Light Bulb Wattage

If the old lightbulb was a little too dim they might opt for a higher wattage bulb to improve the illumination.

Light bulb wattage. To understand how bright a light bulb will shine a buyer should look at the lumens. You won t generally have much choice in the voltage as it ll be supplied by whatever voltage your system runs at. However if you can you. There is potential danger here however because light fixtures carry a maximum wattage rating and if bulbs are installed that exceed this rating there is the potential for overheating the fixture.

Instead of focusing on wattage which measures power or energy use manufacturers are indicating the brightness of their energy efficient bulbs according to lumens which measure light output. Wattage refers to how much power the bulb uses while color temperature indicates the warmth or coolness of the light color. Wattage is the amount of energy is used by a lamp or light bulb. The newer bulbs aren t marked in watts as the electrical ballast in them drastically alters what they run at.

This is very relevant today as newer light bulbs use less energy so wattage is not a reliable measure of a light bulb s brightness. Lumens indicate the brightness. When a bulb burns out most people simply grab whatever spare lightbulb is available. If you will use a lower wattage bulb in your fixture you will have less light than before choosing a lower wattage bulb is fine as long you understand that you are compromising on light output this statement is correct only for incandescent and halogen bulbs.

Lumens are a measure of the amount of light that is produced. For instance a 100 watt light bulb is not necessarily brighter than a 40 watt light bulb. The higher the lumen count the more illumination is produced and the brighter the light seems as a result.