LIGHTING WISDOM
60-WATT INCANDESCENT
Because it’s the most
familiar, use it to compare
newer, more effi cient bulbs.
43-WATT HALOGEN
Halogens last longer than
incandescents but aren’t as
effi cient as LEDs.
8-WATT LED
As technology and
effi ciency have improved,
this number has decreased.
Watts
What?
Think
Lumens.
Just like we know what
90 degrees Fahrenheit
feels like on our skin, so,
too, do we have some
understanding of what a
60-watt bulb might look
like in our living room.
With the advent of LEDs,
measuring light in watts (the
rate at which energy fl ows
in an electrical system) is
no longer relevant in home
design. Lumen, a measure
of light output (as opposed
to power consumed), is the
measure you need to know.
HAVE YOU
MET KELVIN?
The Kelvin scale is used to describe a light’s
hue, not its heat output. All you need to
remember is this: The higher the Kelvin
value, the “cooler” the light hue.
For example, if you want something that
mimics your incandescent’s “warm” light, go
for a bulb with 2700K to 3000K (for Kelvins).
Bulbs with higher Kelvin ratings, such as
4000K or 5000K, appear blue-white or “cool.”
Let a lighting designer help. He or she
will direct you to the right hue for your
room. “If you have a cooler color palette—
blues, stainless steel, slate—these look
more vibrant using a 3000K lamp,” says Jeff
Dross, corporate director of education and
industry trends for Kichler Lighting. “Lamps
with warmer colors (2700K) bring out wood
tones, earth tones, golden colors, beiges,
and yellows.”
Light is cumulative. If a fi xture holds
three 60-watt incandescent bulbs,
those bulbs emit 2400 lumens
(800 lumens × 3). Because the fi xture
absorbs some light, less than all 2400
lumens actually enter the room.
800 LUMENS
Each of these bulbs delivers
the same lumens.
