How to Understand the Lighting Facts Label

Consumers now have a bevy of information available to them when it comes to picking the right light source. That's because of the Lighting Facts label, featuring a high-contrast and streamlined design that is similar to the Nutrition Facts label on food. This label has five different parts that tell you important information about the light source and can help you pick one that saves you money while meeting your needs!

Here's how the label looks:

If you want to know how bright a light is going to be, you need to become friends with lumens because, unlike the watt, lumens are how you measure brightness. (We'll talk about the watt later.)

What are lumens? Lumens are the raw quality of light given off by a light source. Or, to put it a different way, lumens measure a light's brightness. All common electrical sources have a lumen rating, including incandescent, fluorescent and LED sources. Remember it this way: the higher the lumens, the brighter the light.

Here's a cheat sheet you can use to figure out how many lumens you should look for in a light source. In an incandescent bulb, the wattages shown in this chart will provide the following brightness in lumens.

Many light sources in your home fall between the 60 and 100 watt range, which is the 800 to 1600 lumen range.

This estimates how much it will cost you each year to power this light source. The estimation is based off a hypothetical usage of 3 hours a day and an energy cost of 11 cents per kilowatt. You might use this bulb for more or fewer hours a day and your energy cost per kilowatt might be higher or lower because that varies from state to state. Want a more detailed version of this energy cost calculation that you can tailor to your specific needs? Check out the LED Waves Bulb Savings Calculator.

This estimates how long the light source will last before you need to replace it. Like the estimated energy cost, this is also based on a use of 3 hours a day. Once again, your mileage may vary. That being said, LED is the unquestioned winner in this category. LED sources have an estimated life of up to 25 years while incandescent has an estimated life of about a year.

Also known as color temperature, this is measured on a scale of degrees Kelvin, hence the large numbers with the K. 2700K is a warm, yellow-white light. You're used to this already because it's what standard incandescent light sources typically create. As you go up the sliding scale, the numbers grow higher and the color of light grows cooler, meaning it goes from yellow to white to blue. (Fun fact: A cloudy day has a very high color temperature.)

Sometimes it's easier to see these things side by side, so here's an example!

Remember, watts are used to measure energy, not brightness! However, watts are important since you never want to put more watts in a fixture than it can safely handle. Otherwise, you could blow fuses or start a fire. To help find a light source that will save you money on energy and give you an ideal brightness, look for one with the lumens you want and, with that number in mind, find a source with a lower wattage. Alternatives to incandescent sources produce the same amount of lumens (or more!) while using fewer watts to do so, making them more energy-efficient and reducing your energy costs.

Now that you know how to read the Lighting Facts label, your next trip down the light bulb aisle will no longer cause anxiety and confusion. Instead, use your knowledge of the label to enlighten (pardon the pun) others.

If you still have questions, feel free to contact us at 1-866-688-3562 or on social media!

Emma Harger-Young - Lights Online