Light Bulb Luminous Efficacy
Luminous efficacy is a measure of how well a light source produces visible light. It is the ratio of luminous flux to power. Luminous flux can be defined as the measure of the perceived power of light. The luminous efficacy of a light bulb is a measure of the efficiency with which the light bulb provides visible light from electricity.
The measure of a light bulb's perceived brightness, the luminous out, using the old Watts standard is not wrong. Brightness is a description of light output, which is measured in lumens. Light bulb brightness described by watts should never have been used in the market. Now manufacturers are producing bulbs that are many times more efficient.
Watts is a measurement of the amount of energy required to product light. The higher the watts the more your electric bill goes up. You want a bulb that produces the brightest possible light using the fewest watts. When purchasing a light bulb, you should be considering the lumens so that you can know exactly how bright the light bulb will be.
Here is a cross-reference based on the light output of old tungsten incandescent light bulb.
- 40-watt incandescent bulb = 450 lumens
- 60-watt incandescent bulb = 800 lumens
- 100-watt incandescent bulb = 1600 lumens
To save energy, find the bulbs with the lumens you need, and then choose the one with the lowest wattage. Tungsten Incandescent Light Bulbs are slightly less efficient than Halogen Light Bulbs. Fluorescent Light Technology is more efficient than incandescent and halogen.
