What Light Bulb Type and How Many Lumens

The room where my piano sits is quite dark even when the ceiling light it is on. When I sit at the piano the light is behind me too, casting even more shadow. So I found a tall flexible lamp I want to sit behind and above the piano, so I can clearly see the sheet music and keys. (It doesn't have a globe in it yet, and is a 'large edison' style fitting.)

I haven't had any experience with halogen, or LED globes. Some brands in Woolworths only list the lumens, with no equivalent incandescent figure quoted. (Equivalent to 40W, 60W, etc.)

Now a 40W incandescent used to be too dull for me as a ceiling light. 60W was ok. 75W was even better, but was sometimes too bright, and I wound up going back to 60W.

I noticed LED globes use several times less power than halogen. So I'm leaning towards LED. Problem is… those dreadful compact fluorescents were always too dull despite what they claimed was the equivalent wattage. And, the LEDs are expensive. So I don't want to buy the wrong one.

How does the light of LEDs compare to incandescents? ie. Is the light duller/same/brighter? And which wattage/lumens should I be getting… what lumens equate to 40W & 60W incandescents - and which one is the correct brightness?

Comments

  • I always get something higher than what I would of used incandescent.

    Get the warm coloured ones.

    I switched all my lights over to LED and haven't had an issue at all with lighting in the house. I did have to do trial and error with the brightness as I found getting what they called equivalent in incandescent was slightly lower brightness than it was on incandescent when you looked at it.

  • I'm running a 1400 lumen 13W LED in our bedroom - I'd say it was around equiv to a 100-110w incandescent or 70-80w halogen.

    This was the brightest LED I could find (Bunnings, Phillips brand $15) that was a standard size. Any brighter and the bulb size increases

    • Yeps that was the problem I had the bulb sizes… I had some fittings that could only take a standard bulb size which restricted the brightness that could be attained.

  • 800 lumen is enough for a small bedroom, but around 1000 is quite nice. LED light bulbs are really not that expensive. Philips is sold by Woolworths and Bunnings, and 1000 lumen bulbs go for around $10. Just be sure to get warm white. You don't want your room to look like a sterile office. IKEA is a good source for high quality LEDs in terms of CRI (colour rendering index).

    Make sure your light fitting is not air tight. That kills LEDs really quickly due to heat.

  • +1

    Why not a smart bulb and set a mood that's right for you - http://www.lifx.com/products/white-800?variant=34132796622

    • I can vouch for this - I bought a lifx smart bulb last week for $30 from ebay deal on ozbargain. Well worth the novelty imo. I use it to light my room (standing lamp). I like the shape of teh physical bulb so much so, taht I don't even use a lamp shade lol - doesn't look too shabby.

      It makes a cool conversation piece when peipkle come over because they notice the unique look of the bulb.

      I can change brightness/colours and from memory, it's 1000 lumens.

      • +1

        I have mine linked to my Amazon Echo so I can voice activate my bedroom light to turn on or set it to a particular brightness. I can even set a time for it to turn off automatically. It does sounds like a novelty but damn it's become convenient.

      • +1

        Always good to have something to talk about when the peipkle come over.

  • You're missing a key point of information… Is the globe recessed into your ceiling? If it is, the light it emits won't be even half as good as a protruding globe.

    Don't go for the nonsense of controllable lights that you will use once every couple of days. You need an LED general light bulb, warm White approx 1000 lumens. That's it. $10-$15.

    • OP wants to use it in a lamp.
      Worth mentioning for others though, as our light fittings are off to the side (rather than downwards) so one side of the room is much brighter than the other

  • Thanks all. I was reading your comments while I was in Bunnings. A guy there boasted he "knows all there is to know about LED globes". (Yeah right - which is why only about 2x dozen times he said: "luminens" instead of "lumens", haha!)

    I was initially going to get one over 1000 lumens. But he suggested a 6W Philips @ $6.95, which was cheaper than Coles & Woolworths. And he said if it's the wrong amount of light just bring it back and swap it. I said how long - a day or two? He said no, up to a few weeks just keep the receipt.

    So if you get globes from Bunnings, make sure they haven't been opened. (The Philips ones at least, have a clear sticker over the top flap of the box. So you'll know if it's been opened.)

    I'll try it out for a few days and decide if it's suitable.

    Thanks again.

  • What's the lowest possible light for an E14? Bunnings can't seem to tell me.

    • +1

      Philips now have e14 hue white ambiance, and colour. You will find cheaper than that somewhere.
      Colour-temperature/dimming only, these cheap and great, appear now to be a discontinued model. If no new model coming, that's a bit unfortunate.
      Light from the e14 Philips filament led bulb is nicely omnidirectional, but may be brighter than you're looking for.

  • Thanks dne we're after a warm white or tone and frosted. Wld the dimmable one fit inside a standard lamp?

    • +1

      All three of those and other candle e14's kicking around are fine for any standard fittings.

      • 👍 and wats the lowest wattage possible?

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