When choosing lighting for your home, it’s important to know how to read a light bulb. When you step foot in the light bulb section of a hardware store, the options can seem overwhelming. With hundreds of different brightness, shapes, wattages, and more, which do you choose?
This guide will discuss the most common figures you’d find on light bulb packaging to help you find the perfect options. Fortunately, reading light bulbs can be simple once you know the most common advertised features.
Before You Get Started: Incandescent Bulbs vs. Energy-Efficient Bulbs
It’s true when they say energy-efficient bulbs such as CFLs and LEDs have quickly taken over incandescents. In the past, 60-watt incandescent or fluorescent bulbs were the best options since they were the brightest and easiest to find. Today, energy-efficient bulbs consume significantly less power and are often the brightest options.
Depending on the type of bulb you’re shopping for, the information on both packages will differ considerably. It’s essential first to confirm the type of bulb you’re looking for to ensure you’re reading the data correctly. There are various things that bulb types can influence, including:
- Risk of sleep problems
- Personal preference or aesthetics
- Energy efficiency
- Energy performance
How to Read a Light Bulb: What’s on the Package?
Now that you’re ready to start shopping for light bulbs, let’s get into the details. There are many types of information you’re bound to see on the packaging, including:
Color Temperature (K)
One of the first advertised things for any bulb is the color temperature (light color) it puts out. Typically, bulb types get ranked on a spectrum known as the light kelvin scale (K). Bulbs on the lower end of the scale have a more yellow light or orange hue, while others on the upper end have a blue hue.
The light kelvin scale traditionally starts around 2000K and spans up to 6500K, with 6500K emulating daylight. Color temperature affects most aspects of the light bulb ranging from its light output to its use. For example, 2000K lighting fixtures are great for a soothing ambiance, while 6500K lights are remarkable for detailed task work.
Watts (W)
One of the most common terms associated with light bulbs is wattage, and it’s an important figure to know. As we explore below, with the emerging popularity of energy-efficient bulbs, watts have taken second place importance to lumens. However, it’s still an important figure to give you an idea of how much energy your lights consume.
Watts describes the amount of power a light bulb will pull through a lamp, also known as energy consumption. With incandescent bulbs, it’s believed the lower their wattage, the less bright they’ll be. However, with modern CFL and LED bulbs, a low wattage doesn’t necessarily mean less brightness, simply less energy consumption.
When dealing with wattage, you’ll want to consider the specific needs of your light fixtures and lamps. It’s essential your bulb’s wattage doesn’t outweigh the lamp’s recommendations, or it could pose a fire hazard. Also, you won’t want to choose a less-powerful bulb, as it might not work as efficiently.
Lumens (Brightness)
Arguably a figure that’s more important than watts on light bulb packaging, lumens is crucial. The more lumens a light bulb has, the brighter the light appearance. Fewer lumens directly translate to a dimmer light, which can significantly affect the fixtures in your home.
For example, if you’re on the hunt for track lighting in your basement, you’ll want bulbs with many lumens.
On the other hand, if you have a room that gets plenty of natural light, you can choose bulbs with a lower lumen rating. You’ll often find lumens advertised as “brightness” on standard light bulb packaging, making it easy to point out.
As mentioned, it’s imperative not to confuse wattage for lumens when shopping for light bulbs. This point is particularly true when deciding between incandescent and LED or CFL bulbs. Energy-efficient bulbs often have a considerably lower number of watts but equal or higher lumens than incandescent bulbs.
This difference is because energy-efficient display lights consume less electricity and have fewer watts. However, their light output is considerably higher than with incandescent bulbs. For example, a 40W incandescent lamp or bulb outputs approximately 400 lumens, while a 6W LED bulb offers the same brightness.
Energy Star Rating
Another incredibly common listing on kitchen lights packaging is an Energy Star rating. This unique factoid is essential as it tells you the light bulbs have been verified independently. This guarantees their safety and that they also output the advertised amount of power.
Another massive part of an Energy Star rating ensures that your kitchen lights and display lights are covered by a warranty. Typically, LEDs will come with three years, and CFLs feature at least a two-year warranty. If you’re looking for a way to save money on your home’s lighting, energy savings can help.
You could qualify for a rebate if you purchase Energy Star-rated products in most cases. With rebates, you can lessen the cost of replacing the light bulbs in your home.
Color Rendering Index (CRI)
Special features you might likely see on light bulb packaging are its CRI or color rendering index. The simplest way to explain CRI is to think of when you’ve looked in a mirror and your skin tone appeared different. The coloring rendering index determines how accurately colors are represented in a specific light.
As expected, the CRI is entirely dependent on the light color of a light bulb. For example, a beam of light with a CRI between 60 and 85 is known to be similar to daylight. Like many other features of lighting, CRI is rated on a scale:
Perfect Lighting (True color representation)
- Cool light/cold light/blue light
- Between 90 and 100 CRI
Good (Adequate color representation)
- Warm light/less blue light/good light at night
- Between 60 and 85 CRI
Poor (Least realistic color representation)
- Warmest lights/dim lights/lesser beam of light
- Between 0 and 55 CRI
Warm white and soft white bulbs typically fall on the lesser end of CRI, ranging between 0 and 55. Cool and bright white bulbs are known to be around 60. For lighting that represents color most accurately, daylight bulbs are preferred, and they’re between 65 and 100 CRI.
Life
The final important thing to note on light bulb packaging is their life or lifespan. This figure gives you an approximation of how long the bulbs will last with regular usage. Another difference between incandescent and LED bulbs is that energy-efficient lighting lasts considerably longer.
Life is often expressed in years, and manufacturers will provide information about general usage. For example, a light source could have a lifespan of nine years based on three hours per day usage. This calculation can help you decide what bulbs will last the longest.
A Better Understanding of Light Bulb Terms
It’s easy to learn how to read a light bulb once you know what to look for. Using this guide, you’ll be able to choose the perfect brightness, color temperature, and longest-lasting type of light. You can also have a better idea of the considerable differences between incandescent and energy-efficient bulbs.
