Lumens Chart for Light Bulb Conversion

Lumens to Watts

As LED is the predominant choice for light bulbs since they are more energy-efficient than incandescent and CFL (compact fluorescent) options, this LED lumens chart makes comparisons from the brightness in lumens to LED and other common types of light bulbs.

Simply find the type of your bulb choice on the left, and use its wattage to find the corresponding lumen output and then select it’s LED equivalent.

Equally, choose the lumens brightness level on the top row and find the wattage of the new LED bulb you’re considering to make sure it offers an equivalent or better level of brightness compared to the older bulb types.

Accurately Choose Light Bulb Brightness

When shopping for light bulbs, you may have come across the terms “watt” and “lumen.” But what do these terms mean?

A watt (W) is a unit of power that measures how much energy a bulb uses.

A lumen (lm), on the other hand, is a unit of measurement that describes the actual brightness of light coming from a bulb.

So in other words, the watt tells you how much power a bulb uses while the lumen tells you how bright it will be. This is important in this age of LED lighting where light is created in a significantly more efficient way.

Lumens have taken a more central position in the lighting industry since 2010, when the EU ruled that this method is how lighting products should be advertised and sold.

So one of the most important things to look for is the bulb’s lumen rating as the measure of brightness.

Lumens vs Watts

So although wattage is not the most accurate of measurements for brightness anymore, it’s been used for so long as the main way to compare bulbs that the old incandescent watts to lumens comparison is still helpful to visualize the brightness of each lumen level, to aid your comparisons.

Here is a breakdown of traditional watt light bulbs and the amount of light they produce in lumens:

• 40 Watt bulb creates 450 Lumens
• 60 Watt bulb creates 800 Lumens
• 75 Watt bulb creates 1100 Lumens
• 100 Watt bulb creates 1600 Lumens
• 150 Watt bulb creates 2200 Lumens
• 200-300 Watt bulb creates 2800-4800 Lumens
• 500+ Watt bulb creates 6000+ Lumens

Other Light Bulb Qualities to Consider for Brightness

However, lumens are only part of the story, the type of bulb you choose will also affect the look and feel of the light.

The brightness of a light bulb also depends on its color temperature and beam spread.

A colder light (with a higher color temperature) will appear brighter than a warmer light, even if they have the same number of lumens. Similarly, a light with a narrower beam spread will seem brighter than one with a wider beam.

So when you’re shopping for light bulbs, be sure to consider all of these factors in order to find the one that best meets your needs.

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.