Light output (Lumen, Power and Lux)
At Ledpanelwholesale you will find product descriptions for each product with specifications for the respective product. In the specifications we find the term 'Lumen' with a related value. For a professional, this must be a familiar term. In this blog we explain what Lumen is, and how this value can best be interpreted.
What is Lumen? (Luminous intensity or luminous flux)
With Lumen we indicate the light intensity, or light output, of a light. It indicates how bright a light is by measuring how much visible light it emits in all directions. In short, the number of lumens indicates how much light a lamp can produce per unit of time.
Lumen and Power? (Luminous efficiency or Specific Luminous Flux)
The number of lumens that a light emits is always related to the power of the light. The power of a light source is measured in Watts. A light with a higher wattage usually gives more light than a light with a lower wattage. However, this is not always the case. Some lights are more efficient with the current they get than others. For example, a light with a power of 5 Watt can produce more light than a light bulb with a power of 6 Watt. This is called the Specific Luminous Flux or Luminous Efficiency. This indicates how efficiently the light converts power into light. For this reason, we refer to luminous flux as Lumen per watt (Lm/W). So some lights are more efficient with their energy than others. A light with a higher Lumen per Watt will produce more light at the same output.
What is Lux? (Illuminance)
Now we know that the number of lumens of a light indicates how much light it produces and the higher the luminous flux is, the higher the light output is at the same wattage. So how do you find out how high the light intensity should be in your project? The illuminance of a surface is expressed in Lux. The amount of light that reaches a surface. Lux is in fact the number of Lumen that falls on a square meter (m2). To ideally illuminate a room, you must therefore take into account the surface area of the room or surface area on which you want the light to shine.
If a light produces 1000 lumen and emits its light over 1m2, the illuminance is 1000 Lux. There are 1000 Lumens shining within a square meter.
If the same light of 1000 Lumen illuminates an area of 10m2, the illuminance is 100 Lux. In this case, we divide the number of lumens by the area it illuminates.
Lumen / m2 = Lux (illuminance)
How much Lux do I need?
Now that we understand the numbers behind the illuminance, we need to know how much Lux is enough to illuminate a certain area optimally. Some surfaces need to be illuminated better than others. Think of the kitchen countertop, for example. Here, food is cut with precision. It's important here that we see what we're doing to prevent accidents when we don't see what we're doing.
We explain what illuminance you need per room or surface In the blogpost below.
