What Is Lumen Lighting?

Lumens (lm) are a measurement of how much light is visible to the human eye when produced by a light source. This means that lumens are used to measure the amount of brightness a light has to offer, such as downlights or ceiling mounted lights. A light bulb’s lumen reading will help a person when deciding on what light to choose how bright that light will go. 

How is Wattage Different from Lumens?

Wattage (w), or watts, are another measurement used in lighting. Watts will measure the overall energy consumption of the specific light or how much electricity the bulb will use. Older models of lights, such as incandescents, used to have similar lumen and wattage readings. 

Modern lights will often have a lower wattage as they consume less energy overall. They will also have a higher lumen number as technology has grown and less energy can still produce a large amount of bright light.

When choosing the best light to install around the house there are certain qualities of the product to look for. Most light bulbs will come with a label describing key information on the light. Here are some of the qualities to look for when purchasing light bulbs:

• Lumens – find the number of lumens the bulb has which will help indicate how bright the light will shine
• Energy costs – there will often be an Energy Guide label attached to help describe the average yearly cost to run the bulb
• Lifespan – it is helpful to know how long the bulb will last on average to help plan when replacing it needs to happen 
• Light appearance – this means the colour temperature and will describe how warm or cool the light shines 
• Energy star label – the higher the stars listed on the product will help indicate how energy efficient the product is

What Light Type is Best for Lumens?

It is strongly recommended that LED lights are chosen over incandescent lights, halogen lights and other forms of lighting. This is due to their energy saving benefits over incandescent bulbs and other types of lights. Below is a table describing the various lumen levels and the average wattage usage for the different types of lights:

In terms of lumen lighting, it depends on the type and size of the room and whether it is for indoor lights or outdoor lighting. Below is a rough guide on the recommended lumen lighting levels for different rooms: