose from!