How bright is 5 lumens? Just what is that level of light good for? We give you real-life applications and comparisons to help you understand what levels of brightness certain quantities of lumens will deliver.
Table of Contents
A Lumen is a measure of the total amount of light emitted from a source.
5 lumens means the light has an intensity of 5 lumens of light.
When you are looking for how bright a certain light bulb or lighting product is, the number of lumens is what you need to use as your comparison.
Lumens is the unit measurement of brightness, with 1 lumen equalling the brightness of 1 candle, so 5 lumens have the brightness of 5 candles.
5 Lumens is a very low level of light. It’s suitable for night lights and marking a change of floor level or edges of paths, decks or walls.
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5 lumen solar lights are typical for waymarking lighting purposes. It can be used to light up your driveway, walkway, and steps with a gentle low level of light.
The brightness of a flashlight is rated in lumens. A standard flashlight will have around 20 to 50 lumens.
For general use, a torch with 400-600 lumens should be bright enough, so in contrast, 5 lumens is therefore very low.
The brightness of a 5 lumen torch (UK for flashlight) is the power of the light of 5 candles. This level is regarded as a low level of torch suitable for tasks where the throw of light will be just a few feet and deliberately discrete and subtle.
We have more on How Many Lumens Are Good for a Flashlight.
To compare how much light you get with different lumens levels, imagine a one-by-one meter room. If the room has an incandescent bulb that emits 5 lumens then it can illuminate that area to roughly 0.5 lux (depending on the reflectivity of surfaces in the room).
5 lumens is a low level of light but it can still be useful for accent lighting.
LED light with a cool white color temperature of 4000K to 6500K will feel brighter when compared to the warmer yellowish tones of warm white 3000K or soft white 2700K, using the same amount of light.
LED light is directional and efficiently delivers light compared to most other light sources with a less unwanted light spill. This amount of light is distributed with minimal wastage and therefore generally creates a brighter intensity on a surface than compared other technologies.
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A 5 lumens keychain light is a small, handy flashlight that can be easily carried with you for general tasks or emergencies. It is bright enough to light up a small area and can be kept on your keychain for convenience.
A 5 lumen book light is designed to let you read in the dark without disturbing others or using much power. It can be clipped onto the pages of your book and often has an adjustable neck so that you can position it just where you need it
These are great for decoration, providing a subtle and safe light in areas where candles might not be appropriate. They can also last for a very long time on a single battery.
A LED penlight with 5 lumens has a low level of light output making it good for very close-up work only, like looking at something in a dark corner or under the couch.
5 lumens is a typical level of brightness for a night light. It is low enough not to disturb sleep but bright enough to prevent you from stubbing your toe in the dark!
5 lumens marker lights are used as an auxiliary light to help indicate the location of something in the dark. For example, they can be used on the side of a boat or caravan to make it more visible at night.
With 5 lumens, a decking light can provide enough light to see your way around the garden while entertaining guests or relaxing outdoors in the evening.
To sum up, 5 lumens is a low level of brightness that still has many uses. It is perfect for accent lighting or for tasks that don’t require a lot of light. It is also very energy-efficient, making it a great choice for solar lights or other battery-powered devices.
5 lumens to watts is a 1W LED light source.
To convert 5 lumens to watts you need to consider the type of light source being used as the greater the efficiency the higher the lumen level created per watt of power used.
Although wattages are often used when describing how bright a bulb is, lumens are a better measurement. For example, an incandescent light bulb will emit around 15 lumens per watt while a fluorescent lamp can reach up to 50 lumens per watt.
Useful comparative measurements often asked:
Lux can only be measured by knowing the distance and the area the lumens have to travel to.
5 lumens is 5 candlepower.
The degree of kelvin is the unit of measurement for color temperature, therefore there is no direct comparison between kelvin to the lumen. However, an impression of brightness will increase with a high degree of kelvin as the light seems colder and brighter to the viewer.
Lumens and Candela. Lumens is the total amount of light from a fixture. Candela is how much of that light from a fixture shines in one direction. So 5 lm would be less than 5 candela with the candela only quantified if the angle of beam width is known.
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