Thomas Edison's electric light bulb, that is, the incandescent light bulb, has been in existence for over one hundred years. In fact, the availability of electric light changed how residences and various other locations were illuminated in the United States and other parts of the world.
However, the measurement of how brightly the light bulb illuminated tended to be represented on light bulb package labeling in the United States in watts. This labeling practice is changing.
In 2011, the new labeling will state how bright the light bulb will shine when lit in units called lumens instead of watts, as recently disclosed by The Federal Trade Commission of the United States. Watts measure energy usage, and lumens measure brightness.
In the past, with incandescent light bulbs, watts tended to give an indication to consumers of how bright a light bulb would shine. The higher the wattage, the brighter the bulb would illuminate.
Fast forward to modern day, when energy efficient light bulbs, such as the compact fluorescent, consume fewer watts, while providing more lumens than a comparable incandescent light bulb. For example, a typical 60 watt incandescent light bulb provides about 840 lumens. By comparison, an energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulb that consumes 13 watts provides 900 lumens.
Fewer watts are used by the energy efficient compact fluorescent while providing more lumens than the 60 watt incandescent. Therefore, watts is no longer necessarily an accurate measure of how bright a light bulb will shine. Lumens is a more accurate measure of how bright a light bulb will illuminate.
The wattage used by the bulb used to be one factor consumers looked for when shopping for light bulbs in the United States, prior to the availability of energy efficient lighting. Although watts is a well known term and the term lumens is less well known, it too will become a well known term with the pending changes to the labels on light bulb packages.
Evolving are the options for home lighting, as time progresses and technologies advance. As a consequence, the need to provide more accurate labeling of light bulbs has arisen to reflect a more accurate representation of light bulb brightness as well as marketplace changes.
However, the measurement of how brightly the light bulb illuminated tended to be represented on light bulb package labeling in the United States in watts. This labeling practice is changing.
In 2011, the new labeling will state how bright the light bulb will shine when lit in units called lumens instead of watts, as recently disclosed by The Federal Trade Commission of the United States. Watts measure energy usage, and lumens measure brightness.
In the past, with incandescent light bulbs, watts tended to give an indication to consumers of how bright a light bulb would shine. The higher the wattage, the brighter the bulb would illuminate.
Fast forward to modern day, when energy efficient light bulbs, such as the compact fluorescent, consume fewer watts, while providing more lumens than a comparable incandescent light bulb. For example, a typical 60 watt incandescent light bulb provides about 840 lumens. By comparison, an energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulb that consumes 13 watts provides 900 lumens.
Fewer watts are used by the energy efficient compact fluorescent while providing more lumens than the 60 watt incandescent. Therefore, watts is no longer necessarily an accurate measure of how bright a light bulb will shine. Lumens is a more accurate measure of how bright a light bulb will illuminate.
The wattage used by the bulb used to be one factor consumers looked for when shopping for light bulbs in the United States, prior to the availability of energy efficient lighting. Although watts is a well known term and the term lumens is less well known, it too will become a well known term with the pending changes to the labels on light bulb packages.
Evolving are the options for home lighting, as time progresses and technologies advance. As a consequence, the need to provide more accurate labeling of light bulbs has arisen to reflect a more accurate representation of light bulb brightness as well as marketplace changes.
About the Author:
Ben Smith enjoys writing about the home light fixture. He contributes informative articles about home landscape lighting and other types of home lighting to relevant websites.
