When is the last time you went into your local home store to pick up a light bulb? Confusing, right? We went from simple incandescent with wattages we understood to a whole new terminology. I decided to dedicate this post to all you who are not engineers and to help you pick out the right light bulb for your home. There is much information on the internet on cost saving tips and whatnot, which is not included in this post as you will see on most packages the savings you gain. In this post, I will focus on the “look†of the light and how to get the proper feel of a light in your room.
Let’s go over a few things first. I picked up this 60 watt bulb replacement; you will notice at the bottom of the package it tells you that it is 800 lumens. Lumens tells you the measure of light output if this number is higher the light will be brighter. Keep in mind, the higher the lumens, the more energy is required. Also, notice on the package it says, “Soft white light,†what does that mean?
Flip the package over and look at the label on the back. In this case, you would see a label similar to this:
The “Light Appearance†shows you a number that is an indicator of how warm or cool the light will be. Here’s a quick chart (Source topbulb.com):
Warm Light is 2700-2800K
Cool Bright Light – 3500-4000K (fluorescent lights are cool white)
Daylight – 5000-6500K
The light described as “warm†is yellowish; whereas “cool†describes a blueish look, and there are varying ranges in-between. Some labels will also include a Color Rendering Index (or CRI.) This number, when supplied, is not the same as the temperature of the light. It is a number on a scale of 0-100% and describes how a light makes the color of an object appear to the human eye and the slight color variations.
If you need a bulb that dims, double check the package! It will clearly state if it is dimmable or not! Here is a chart on Wattage and Lumens, if you want to replace your old incandescent light bulb with a new bulb check out this chart for a summary (Source Consumer.ftc.gov):
| Watts | Lumens |
| 150W | 2600 Lumens |
| 100W | 1600 Lumens |
| 75W | 1100 Lumens |
| 60W | 800 Lumens |
| 40W | 450 Lumens |
| 25W | 250 Lumens |
Note:Â If you have CFL bulbs (Compact Fluorescent Light) that you want to replace, they contain mercury, and you will not want to dispose of them in your trash. Most home stores such as Home Depot and Lowes accept such items. For a location to recycle CFL bulbs go to search.earth911.com for help. If you drop and break a CFL bulb, you will want to be careful as you clean it up. Click here to view a video on the best way to handle a dropped CFL bulb.
For further reference:
If you are unhappy with the look and feel of a room, it may be more than the light that is not settling right with you, it may be the paint color of the room. If you need help with a color consultation or room redesign, call 610.955.8202 and make an appointment with Debbie!
By Debbie Correale, founder and owner of Redesign Right, LLC. You can learn more about her at www.RedesignRight.com. Find her on Facebook.com/RedesignRight, Twitter @RedesignRight, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Houzz and Google+.