Light bulbs uses electricity to produce light. However, many light bulbs are inefficient in that they use a high amount of wattage to produce a low amount of lumens. A lumen measure the amount of light that a light bulb emit.
At the same time, a watt measure the amount of electricity that a light bulb consumes to produce light. When purchasing a light bulb, you should consider the lumens to determine how much light that a bulb will produce rather than the wattage to determine how much electricity the bulb will use. For example, a 60-watt incandescent bulb produce 800 lumens.
How to Choose the Right Light Bulb
However, an LED bulb can produce 800 lumens while using only 8 to 10 watts. Because the LED bulb use fewer watts to produce the same amount of lumens as the incandescent bulb, it is more energy efficient. Using LED bulbs will significantly reduce the electricity cost of a household.
In addition to energy efficiency, you must also consider the color temperature of the bulb. Color temperature determine the appearance of the light that the bulb produces. The Kelvin scale measures color temperature.
Low Kelvin number, such as 2700K, will produce warm light in the room. High Kelvin numbers, such as 4000K, will produce cool light in the room. Warm light is ideal for bedroom, while cool light is ideal for kitchens and offices.
Using bulbs of the wrong color temperature will make the light uncomfortably in the room that utilizes the bulb. Finally, you must also check the shape and the base of the bulb to ensure that it will fit into the existing fixture. The A19 shape of light bulbs is a standard pear shape that will fit into many type of household lamps.
However, if you have recessed lighting in your ceiling, you will likely need to use bulbs with the BR30 shape. Some types of bulbs, such as PAR or GU10 bulbs, are created to emit narrow beam of light. In addition to the shape of the bulb, it is also essential to ensure that the base of the bulb match the base of the fixture that will receive the bulb.
Standard Edison bulb have an E26 base, while smaller E12 bases are used for chandeliers. If you dont make sure that the base and shape of the bulb match the required specification for the fixture, the bulb will not fit into the fixture. Smart bulbs offer many feature that enhance the user experience.
You can control smart bulbs via smartphone app or voice commands. You can use smart bulbs to dim the lights or change the brightness of the lights. While some smart bulbs connect to a central hub to control the lights, most connect directly to Wi-Fi networks.
You can program schedules into smart bulbs so that the lights switch on or off at specific time of the day. Using these schedules, users can save more energy. The efficiency of bulb is based on the amount of lumens produced per watt of energy.
A bulb that produces a large amount of lumens per watt is an efficient bulb. LED bulbs that people deem high in efficiency can last as long as 25,000 hours. These bulb offer the best value for the money over time compared to cheap bulb that do not last as long.
When selecting bulbs, it is essential to consider the lifespan of the bulbs. Bulbs that last longer will ultimately save users money compared to bulbs that need to be replaced more often. Finally, it is also important for users to select bulbs based on the specific need of each area within the home.
For example, bedroom areas may require the use of dimmable warm white bulb to aid users in falling asleep. Kitchen area may require the use of bright flood bulb to assist with food preparation task.