How Many Amps Does a Light Bulb Use?

Choosing the right LED light bulb can be a daunting task for many people. You want to make sure you get something that is bright, long lasting, and energy efficient. One question that comes up often when deciding on a new LED light bulb is how much electricity does it use?

This article will answer this question and how to calculate electric current draw when purchasing an LED light bulb for your home or office.

How Many Amps Does a Light Bulb Draw

To fully answer this question, you need to understand a little bit about electricity. When you plug something into the wall, like a lamp, the electricity flows through the wires in the wall and into the object you plugged in. The amount of electricity that flows through the object is called the current, and is measured in amps.

The current used it depends on the bulb or LED fixture being used. Most bulbs use between 0.5 and 2 amps. To find out how many amps your specific bulb uses, check the owner’s manual or look for the information on the packaging.

What is Wattage?

A watt is a measurement of how much power something uses. It can be used for measuring how many amps a bulb will draw when turned on, how many watts the motor in your car’s engine has, or how many kilowatts an entire electric grid produces at any given time.

What is an Amp?

An amp, or ampere, tells how much electric current a power source can provide at that moment. It’s important to know how many amps your device will draw when turned on because it helps you figure out how large of a circuit breaker or how many amps can be safely run through an extension cord.

How Many Amps Does a 60 Watt Bulb Draw

A 60 watt LED light bulb will draw approximately 0.54 amps when turned on.

To calculate electric current draw, use the equation: Current (amps) = Power (watts) / Voltage (volts)

So in this case amps = 60W / 120V = 0.5 amps

Now lets say you’re installing an electric heater into your home or office. You need to find how many amps it will draw when turned on in order to determine how large of a power circuit breaker you’ll need for your home or office’s electrical panel.

To calculate how much an electric heater would pull, multiply the wattage by the voltage (120 volts). So if this particular electric heater draws 1500 watts, it will draw 12.5 amps.

How Many Amps Does a Light Bulb Use?

Almost all lightbulbs have a number on them that tells how much power the bulb needs.

To find out how much current is drawn from an electrical outlet in your house, first divide the wattage of the light or electrical product by the operating voltage.

For example, if a light bulb is 100 watts, then the power consumed (amps) is 100 watts divided by 120 volts, which in this case is 0.83 amps.

Do LED Lights Draw More Amps?

No, LED lights use much less power than traditional incandescent or CFL bulbs, but how much depends on the type of LED bulb and how bright you’re looking for.

So if your main concern is how many amps does a light bulb use, then by using LED there is a significantly lower amperage.

For example, a 40W bulb equivalent uses 5.5W in LED.

• LED Current draw in amps = 5.5W / 120V = 0.05 amps
• Incandescent current draw in amps = 40W / 120V = 0.33 amps

LED therefore uses 15% of the amps compared to a 40W incandescent bulb.

How Many Amps Does a Light Bulb Use at DC Power?

To answer this question, you need to understand a little bit about electricity. When you plug something into the wall, like a lamp, the electricity flows through the wires in the wall and into the object you plugged in. The amount of electricity that flows through the object is called the current, and is measured in amps.

So, how many amps does a light bulb use at DC power? It depends on the bulb. Most bulbs use between 0.5 and 2 amps. To find out how many amps your specific bulb uses, check the owner’s manual or look for the information on the packaging.

Andrew Orange, the owner of Orange Lighting qualified and worked as an interior designer in 1993 before specialising in lighting working on high profile projects based in London. Since starting Orange Lighting Ltd in 2003 he has been sharing his knowledge and unique teaching style mostly to his designer clients, offering practical real life advice born from running a busy consultancy and lighting supply business. Launching in 2020, his blog has evolved into Quick & Easy Lighting, curating some 25 years design experience into making the lighting choice and design process achievable and easy to understand for all.