What’s a Lumen and how to convert Watts to Lumens?
This short guide helps you understand how the brightness of LED lights is measured differently from traditional incandescent lights, where watts were used as the measure of brightness.
A lumen is a unit that measures how bright a light bulb is. It tells you how much light the bulb produces. The more lumens a bulb has, the brighter it will be, and the fewer lumens, the dimmer it will be.
Think of lumens like:
Pounds for bananas: Pounds tell you how heavy bananas are. Similarly, lumens tell you how bright a light is.
Gallons for milk: Gallons measure the amount of milk. Lumens measure the amount of light.
When you buy light bulbs, you should focus on lumens instead of watts. Watts used to be a way to measure the energy used by a bulb, but it’s not a good indicator of brightness anymore, especially with energy-efficient bulbs like LEDs.
Here’s a simple guide for replacing bulbs based on lumens:
To replace a bright 100-watt bulb, look for a bulb with around 1600 lumens.
For a slightly dimmer replacement for a 75-watt bulb, choose one with about 1100 lumens.
If you want a replacement for a 60-watt bulb, look for a bulb with approximately 800 lumens.
To replace a 40-watt bulb, pick one with around 450 lumens.
By paying attention to lumens, you can make sure you get the right amount of brightness from your light bulbs, regardless of their wattage or technology.
