![]() ![]() Instead of focusing on wattage, which measures power or energy use, manufacturers are indicating the brightness of their energy-efficient bulbs according to lumens, which measure light output. But as energy-efficient, low-watt light bulbs like CFLs and LEDs have become readily available, watts have become an unreliable metric for selecting bulbs. Kelvin has nothing to do with brightness, we just correlate brightness with color temperature because the lower color temperature lights tend to also be dimmer or less lumens.Lumens are the new unit of measurement for light bulbsįor decades, we’ve been buying light bulbs according to wattage. The higher the number the whiter the light, although 6000K really starts to look blue. Kelvin is color temperature, or really, just color. And that number will likely continue to grow. For bulbs, you may get 100 to 110 lumens per watt, while in a fixture you will get 130 to 200 lumens per watt. It can tell you how much power the light bulb or fixture will use, but those figures are variable. Run a 15W LED light bulb for one hour you will use 15Wh (watt hours) or. The wattage ratings you see on light fixtures, light bulbs and appliances are how many watts they use in an hour, or watt hours. That is why your electric bill is measured in kWh, or kilowatt hours. ![]() Remember, wattage is a measure of energy used. I am writing this article in a mix of 2700K and 4000K light and I can barely read my screen (good thing for spell check!). We need brighter, whiter lights in work areas so we can read fine print or thread that needle. The reason the higher color temperature lights are brighter is because they are used in areas where brighter lights are needed. As mentioned above, higher color temperature LED light bulbs are typically sold in higher brightness or lumen levels, but there is no relationship. So, how many watts is a 5000K LED light bulb? Again, there is no correlation between wattage and color temperature or K (kelvin). Conversely, 5000K is a whiter light, while 6000K is has a blue hue. A 2700K light is typically used in living areas, bars, and other casual areas. The reason people associate color temperature with brightness is because the warmer LED light bulbs are typically lower lumen levels. What? 2700K is the most common “warm” color sold. The lower the temperature Kelvin the warmer the shade of white. the K stands for Kelvin, and it is a measure of color temperature. Next lets answer “how bright is 3000K?” “How bright is 2700K?”, “How bright is 3500K?”, ‘How bright is 4000K?”, “How bright is 5000K?” K has absolutely nothing to do with brightness. So, what is the answer to the question “how do you convert lumens to watts?” It depends. Most LED light fixtures are between 130-150 lumbens per watt. ![]() Fixtures are typically more efficient than bulbs. Recently some manufacturers have come out with 6 Watt, 800 lumen bulbs. First, an A19 LED bulb that is a 60W equivalent is about 9W and is 800 lumens. The reality is that the brightness is correlated to wattage, but as we get more efficient LEDs the number of lumens per watt delivered by an LED diode is getting higher. We have perpetuated this incorrect association by putting 100 Watt equivalent on common light bulb packaging (A19 LEDs, BR30 LEDs, etc). A 100 Watt incandescent bulb was about 1600 lumens. When we used incandescent light bulbs we incorrectly described brightness as wattage. The first question - How do you convert lumens to watts? The answer is that you don’t. ![]()
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