topic Re: Confused about LED light bulbs in Home

Confused about LED light bulbs

geegerbee — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 04:11:32 GMT

I have a hanging light in the kitchen. I don't know if it takes 60 w or 100w. I read somewhere that if you use an LED light bulb you go by lumens, not watts. So I think I could buy a 100 replacement LED bulb that uses 15 watts and it wouldn't be an overload. I don;t want to start a fire. Also, I looked on the A to Z website and off-brands are pretty cheap. I am leaning towards a name brand like Sylvania or GE rather than some Chinese off-brand. Can use a little advice please.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

Desertdi — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 04:45:12 GMT

All the information is given on the cardboard sleeve of the bulb.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

mrshckynut — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 05:10:11 GMT

@geegerbee we have used many different comparative watts, lumens etc. my husband likes bighter lights and goes by the Kelvin reading number for brightness and never buys the softer lights.

mrshckynut

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

ValuSkr — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 08:38:30 GMT

Yes, buying lights bulbs now is a real adventure compared to ten years ago.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

spabar — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:41:41 GMT

@geegerbee wrote:
I have a hanging light in the kitchen. I don't know if it takes 60 w or 100w. I read somewhere that if you use an LED light bulb you go by lumens, not watts. So I think I could buy a 100 replacement LED bulb that uses 15 watts and it wouldn't be an overload. I don;t want to start a fire. Also, I looked on the A to Z website and off-brands are pretty cheap. I am leaning towards a name brand like Sylvania or GE rather than some Chinese off-brand. Can use a little advice please.

@geegerbee

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

meallen616 — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 10:37:47 GMT

@spabar,

Thank you for the chart!

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

CalminHeart — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:31:21 GMT

LED light bulb packages tell you the equivalent watt. Or you can google the lumens to find the equivalent watts.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

SilleeMee — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:03:03 GMT

Kelvin measures the color (warm to cool). Lumens measures brightness. Usually warmer lights are perceived as being dimmer even though they have the same lumen brightness as cooler lights. So, if you want a warmer light with good brightness then go with a higher lumen (wattage).

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

gardenman — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:34:33 GMT

You don't have to worry about setting a fire by using the wrong wattage with LED bulbs in older fixtures. If the fixture is rated for a 60-watt bulb, they can use up to a sixty-watt LED, which would probably blind you. If your light was bright enough with a 60-watt incandescent bulb, then look for a 60-watt equivalent LED bulb. If it wasn't bright enough, you can safely use a 75-100-watt equivalent LED bulb with no worries. They'll still draw a fraction of the power that a 60-watt incandescent bulb drew, but you'll get a lot more light.

My old kitchen ceiling fan had four bulbs rated at 40-watts and it wasn't all that bright. I replaced them with 60-watt equivalent LED bulbs, and it was great. They still drew a fraction of the power of the old bulbs, but gave a lot more light.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

mrshckynut — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 18:27:36 GMT

@SilleeMee my husband changed our outside flood lights from 3000 kelvin to 6000 with the same lumen rating and the difference in brightness was like going from a 40 watt incandescent to a 200 watt of the same I order them amazon

mrshckynut

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

SilleeMee — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 18:35:20 GMT

@mrshckynut wrote:
@SilleeMee my husband changed our outside flood lights from 3000 kelvin to 6000 with the same lumen rating and the difference in brightness was like going from a 40 watt incandescent to a 200 watt of the same I order them amazon

mrshckynut

@mrshckynut

It's amazing but it goes to show that lumens and kelvins go hand-in-hand when you need a light bulb. You can't just rely on what the watts or the lumens says on the box.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

geegerbee — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 22:08:45 GMT

Thank you Gardenman. That was exactly my question. I can use a 100 watt equivalent LED in a specified 60 watt fixture without a problem. Perfect.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

shoesnbags — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 03:37:17 GMT

Thanks @gardenman - I had wondered about this too.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

debfau — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 04:25:47 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
@mrshckynut wrote:
@SilleeMee my husband changed our outside flood lights from 3000 kelvin to 6000 with the same lumen rating and the difference in brightness was like going from a 40 watt incandescent to a 200 watt of the same I order them amazon

mrshckynut

@mrshckynut
It's amazing but it goes to show that lumens and kelvins go hand-in-hand when you need a light bulb. You can't just rely on what the watts or the lumens says on the box.

Instead of looking at the Kelvins you can also look and see if it's a "daylight" or "soft white" led bulb - daylight are the brighter of the two.

Re: Confused about LED light bulbs

Imaoldhippie — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 11:19:24 GMT

@geegerbee ............I too am confused with the new LED lighting. When I need a bulb I take the dead one to the hardware and ask an employee what I need or I want another like it. It works for me.