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Scale of Light Brightness

Do you have the right light bulbs for your property?

You can use light to accentuate a room or areas around your property. However, if the wrong bulb is used, the room can look dull, dark, and even dirty. Why is that?

The eye perceives light differently based on the combinations of light wavelengths. Something that looks bright green in the light of noontime may look darker or more red near sunset, or grayish-black in the twilight hours.

Take a look at the illustrated tables below:

Want to understand how Kelvin impacts light? Check out the animated image below to see how color temperature and lumens affect a room's lighting. Use your cursor to see how light affects the room's color.


Incandescent
Bulb Watts†

  • 100W
  • 75W
  • 60W
  • 40W

Color Temperature Scale**

  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1600
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 1100
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 800
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450
  • 450

**Color temperature measured in Kelvin
†Watts with the equivalent brightness in lumens

Take a look at how the bulb's brightness (lumens) compares to energy consumption (watts).

For each bulb you're installing, consider the following:

How much light (lumens) does this bulb provide?

  • Lumens is the measure of light emitted in all directions from the bulb.
  • The brightness is dependent on the volts supplied to the bulb.

How many volts does this light socket supply?

  • Each light socket should list the voltage requirement for a bulb that it accepts.
  • The volt rating indicates the maximum line voltage for the bulb.

What is the average life of the bulb?

  • The number of hours the average bulb can be expected to last.
  • The number is based on the hours at which 50% of a test group of bulbs fail, when operated at a nominal voltage and current.

What is the CCT of the bulb?

  • CCT means correlated color temperature—the color temperature of the light that is emitted from the bulb expressed in Kelvin.
  • Lower color temperatures (2,000K to 3,000K) emit a warmer, more yellow light while higher color temperatures (>4,000K), a cooler, bluer light.

How much energy (watts) is used by the bulb?

  • This refers to the units of energy that power the bulb only.
  • Wattage does not indicate how much or little light is produced.

What is the CRI of the bulb?

  • The color rendering index (CRI) indicates the bulb's ability to render the correct color of the object.
  • The higher the index, the more correctly the bulb renders the color of an object.
  • A bulb that has a CRI of 100 means that it renders color 100% accurately.

Are you considering upgrading you lighting technology? Learn about the benefits of LED Lighting.