When our electric bills are high in summer, we always ‘turn up the thermostat on the AC’ and ‘make sure to turn off the lights.’ That has been about the extent of our thoughts on the consumption of electricity, that is….until now. When we pay our electric bills, seldom do we think of how much ‘heat’ we’ve bought. Watt = Light Energy + Heat Energy.and we buy it in kilowatts (a 1000 watts at a time). That’s good because less Watts means lower electric bills.ĭo you know that about 90% of the energy used by a standard Edison bulb is converted to HEAT.not LIGHT! A watt is the amount of electricity a light bulb uses to produce light it’s not a measurement of the brightness of that light. Notice when compared to an Edison bulb, the CFL uses 27 Watts less, but produces the same amount of light, while the LED saves 35 Watts. HOW MANY WATTS does it take to produce the SAME AMOUNT OF LUMENS (the light we actually see) from each of the 3 most common light sources? How many Watts for the same amount of Light (Lumens)? There are basically 3 types of lighting options that are the most common: Edison bulbs, LEDs, and CFLs. We also know that the higher the wattage, the hotter the bulb because with more light comes more heat. We are ‘used to’ thinking in watts and have a sort of ‘built in’ light meter, so we know approximately how bright the light a 15 watt bulb ‘looks’ compared to a 60 watt bulb. Are you one of the many ‘baffled’ who stand before a long row of bulbs wondering what to buy and spending more and more time reading light bulb labels and still not understanding the lumen-watt connection?Īll lights can be measured in lumens, but Edison bulbs (incandescent) are measured in WATTS and that’s what the public was brought up on. Since the ‘New” lights are measured in lumens and more and more LED and CFL products are available in the marketplace, the lumen count has started to appear on packaging. But why should Americans give up the Watt and….Go Lumen? So, now we must begin the process of ‘thinking in lumens’ instead of in watts, and it’s time to start thinking about lumens as well. These lights are totally different from the bulbs we have used since Edison’s invention, and these ‘new types’ are measured in LUMENS. Work Vehicle Lights - Kentucky University ReportĪ Lumen (lm) is the unit measuring the total amount of light emitted from a light source that the human eye can see.ĬFL and LED lights have begun to flood the market replacing traditional incandescent bulbs in homes, offices, and traffic lights, in manufactured goods and electronic components because Compact Fluorescent Lamps and Light Emitting Diodes are long lasting, low heat, environmentally friendly, cost effective lasting years instead of months, and most of all, produce a Lot of Light for the money. How to select the right Emergency Vehicle LightĮmergency Vehicle Sirens - Audible Warning DevicesĪmber Warning Lights Save First Responder LivesĮmergency Vehicle Warning Light Study in Texas Dual Color LED Emergency Vehicle LightsĪmbulance Lights and Sirens: How useful are they?Įmergency Vehicle Light Mount Types and Color Choices.Grille and Surface Mount Light Multi-Packs.

Lumen lights led