The Brightness of LED Bulbs – Don’t Be Left in the Dark

The Brightness of LED Bulbs – Don’t Be Left in the Dark

Households that are conscious of their carbon footprint, their rising energy bills and those who hope to inject a little more style and elegance into their homes, are all turning to LED bulbs to ensure all their requirements are covered. Surpassing traditional lighting technologies such as incandescent and halogen options, the LED bulb revolution is making a positive difference to households and businesses alike.

Why Are LED Bulbs So Popular?

LED technology comes with multiple benefits, which is why they’re quickly becoming a staple lighting solution for households and businesses. Their incredible lifespan and lack of dangerous chemicals are just some of the reason’s property owners are opting for LEDs over traditional light bulbs. Some of the other benefits include:

• A long life span: Many LEDs have a lifespan of around 50,000 hours, so they don’t need to be replaced as often as their traditional counterparts
• Greater energy efficiency: LED bulbs produce less wasted light, and use less energy to run making them energy efficient and much kinder to the planet
• Lower energy bills: With greater energy efficiency, comes lower bills and running costs
• Lower Heat Emissions: LEDs don’t emit as much heat as traditional bulbs, so they pose less of a fire or injury risk at home
• Design options are extensive: From spotlights and strip lights to outdoor options, LED lighting can help you set the tone and atmosphere of any room
• Multiple brightness of bulbs: The brightness of LED bulbs varies, allowing you to tailor the look of any room and increase its practicality.

For many households, choosing LED lights is a no-brainer, however choosing the right brightness for their home or business, can often cause confusion and misunderstanding. Let’s take a look at the brightness of LED bulbs, their importance and how to make the right choice.

The Brightness of LED Bulbs – The Basics

When we shop for traditional bulbs, we’re familiar with checking the wattages on the packaging to get an indication of what the level of brightness might be. Wattages such as 25W, 75W and 100W are the most common wattages on bulbs today. However, wattage is an indication of how much energy is used to create the light emitted from the bulb, not the brightness. And if you’re shopping for LED bulbs, we measure the brightness in Lumens (Lm). 

When shopping for LED bulbs, comparing lumens will indicate how much light you can expect from the bulb. As LED bulbs are so energy efficient and use fewer watts to illuminate the bulb, measuring the brightness is a simple, effective way of ensuring you always get the brightness level you want within your property instead.

Measuring the brightness of LED bulbs using lumens is easy to understand. The higher the number of lumens, the brighter your LED bulb will be.

What Should I Look For in the Brightness of LED Bulbs?

As LED bulbs are energy-efficient, it’s impractical to use the wattage measure to ascertain how bright an LED bulb is. Therefore, using lumens (Lm) to measure brightness instead is a practical and accurate alternative. The table below highlights the comparisons between the two measures and what you should look for when choosing the brightness of an LED bulb.

Traditional Wattage (W)	Brightness in Lumens (Lm)	LED Bulb (W)
40W	450 Lm	6W
60W	800 Lm	12W
75W	1100 Lm	13W
100W	1600 Lm	20W
150W	2600 Lm	28W

So, which is the Brightest LED Bulb?

Thanks to the clarity and directional lighting options of LED bulbs, they have a wide variety of uses and applications. Specifically in industrial and commercial enterprises. Currently, the brightest LED bulb available for purchase within the general public is an impressive 5500 Lm, which is the equivalent of a 350W incandescent bulb.

What Are These Bright LED Bulbs Used For?

The brightness and energy efficiency of LED lighting means they can be used for all kinds of purposes, from street lamps and outdoor lighting to lighting within car parks, modular lighting and other industrial applications where tasks that require high levels of concentration need to be completed.

What About LED Colours?

When shopping for LED bulbs of a specific brightness, you may want to consider the different colour options available. The colour of LED bulbs is referred to as temperature and this is measured in the Kelvin scale (K). LED colours are available in numerous variations, including Warm White, Cool White and Neutral White. You’ll find a scale below, to help you understand the LED colour range on the Kelvin scale.

Warm White	Neutral White	Cool White
2700K – 3000k	3500K – 4100K	5500K – 6500K

How Can I Ensure My LEDs Last?

LED bulbs have a life expectancy of around 50,000 hours – which is certainly impressive when compared to traditional incandescent options which fail between 1,500 and 2,000 hours. Despite their longevity, there are additional efforts you can make to ensure your LED bulbs are living up to your expectations, including:

• Avoid cheap, non-branded LED bulbs. A low price may indicate cheap components.
• Only use dimmable LED bulbs with compatible LED dimmer switches and never place a LED dimmable bulb in a traditional fitting
• Ensure the connections are good and there are no loose connections or poorly fitted bulbs
• Contacting the manufacturer if you’re unsure why your bulbs aren’t lasting

In Conclusion…

When it comes to deciding on the brightness of your LED bulbs, remember that the higher the lumen count, the brighter your bulbs will be. With less wattage required to create optimal brightness, it makes perfect sense to switch to LED bulbs to meet your requirements and keep your energy consumption low. Now you’re no longer in the dark about LED bulb brightness, you can choose the right bulbs for your property.