How to Pick the Best Light Bulb for Every Room

Lighting in our rooms is not just for decor. It actually has an impact on our brain activity and our mental status.

Candle light brings romantic emotions instantly!

While low intensity light makes you feel relaxed and strong light makes you mentally active.

So how to choose between all these types of lamps?

And what is the difference between brightness and color warmth?

Lighting function

• General or ambient lighting acts as the overall lighting of a room. It covers all of the room. You can use chandeliers, pendants or track lighting to create your ambient light.
• Task lighting lights up a work or reading area. This lighting should be  brighter than your ambient lighting, so it is focused on your working area like desk lamps. But pendants and chandeliers can be task lighting too.
• Accent lighting focuses on a specific area, like a work of art or sculpture creating shadows around the object for an artistic effect.

What is light appearance?

you want to consider the color temperature of the light, as it varies between cool to warm tones.

The warmth is measured in kelvin.

Color warmth ranges from around 1,000 to 10,000, and the lower the Kelvin, the warmer the light.

a candle gives off 1,900K, while a blue sky is 10,000K.

What is the best light warmth for each room?

Warm light tends to be cozier, and cool light bulbs are usually better at task lighting.

You want the light to mimic daylight when getting dressed and when applying makeup.

We recommend the following warmths in each room:

• Kitchens: 4,100K
• Bathrooms: 4,100K
• Bedrooms: 2,700K
• Living Room: 2,700K
• Dining Room: 2,700K

What about light brightness?

Lumen measures brightness, bulbs with higher lumens give off more light. 

Lumens are not the same as watts as we used to think.

Watt measures how much energy a light bulb consumes.

A light bulb can have a high watt and still not bright enough.

When it comes to brightness, it usually depends on your preference but here is a general recommendation for the required lumens for every room:

• Kitchens: 6,000–10,000 lumens
• Bathrooms: 5,000–8,000 lumens
• Bedrooms: 3,000–4,000 lumens
• Living Room: 2,000–4,000 lumens
• Dining Room: 3,000–6,000 lumens

Choose the right bulbs

Now you know what is the light appearance and brightness, and now it is time to pick the bulb.

There are four types of light bulbs:

incandescent: 

• They consume so much energy.
• They give a nice warm light.
• They get very hot.
• They are very cheap.

• Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs): 

• They use 75 % less energy than an incandescent bulb.
• They last longer.
• you can find them in a range of brightness levels and temperatures.
• They contain mercury, so you have to be careful handling them.

• Halogen

• These give off a bright light, close to natural daylight.
• They consume 10-20% less energy than tungsten bulbs.

• LEDs: 

• They can last up to three times longer than fluorescent bulbs. 
• they’re energy efficient.
•  they’re less hot to the touch.
• They are available in a range of brightness levels and temperatures.
•  For these benefits, they are also expensive.

Now the next time you go shopping for light bulbs, you won’t be so confused. I hope this blog is a help.