Lumens vs Watts – Lighting Basics

"BUY LUMENS NOT WATTS"

General masses today are buying light bulbs based on their energy consumption. The basic thought being higher the energy input, greater will be the output. Well, this may have been true at one point in history not today. Light bulbs need to be compared based on the brightness or their luminosity and not their energy consumption.

So what are they?

Lumens : Lumens are units that describe the brightness levels of lighting devices. In simpler terms, higher the lumens, more is the brightness and vice versa.

Watts : Technically, watts are units that describe the rate of consumption of energy.

Rule of thumb:

This thumb rule is usually used to replace your old bulbs with the new LED bulbs :

• 100W bulb with an LED bulb that gives you about 1600 lumens.
• 75W bulb with an LED bulb that gives you about 1100 lumens.
• 60W bulb with an LED bulb that gives you about 800 lumens.
• 40W bulb with an LED bulb that gives you about 450 lumens.

Lumens vs Watts

Now that we have understood the difference between lumens and watts, lets have a look at the Lumens per Watt that the different types of bulbs in the market have to offer to us. With this comparison, we can learn which bulb is the best fit for us.