Finding the right LED light bulbs to match our old Incandescent Bulbs

For over 100 years, the incandescent light bulb has performed brilliantly, lighting the world’s night more beautifully, efficiently, and cheaply than any other light human beings had devised over the millennia to that point. However, the Incandescent Age is very near its close, now, as more efficient products, especially LED light bulbs, have come of age. As of this New Year, the US government has completed the ban of the common incandescent bulb types, from 40 watts (W) to 100 W, exempting only certain speciality incandescent bulbs. So, how to choose the right LED light bulb? For all our lives we have chosen lights according to the wattage (40W, 60W, etc.); but LED light bulbs to use only a fraction of the electrical power to produce the same amount of light. Probably the most common household light bulb was the 60W, producing about 8-900 lumens a commonly used light measurement). 60W LED light bulbs, by comparison, produce over 4,000 lumens, far too powerful to use inside a home, and usually found only in warehouses and other commercial settings. The correct LED bulb to replace a 60W incandescent would use about 10W. Fortunately, LED manufacturers are aware of the confusion. Most LED light bulb packaging prominently displays the incandescent wattage equivalent (i.e. 40W Equivalent, or abbreviated, 40W EQ) along with the number of watts the LED lights actual use. So, for now, the old terminology works just fine. For the future, and especially for the many LED light types that have no direct incandescent equivalent (like LED flexible strip or modules), it’s worth learning how the lights compare. The best way is to think of the lights in terms of lumens. Lumen output is often listed right on the box, and theLEDlight.com lists lumen output in a light’s specifications whenever possible. Below is a simple chart, showing incandescent bulbs according to their familiar number of watts, the average lumen output, and the power consumption of an equivalent LED medium base bulb. o 40 W Incandescent; 450 lumens; 4-5W LED o 60 W Incandescent; 800 lumens; 7-12W LED o 75 W Incandescent; 1100 lumens; 10-19W LED o 100 W Incandescent; 1600 lumens; 18-24W LED o 150W Incandescent; 2200 lumens; 25-30W LED. We now have a medium base LED bulb this bright! So, let’s bid a fond farewell to a good and faithful servant, that illuminated a century filled with amazing advances; and give heartfelt thanks for a light vastly superior to candles and kerosene. Then, say hello to LED light bulbs. Edison’s Marvel really does have a worthy successor.