Watt and Lumens Comparison Of Standard and LED Light-bulbs

Light, as ever-present as it is in our lives, has undergone a number of significant changes in the recent years. We have bid farewell to the traditional incandescent light-bulb and welcomed new energy-efficient forms of indoor light.

The four main types of light-bulbs are:

• Standard incandescent light-bulbs (which are no longer manufactured in a number of countries)
• Halogen light-bulbs (a more efficient version of incandescent light-bulbs that use halogen gas under pressure)
• CFL, compact fluorescent lamps (that use mercury vapor)
• LED, light emitting diodes (semiconductor devices)

The info below compares the 4 types of light-bulbs in terms of power-efficiency and brightness, so you can work out whats best for your needs.

Watts and Lumens

In the time of incandescent light-bulbs, Watt was the main identifier of “how powerful and bright” a light-bulb was. These days, the two qualities, “power” and “brightness” are used, we have broken down this info into a table making it easier to understand.

Lumens measures how much light the light-bulb puts out and Watts measure how much electricity a light-bulb uses to create that light.

In the table below, you will see how these indicators compare for the no longer existent incandescent light-bulb and the three newer types of light-bulbs: CFL, halogen and LED.

You can see from this table, that if you were to replace an old light-bulb in your living room, using 60W with an LED lightbulb, your energy consumption would go down to 10W while preserving the same level of brightness at 700+ lumens.

Colour of Light

In addition to power usage and brightness, the colour of emitted light may have a significant influence on your mood and environment. You may also feel comfortable with different light in different areas of your house: say, a warmer one for the bedroom and a whiter one for the hallway.
The colour of light is measured on the Kelvin scale. Most of us are well-used to the warm yellowy light of a traditional lightbulb, which measure up to 2, 700 on the Kelvin scale. Here’s a light “temperature” table for your reference.

Keep this in mind when selecting your next light-bulb.

For more on LED lighting, refer to the following posts:

How To Start Saving Money On Your Electric Bill Today (to see how much you could save from using LED light bulbs)

Buying Guide: How To Choose Outdoor LED Security Lights For Your Home (to learn about outdoor LED lighting)