Brightness – watts or lumens?
The switch from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs has changed the way we measure bulb brightness. Previously, we picked our bulbs based on watts, but as watts are an indication of the bulb’s energy consumption and not the amount of light it emits, we now think of lumens rather than watts. 800 lumens correspond to 60W, which is good for above the kitchen table, while 470 lumens, corresponding to 40W, is preferable by the sofa in the living room.
If you want to know how many watts your LED bulb has, you should be aware that the watts declaration of LED bulbs is different than that of traditional incandescent bulbs. Our rule of thumb is that you should multiply the LED watts declaration by 10, i.e. a 4W LED bulb corresponds to a traditional 40W incandescent bulb. It is important that you do not buy a bulb with a higher watts rating than the lamp is intended for, as this may damage the lamp. However, you can use a bulb with fewer watts than indicated on the lamp.