Sunday, October 9, 2011

Lumens vs. Watts




















What's a Watt?

Watts measure the amount of power a bulb uses – not how bright it is. So, using watts to describe brightness is like using gallons of fuel to describe how fast a car can go.This practice wasn't a problem as long as we continued to use the more than 100-year-old incandescent bulbs.

The problem: Traditional incandescent light bulbs waste 90% of their electricity to produce heat, and use only 10% to produce light. The solution: energy-efficient bulbs, which use fewer watts to give off the same amount of brightness.

As more consumers buy energy-efficient bulbs, labels on bulb packages are using a more accurate measurement of brightness: lumens.

Look for Lumens

Lumens measure the amount of light produced by a bulb. The more lumens in a light bulb, the brighter the light

The FTC’s conversion chart shows how lumen measurements match up to the old wattage amounts (see image on the right).

For example:

  • 40-watt incandescent bulb = 450 lumens
  • 60-watt incandescent bulb = 800 lumens
  • 100-watt incandescent bulb = 1600 lumens

More info at: solarserdar@gmail.com

CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)

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