{"id":736,"date":"2019-02-04T10:04:27","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T10:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flipswitch.wpengine.com\/fliptheswitch\/?p=736"},"modified":"2019-02-05T19:53:26","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T19:53:26","slug":"what-are-lumens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/what-are-lumens\/","title":{"rendered":"All About Lumens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>All About Lumens | Shop the Look: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/products\/vintage-bulbs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vintage Bulbs<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Understanding lumens allows you to select the right bulb or fixture for any room in your home. With our help, you\u2019ll learn the meaning of lumens, the difference between lumens and watts, how to navigate light bulb labels, the difference between total and delivered lumens, and the meaning of color temperature.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What are Lumens?<\/h2>\n<p>Lumens are a true measure of light output, or the total visible light produced by a light source. The higher a bulb\u2019s lumen rating, the more light it provides. Don\u2019t confuse lumens with candela or footcandles; these values measure light at a single point where lumens measures light output over an area.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Lumens vs Watts<\/h2>\n<p>With the rising popularity of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/led-lighting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LED bulbs and fixtures<\/a>, lumens have replaced watts as the standard measurement of light output. Almost all light bulbs include a wattage rating, which indicates the amount of electricity they consume when they\u2019re on. While watts were a reasonable way to estimate light output with incandescent bulbs, that\u2019s not the case with LED bulbs. The many types of bulbs available such as LED, incandescent, compact fluorescent, and others all have very different performance characteristics. For example,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/products\/led-bulbs\">LED light bulbs<\/a>\u00a0will use far less energy (watts) than incandescent bulbs with the same lumen rating.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The Language of Labels<\/h2>\n<p>Rapid changes in light bulb technology prompted the United States Federal Trade Commission to require standardized labels on most consumer light bulbs. These labels include the following information:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brightness \u2013 the amount of light a bulb produces, measured in lumens.<\/li>\n<li>Estimated Yearly Energy Cost \u2013 how much it costs to keep the bulb on for three hours per day when paying $0.11 per kWh.<\/li>\n<li>Life \u2013 the average service life of the bulb, based on three hours of use per day.<\/li>\n<li>Light Appearance \u2013 the color temperature of the bulb, a measure of how warm or cool the light it produces appears.<\/li>\n<li>Energy Used \u2013 how much power the bulb uses while it\u2019s on, measured in watts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Total Lumens vs Delivered Lumens<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Total Lumens<\/strong>\u00a0account for the absolute light output of a fixture or bulb. While this measurement will give you a general idea of brightness, it can be misleading. With almost any fixture, there will be light lost within the fixture\u2019s shade or area that the fixture will be lighting. This loss of brightness is due to reflection off of the inside of the fixture or even off of surrounding walls and objects. With each reflection, the light output will be reduced before it reaches your workspace or desired surface.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Delivered Lumens<\/strong>,\u00a0or delivered light, measures the useful light that is produced by a fixture. This is the most accurate measure of the brightness you can expect from your light fixture. To find the amount of delivered lumens, the amount of lost light is subtracted from the total lumens, this calculation will vary from fixture to fixture.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Color Temperature<\/h2>\n<p>While most of the values listed on the label are straightforward, color temperature needs a little explanation. Visible light includes many different colors. Color temperature represents the overall hue of the light produced by a light bulb. Low temperatures of 3,000 Kelvin and below, have a warm yellowish or reddish hue, while cool colors with temperatures of 4,100 Kelvin and higher have a bluish tint.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Choosing the Right Light Bulb<\/h2>\n<p>When selecting light bulbs, start by checking your light fixture. You\u2019ll need to know its maximum wattage rating and types of bulbs it can use. Next, consider the surrounding space and how you use it. Choose bright, high-temperature bulbs for work areas such as kitchen counters or offices, and warmer bulbs that create a relaxed mood in living rooms or bedrooms. If the area has multiple uses, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/products\/dimmer-switches\">dimmer switch<\/a>\u00a0that lets you adjust brightness to match current needs may be a good option. Be sure to use a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/products\/all-light-bulbs?SpecialFeatures=BulbDimmable#productList\">dimmable light bulb<\/a>\u00a0in any fixture connected to a dimmer (not all LED bulbs and fixtures are dimmable).<\/p>\n<p>Modern LED light bulbs come in a broad range of types and sizes. Use your new understanding of lumens, watts and color temperature to choose the right replacement light bulb for\u00a0your light fixture.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Connect With Us<\/h2>\n<p>For more lighting and design inspiration, follow us on\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/dlighting\/boards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pinterest<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/destination_lighting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/destinationlighting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All About Lumens | Shop the Look: Vintage Bulbs &nbsp; Understanding lumens allows you to select the right bulb or fixture for any room in your home. With our help, you\u2019ll learn the meaning of lumens, the difference between lumens [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>All About Lumens - Flip The Switch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0Light bulb\u00a0options are no longer solely described by wattage as LED technology allows for more accurate measurements such as lumens and color temperature.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/what-are-lumens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All About Lumens - Flip The Switch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0Light bulb\u00a0options are no longer solely described by wattage as LED technology allows for more accurate measurements such as lumens and color temperature.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/what-are-lumens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Flip The Switch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-04T10:04:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-05T19:53:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/lumens-blog-main-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/\",\"name\":\"Flip The Switch\",\"description\":\"Destination Lighting&#039;s Guide to Lighting &amp; Home Advice\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/what-are-lumens\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/lumens-blog-main-image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.destinationlighting.com\/fliptheswitch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/lumens-blog-main-image.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Luxurious new construction home with combination of modern style and traditional details. 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