Whereas purchasing for LED strip lights, smart lights, or regular light bulbs, you’ll possible see point out of “lumens” or “lm” someplace on the packaging or within the advertising supplies. However what are lumens? We shed some gentle on the topic.
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Lumens Are a Measure of Brightness
A lumen is a scientific unit that represents the seen gentle output of a light-weight supply. The brighter the sunshine supply, the extra lumens it produces. The measurement of lumens is weighted and adjusted based mostly on how humans perceive light.
So, for instance, should you examine one gentle bulb that outputs 900 lumens and one which outputs 2000 lumens, the 2000 lumen bulb can be brighter than the 900-lumen bulb. The extra lumens a light-weight bulb emits, the brighter the bulb.
This implies measurement for gentle bulb effectivity is lumens per watt (lm/W). A typical 100-watt incandescent bulb makes use of 100 watts of energy and outputs about 1,600 lumens. In the meantime, a 14-17 watt LED bulb may also output about 1,600 lumens. Meaning you’re getting extra gentle for much less energy, which saves you cash in your electrical energy invoice.
The identical precept applies to any kind of lighting machine: smart bulbs, LED gentle strips, or in any other case. The extra lumens emitted, the brighter the output machine.
Understanding The Lighting Details Label
For nearly 100 years, folks primarily used incandescent bulbs for lighting at dwelling, and that allowed us to check relative brightness by how a lot energy every bulb used.
For instance, you’d purchase a “60-watt bulb” or a “100-watt bulb.” With the invention of radically extra environment friendly lighting choices corresponding to LED bulbs which may solely eat 15 watts however output as a lot as a 100-watt incandescent bulb, shoppers wanted a brand new method of evaluating completely different lighting applied sciences.
To resolve this drawback, the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee instituted a requirement that the packaging for any gentle bulbs bought within the US should carry a “Lighting Facts” label. This label reveals the bulb’s brightness in lumens, its estimated yearly vitality price, its lifespan, and its color temperature.
Different international locations have comparable labels that present gentle depth or energy efficiency, such because the BEE Star Label in India.
Now you can examine bulbs or different gentle sources by their brightness in lumens as an alternative of counting on a basic understanding of how a lot gentle a sure wattage of bulb ought to produce. It’s an unlimited enchancment over the outdated methods. And, with energy-efficient bulbs getting cheaper, smarter, and more versatile on a regular basis, it’s an thrilling time to gentle up your life. Have enjoyable!
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