If you’ve ever purchased a light bulb before, you’ve seen the wattage number on the box. Wattage is one of the most commonly quoted lightbulb features, but it is also one of the most misunderstood.
What does wattage mean in lighting?
Wattage refers to the amount of energy that a particular lighting device uses in a given time. This period is usually an hour. Naturally, the inclination is to buy a lightbulb that is the most energy-efficient and consumes the least possible amount of energy. The problem is light bulbs that are more energy efficient do not always put out great quality light.
No matter the location you’re purchasing for, you want to be able to see inside the space. It’s important to balance your energy efficiency with the amount of light emitted. A light bulb with a high wattage value can also produce a large amount of heat and become a fire hazard.
One of the best solutions to this problem is to invest in LED light bulbs. While LED bulbs may cost a little more than others, they are better at balancing the amount of light emitted from its source with the amount of energy it consumes. LED lights can produce high lumen levels with low wattage consumption. For example, LEDs can produce 110 lumens per watt, while incandescent lights only produce 12 to 17 lumens.
When purchasing light bulbs, the most common metric cited is wattage. Because of this, wattage is also highly misunderstood. Wattage refers to the amount of energy a lighting device uses at a given time. For conventional lighting, this may mean that the wattage directly correlates with the amount of light emitted. For LEDs, however, you can get the best of both worlds. You can have bright lights with low wattage, making them energy-efficient and ideal for most applications.
