How bright is 550 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.
550 lumens means the light has the intensity of 550 lumens of light.
When you are looking for how bright a certain light bulb will be, whether it is LED, CFL or incandescent – the number of lumens is what you need to use as your comparison.
Lumens is the unit measurement of brightness, with 1 lumen (lm) equalling the brightness of 1 candle, so 550 lumens has the brightness of 550 candles.
550lm is a good level of light for general residential LED lighting. It’s suitable for recessed lighting, downlighting, up lighting, in table lights, spotlights and within pendants.
FREE Cheat Sheet to Discover How Bright Your Light Should Be |
Download this FREE printable cheat sheet to pin-point the amount of lumens you need for your lighting choices. |
Click Here for FREE Cheat Sheet |
BEST BUY |
The brightness of a 550 lumen LED bulb is in the highest region of light output for GU10 LED lamps. It provides a bright light and can be used in recessed lighting for most general lighting needs around the home.
A 550 lumen spotlight’s brightness relies on how the light is delivered. The most efficient delivery and, therefore, brightest spotlight comes from an integral LED or LED bulb. This option offers a high light output that can be used to focus light on specific areas both inside and out of doors.
A 550 lumen flashlight is great for illumination both indoors and outdoors, particularly suitable for outdoor walking, fishing, hunting and for keeping in your car ready for emergencies.
As with all lighting, the wider the beam of a light the less intense the illumination will be and therefore feel less bright and not travel so far. The narrower the beam the more concentrated the light will be and at its midpoint can feel brighter.
The brightness of an 550 lumen torch (British for flashlight) is the power of light of 550 candles. This level is regarded as a medium level of output for a torch and suitable for most indoor and outdoor tasks.
The brightness of a 550 lumen bike light is a decent level of cycle headlight and suitable for cycling in lit and unlit areas. Commuting cyclists will benefit from this brightness level particularly with that amount of light concentrated through a focused beam angle. It is also a good level of light for running with or walking the dog at night.
To compare how much light you get with different lumens levels, imagine a one by one meter room. If the room has a light bulb which emits 550 lumens then it can illuminate that area to roughly 55 lux (depending on the reflectivity of surfaces in the room).
As the lumen measurement of brightness is still relatively new on product packaging, there is an unfamiliarity with what an impressive lumen count is, so a comparison can be helpful.
Compared with an incandescent standard 40-watt (470 lumen) incandescent bulb, 550 lumens is brighter with an increase of 17% more output.
550 lumens of LED light can feel brighter than other technologies as it is directional and very efficiently delivers light compared to most other light sources. This amount of light is distributed with minimal wastage and therefore generally creates a brighter intensity on a surface than compared to other technologies.
The visual impression of brightness will differ in looks according to its color temperature, using the same amount of light.
LED light with a cool white color temperature of between 4000K to 7000K will feel brighter when compared to the warmer yellowish tones of warm white and soft white between 3500K and 2700K.
The distance light will travel depends on how the light is being delivered, particularly the beam angle of the light and it’s intensity. The more compactly the lumens are delivered the further the distance will be.
For example, a flashlight with 550 lumens with a tight beam angle has a peak illumination of 35,000 candela delivering light up to around 363 metres at no less than 0.25 lux. (using throw = SQRT (candela * 4)
For reading purposes a light of around 550 lumens directly onto a page is probably too bright if the reading light is positioned close but it will depend on how far away the light source is from the book. Around 400 lumens is the ideal output for a bedside reading light.
For an average sized room in your home, anything up to around 550 lumens is not going to feel bright enough as a good general level of light, but rather the required output to be repeated multiple times at various heights in and varying lighting products.
We have more on How Much Lighting Do I Need for A Room?
Confused When Choosing Where Light Should Be? |
Anyone can improve their lit spaces with our simplified online lighting design course that uses the 5 key ingredients of interior lighting to quickly equip you to create wonderful interiors. |
Click Here to Learn More |
Lighting Design Course #1 |
A 550 lumen head lamp is a good level of brightness for outdoor activities such as camping and hiking. This level of output provides an effective illumination balanced to be bright enough and remain efficient in power consumption for longer lasting rechargeable battery life.
A 550 lumen projector is regarded as a mini projector size or pocket projector, bright enough for most business presentations and will provide a clear image on screens or walls in well lit rooms. In dark rooms, the output may appear dimmer due to light being absorbed.
Solar lights are becoming more popular as they are a great way to light up the garden without running any electrical cables. A 550 lumens solar light is one of the brighter types available and will provide good illumination for lighting paths or features in gardens.
An 550 lumen LED downlight is a good level of light bright enough for most homes and regarded as the average recessed light output providing a good general beam of light. This level of output is recommended up to ceiling heights of 9ft high.
550 lm requires approximately 10 watts of power when using LED as the light source.
When considering the conversion of lumens to watts you need to consider the type of bulb or light source you are using. The greater the efficiency of energy spent (Watts) to create the light (lumens) the less power will be used and therefore a lower wattage as the result.
Brightness in LUMENS | 220+ lumens | 400+ lumens | 700+ lumens | 900+ lumens | 1300+ lumens |
LED | 4W | 6W | 10W | 13W | 18W |
CFL | 6W | 9W | 12W | 15W | 20W |
HALOGEN | 18W | 28W | 42W | 53W | 70W |
INCANDESENT | 25W | 40W | 60W | 75W | 100W |
Lumen to watt comparison chart for LED, CFL, Halogen & Incandescent lamps
Useful comparative measurements often asked:
Lux can only be measured by knowing the distance and the area the lumens have to travel to.
550 lumens is 550 candles.
550 lumens to kelvin cannot be calculated. A degree of kelvin is the unit of measurement for color temperature and not brightness. 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 550lm would be less than 550 candela with the candela only quantified if the angle of beam width is known.
Testing commonly used brightness levels of LED bulb by color accuracy, color saturation and dimming performance, are the top priorities to consider.
Estimate a chandelier size following a simple proportion rule to the size of your room, factoring in chandelier height with positioning tips.
Are you unsure about the various colours of LED lights? We explain the differences & make comparisons to help you determine which one is suited for your needs.
The best headlamp for fishing is lightweight, comfortable, robust with variable outputs. We compared dozens & received expert advice to choose our top picks.
Easily learn to calculate how many lights can go on a 20 amp circuit by a step by step guide to the circuit capacity with your chosen lighting products.
Airlines use LED lighting within plane interiors, so LED is safe to use and can be taken on. However, there are rules about how LED lighting may be used.
LED lights are safe to use all night, we explore why, looking at the pros and cons of all night illumination with tips on using LED as the source of light.
Troubleshoot your LED light fixture with 15 reasons why your LED light is not working but still has power, checking bulb components, fixtures and conditions.
Comparing the key projector brightness measurement differences, where 1 ANSI lumen = 0.8 ISO lumens, we explain which one is more important.
LED lighting has proven to be the best light source for the environment and your budget, creating lower bills due to it’s radical efficiencies wide adoption.