Light bulb labels: let's learn to read them

Do you want to replace your old halogen bulbs with new LED bulbs, but don't know which ones to buy? In this article, we will explain how to read the LED bulb label to avoid the classic errors, such as a color of light that is not suited to the environment, little brightness or incompatible attack.

Lumens and watts

To begin with, Lumen and Watt are not the same things. What is wattage? It is the amount of energy consumed by the lamp and unlike the old halogen bulbs, the LED ones consume much less.

Instead of the lumens are the unit of measurement of the intensity of the light beam, if from the Watts we know the energy consumption of a lamp, from the lumens we deduce the quantity of light that is emitted by the bulb and we, therefore, have a more precise indication of what waiting for us.

The greater the number of lumens, the greater the brightness of the bulb.

The different types of attacks

There are many different attacks and they are one of the most frightening indices during the purchase. But fear, not the most common are only 8:

·        E27 connection: it is the most common and often defined as a large connection, suitable for 230V.

·        Socket E14: Smaller than the previous one is always suitable for 230V.

·        GU10 connection: also known as PIN, two-pin connection. It is an attachment generally used for spotlights and is suitable for 230V. The 10 mm distant feet are inserted into the holes of the spotlight and the installation is done by slightly turning the light element.

·        Attack GU5.3: it is a two-pin connection mainly used for light bulbs that must be installed in bathrooms, kitchens or outdoors, because it is suitable for 12V (voltage that allows greater safety in wet areas); for this reason, it requires the use of a transformer.

·        G4 connection: similar to GU5.3 it is generally used for decorative lighting always at 12V

·        Connection G9: The G9 connection has two PINs placed at a distance of 9 mm. This type of attachment is usually used for a small wall or ceiling lamps.

·        Attack GX53: Another two PIN connection, but being flatter it is mainly used for spotlights and shallow ceiling lights and is suitable for 230V.

·        Attack G53: Used exclusively in large spotlights and recessed spotlights.

Kelvin and color temperature

The color temperature of a light bulb is indicated in Kelvin (K) and this value is certainly one of the most important, because it allows you to choose exactly the color of light you want.

The higher the number of Kelvins, the cooler and bluer the light, on the contrary, the lower the number of Kelvins, the warmer and more yellowish the light will be.

It is possible to choose between 4 different shades of color based on the use we will make of them:

·        Warm light (2200-2700k)

·        Warm white (3000-3500k)

·        Neutral white (4000-4500k)

·        Cold white (5000-6500k)

Ignition cycles and duration

These two values ​​give you important information about the life of a light bulb. The ignition cycles are usually indicated in the label with “On / off, while the estimated life indicates the hours of use possible.

Color rendering of a light bulb

The color rendering of a light bulb reported as IRC or Ra, or in English as CRI (Color Rendering Index) allows you to deduce how much a light source is able to make colors appear naturally. It is indicated with a value between 0 and 100, the higher the value the better the color rendering will be; generally, it should be at least 80 for the lamp to be considered of good quality.