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What are Lumens and Watts? How are they calculated?

The light used in the lighting industry is expressed in different units and values. The reason for this is that it makes it easier to choose lighting suitable for the size and width of the environment. Today, the increase in distance shopping has made it necessary to learn about concepts such as watts and lumens. If you know what lumens and watts are and how to calculate them, you can choose the right lighting based on square meters and area size. 

This content will help you even if you do not have knowledge about watt formula, lumen formula, how to measure watts. You can save money and have decorative lighting with watt calculation and lumen calculation according to bulb type.

So what is lumen and why is it important? How is lumen calculation done? We will explain what you need to know about lumen for you.

What is a Lumen?

The fact that LED bulbs are more economical and widely used in daily life requires knowledge about the concept of lumens. With the comparison of lumen wattage calculation, the previously used incandescent bulbs will be replaced by economical LED bulbs.  

The total amount of light emitted from a light source is called a lumen. In fact, the lumen is the unit that measures the brightness of a light source. This variable is used to calculate the lumen formula. The total amount of light from LED bulbs is expressed in lumens. 

The abbreviation lm seen on LED bulbs is the lumen unit. As the lumen value increases, the brightness of the light will increase. You can find out what a lumen is and how to calculate the lumen value and predict how many lumen bulbs you need to buy to illuminate a room. 

What is the Difference Between Lumens and Lux?

Lux is used to measure the amount of light emanating from a lighting device. It allows us to measure the total amount and intensity of light present on a surface. 

The difference between lumen and lux is that lux takes into account the area over which the lumen is emitted. A flux of 1000 lumens concentrated on an area of one square meter illuminates that square meter with a luminous power of 1000 Lux.

How is Lumen Value Calculated?

If lighting an area, whether indoors or outdoors, is to be provided with led bulbs, the lumen unit is important. Because when you learn how to calculate the lumen value, you will see that increasing lumen values emit more light. 

To learn how to calculate the lumen value, you need a few variables. First, the size and square meters of the area to be illuminated should be known. Consider whether the area to be illuminated is indoors or outdoors. No matter how high the lumen unit is, sometimes some led bulbs do not perform well in outdoor lighting. Therefore, it is important to know the lumen calculation correctly. 

If you do not want to calculate by eye and increase the margin of error, then the square meter of the place to be illuminated should be known. Then, the number of lumen units deemed sufficient for lighting should be multiplied by the square meter. To summarize briefly, if 400 lumens are considered sufficient for 15 square meters of indoor space, 15 square meters X 400 lm: 600 lumens will do the job. In outdoor spaces, this value should be even higher. 

For the area to be illuminated, 300 lumens to 500 lumens is considered sufficient for average led bulbs. 

What is a Watt?

The amount of energy consumed by bulbs or devices powered by electrical energy is called watts. The watt formula will be used for watt calculation in lighting. When you wonder what a watt is, you will come across a series of information such as watt calculation, watt formula, watt unit. The reason for this is to prevent the power supply from burning with excess energy and to anticipate the bill. 

If you research what wattage is, you can see that it is slightly different from the concept of lumens, which is prominent in LED bulbs. Wattage does not indicate how much light is delivered to the environment. It measures the flow of energy through the electrical circuit. In other words, it gives information about energy consumption. The wattage unit, which is common in incandescent, fluorescent and halogen bulbs, shows how much energy will be reflected on the electricity bill per unit time. There will be a significant difference between the amount that a 10 W bulb loads on your bill and the consumption of a 70 W bulb. Even if you learn how to measure watts, you will not know the total amount of light in the area and the level of illumination. You can calculate how much the lighting portion of your electricity bill will be. In this case, watt calculation, watt formula, watt unit and how to measure watts will not benefit you. 

The wattage on incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, fluorescent bulbs and other types of bulbs does not give enough information about the amount of illumination. In some bulb types, lower wattage may provide more light. In this case, watt calculation will be irrelevant and useless.  

How to Calculate Wattage?

Learning about watts and how to calculate watts will give you an estimate of your bills. How to measure watts requires a bit of technical knowledge, so don't worry if you don't understand it. 

Don't go searching for “How to calculate wattage?” and think that you will learn about lighting. Because the wattage and the amount of light it provides do not always match exactly. Even in fluorescent lighting, the amount of energy consumed will differ according to the type of lampholder. Moreover, these variables do not include options such as halogen bulbs and incandescent bulbs. 

To know how to calculate watts, you need to know about the watt formula. Watt formula; W: Vx I i.e. Power (Watts) : Current (Amps) X Voltage (Volts) 

The explanation of the watt formula is as follows. 1 watt is 1 ampere current multiplied by 1 voltage. In other words, it is determined how much current is generated per unit time. Thus, in the watt formula, Volt reveals the difference in electric charge between the two ends of the conductor, while Ampere measures the current intensity. 

Relationship Between Lumens and Watts

Learning about the relationship between lumens and watts is useful in many ways. Because the total brightness of a light source is described by the lumen formula. So how much light an LED bulb sends to illuminate the environment is related to the lumen calculation. Wattage, on the other hand, is related to how much energy the light source consumes and generates power. These qualitatively and quantitatively different concepts are very important when choosing lighting.

Lumen is a kind of total amount of light, while watt is also a unit of power. Incandescent, fluorescent and halogen bulbs are characterized by wattage. However, these values still do not indicate the level of illumination. The consumer is interested in how much these bulbs consume. The type of bulb and the lighting option cause differences in the calculation of lumens and watts.  

Lumens are always higher than watts in the value range. 1 W is approximately 11.25 lumens. This means that a 50-watt bulb is equivalent to approximately 560 lumens when expressed in lumens. Depending on the production principle of brands and manufacturers, 1 W may appear in different lumen ranges. The lumen wattage calculation is approximately in this way and allows you to obtain information on consumption.

What are the Differences Between Lumens and Watts?

The relationship between lumens and watts is as important as the points where they differ from each other. These differences are taken into account when choosing bulbs and calculating lumen wattage. Your goal is to determine the amount of energy you spend, and even if you do not follow it constantly, you should choose lighting that you can calculate watts. If the bright environment is more important to you than the amount of energy you spend, you should turn to options where we will measure the lumen. For this reason, if you know what the differences between lumens and watts are, you can make your choices correctly as a conscious consumer. 

  • Watts relates to the amount of energy consumption. Lumens is the brightness of the light and the amount of light it provides to the environment.
  • With a wattage calculation, you don't know how much light your lighting will provide. For a 30 square meter space, you have no idea whether the bulb you choose will provide enough light. With the lumen formula, you know how much brightness you will get to illuminate the environment. 
  • Since 1 W is about 11.25 lumens, the higher the lumen units, the brighter the light will be. The same equation will not apply to the watt formula. 

The table below will show you the differences between lumens and watts. 

Incandescent Light BulbHalogen Light BulbFluorescent Bulb Lumen Value
15 W 18W3W110 – 170 -100
40 W42 W7 W420 – 630 – 400
60 W53 W9 W710 – 840 – 480
75 W70 W11 W940 – 1200 – 660
100 W105 W13 W1360- 1900 – 780

The Effect of Differences and Relationships Between Lumens and Watts on Lighting Choices

The advancement of technology and the diversification of lighting types cause confusion in the choice of bulbs. Although the types of bulbs used for lighting have become part of the decoration, the purpose of lighting does not remain in the second plan. If you buy lighting without knowledge, bulb types and wattage values can lead to miscalculation. If the differences and relationships between lumens and watts and their impact on lighting choices are known, accurate choices can be made. 

LED bulbs and CFL-type lighting have revealed the meaninglessness of watt lumen calculations over time. Because the amount of energy consumption is not remotely related to the brightness of the bulb. Consumers who want less energy consumption and more brightness should choose according to the bulb type rather than making this calculation. In this way, the problem of too much light in small rooms and insufficient light in large rooms will not be encountered. 

Over time, the rise of energy-saving light bulbs and low-cost options such as LED bulbs has changed consumers' preferences. They now prefer options that are more economical and offer more light per unit time. Therefore, lighting such as halogen bulbs, incandescent bulbs and fluorescent bulbs have been replaced by LED and CFL. Options with low consumption and high energy efficiency have become popular. LED lighting is used especially in public spaces, large businesses, large square meters and outdoor areas. The lumen wattage calculation also reveals that there are options where consumers can bear more energy at low cost.     

You can contact our experts for any questions you may have about lux and lumen.

Frequently Asked Questions

When choosing lighting, paying attention to the wattage does not allow you to reach the brightness level. Since the wattage value will vary according to the bulb type, it will be appropriate to choose in lumens. Since 300 lumens will give less light than 500 lumens, pay attention to this when choosing. 

LED bulbs have emerged as a cost-efficient lighting option. As energy has become more precious over time, it has become imperative to get a lot of light with little energy. You may wonder why LED bulbs provide more lumens with lower wattage. The working principle has been developed in such a way that the light reaches more from a single point to the whole area. 

As the lumen value increases, the amount of light emitted increases. Therefore, the brightness of the light increases at the same rate. You may wonder if a higher lumen value always provides better lighting. The answer to this question is yes. 350 lumens always provide better lighting than 200 lumens. 

When choosing lighting, it is important to provide the best conditions. You may wonder how many watts the best lighting should be. For an average room of 15 square meters, 300 lumens and 500 lumens are sufficient. If this is calculated in watts, it corresponds to 40 W incandescent bulbs, 42 W halogen bulbs and 7 W fluorescent bulbs. But know that these values will not fully meet your question marks when calculating lumen wattage. 

The brightness of the lamp is expressed in lumens and energy consumption in watts. You may wonder whether watts or lumens are important. If your aim is to determine how much your bill will come, watt calculation should be made. If the degree of illumination of the environment is important to you, the choice should be made in lumens. The prominence of saving bulbs and options that provide a lot of lighting has increased the importance of lumen calculation. 

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