Watt vs Lumen

Watts and Lumens are distinct but equally important units of measurement in Lighting. However, sometimes confusion arises between these two concepts. In today's article we will explain the difference, so that you never confuse them again.

For years, knowing the power of a lamp or luminaire was enough to understand its luminous flux. However, more recently and with the constant improvements in the performance of light sources, this process is no longer so simple. In fact, the market trend is towards the creation of increasingly efficient products, with high yields and low energy consumption.

With traditional incandescent light sources, normally, the higher the wattage, the stronger the luminous flux. However, with energy-saving lamps, such as LED technology, it is a little different because there is no specific rule to correlate wattage with luminous flux.

Because currently it is necessary to consider both Watts and Lumens to determine the energy efficiency of a light bulb. Therefore, it is important to understand the difference between Watt and Lumen well when selecting the lighting for your space, in order to avoid surprises in the final result.

Watt
The Watt (w) is the unit of measurement that determines the energy consumption of a light source.

Lumen
The lumen (lm) is the unit that determines the amount of luminous flux emitted by a light source.

Therefore, Watts correspond to the energy consumption of the luminaire and Lumens correspond to the luminous flux of the same luminaire. The objective should always obtain the necessary luminous flux through the lowest possible power (consumption).