How many lumens do I need?
Below is a quick equation to help you figure out how many lumens you may need to illuminate your room.
What are lumens?
Lumens are the unit used to measure a bulb’s brightness, whether it’s LED, halogen, fluorescent etc. In the past we relied on wattage to tell us this.
However, as LED lights became more commonplace, wattage was no longer suitable as a measurement. It doesn’t indicate how bright the light will be—instead, it’s a measure of how much electricity a bulb consumes.
LEDs have become popular because they provide brightness for less wattage. For example, a 5w LED will produce the same lumens as a 40w CFL bulb.
When looking for LED brightness, consider the lumens, not the wattage.
The equation
Room square footage X room type (foot candle recommendation)
Calculating how much light you need per room requires two figures:
- Number of foot candles needed
- The square footage of the room
What are foot candles?
Each room of your house needs different levels of brightness and a different number of foot candles. The table below shows the recommended number of foot candles per room:
Room |
Recommended number of foot candles |
---|---|
Living room |
10–20 |
Kitchen |
30–40 |
Dining room |
30–40 |
Bedroom |
10–20 |
Bathroom |
70–80 |
Hallway |
5–10 |
NOTE: These foot candle recommendations are for general use. They don’t account for areas that need more light, such as dining-room tables, cookers etc.
If your room has dark walls or furniture, you’ll need lighting with more lumens.
How to measure the square footage of a room
Square footage is a standard way to measure a room. To figure out a room’s square footage, multiply the length of the room by its width.
For example, if a room is 10 foot long and 10 foot wide, the room’s square footage will be 100 square feet.