Home Lighting - Upcoming Changes to Bulb Labeling

The incandescent light bulb invented by Thomas Edison, has been used for over one century. His electric light bulb changed how homes and other locations were illuminated worldwide. In the United States, watts has tended to be the unit of measurement printed on light bulb labels to represent how bright the bulb shines when lit. However, the label information that will be provided on light bulb packaging is being modified.

In the year 2011, light bulb labeling packaging will represent how bright the light bulb shines when lit in lumens instead of watts, as reported by The United States Federal Trade Commission. To clarify, watts is a measure of energy usage and lumens is a measure of brightness. In the past, with incandescent light bulbs, watts tended to give an indication to consumers of how bright a light bulb would shine. The higher the wattage, the brighter the bulb would illuminate.

Fast forward to modern day, when energy efficient light bulbs, such as the compact fluorescent, consume fewer watts, while providing more lumens than a comparable incandescent light bulb. For example, a typical 60 watt incandescent light bulb provides about 840 lumens. By comparison, an energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulb that consumes 13 watts provides 900 lumens. Fewer watts are used by the energy efficient compact fluorescent while providing more lumens than the 60 watt incandescent. Therefore, watts is no longer necessarily an accurate measure of how bright a light bulb will shine. Lumens is a more accurate measure of how bright a light bulb will illuminate.

Many consumers who have shopped for light bulbs in the United States will agree that prior to energy efficient lighting, one factor they considered when shopping for light bulbs was the watts used by the bulb. While the term lumens is less familiar to many consumers, with the upcoming changes to light bulb label packaging, lumens will become as familiar a household term as watts.

Indeed, as time progresses and lighting technologies change, so do the options for home lighting. As a consequence, the packaging labels for light bulbs will reflect a better measure of bulb illumination as well as reflect the light bulb marketplace, as it evolves.

Ben Smith enjoys writing about home lighting. He contributes informative articles about lighting home interiors and exteriors to relevant websites.