Want to Compare LED / Incandescent / Fluorescent

9 years ago

My wife and I are replacing a fluorescent ceiling light in our kitchen. It provides great light (we want the kitchen bright) but looks dated. The existing fixture contains 4 - T12 tubes (40W, 48" long). Fluorescent bulbs like this produce approximately 2,500 lumens each for a total of 10,000 lumens.

The replacement fixtures we are considering typically have E-26 sockets and specify no greater than 60W incandescent bulbs be used in each socket. 60W incandescent bulbs are on the order of 750 lumens each. To get the same amount of light as the fluorescent fixture we'd need 13 - 60W incandescent bulbs to create 10,000 lumens of light. Am I on the right track?

Since LED bulbs are generally much lower power consumption and much less heat generated compared to incandescent bulbs can I simply use fewer LED bulbs with much higher "equivalent" ratings? For example a 100W "equivalent" LED bulb might only be 20W consumption but produces over 1100 lumens. To achieve 10,000 total lumens I only need 9 100W equivalent LED bulbs. Taking that a step further... what about using 150W equivalent LED bulbs? The power consumption is approximately 25W range (still much less than the 60W incandescent) and the lumens is approaching 2000 each. Now I only need 5 LED bulbs to achieve the 10,000 lumens I removed by taking down the fluorescent fixture. Again... am I on the right track?

I guess this comes down to two questions - 1) how do I achieve the 10,000 lumens the fluorescent fixture produced? and 2) can I get there by using LEDs that consume less than 60W each in sockets that are designed for 60W incandescent?

I don't need dimmable. Bulb size can be varied as long as the LEDs have the E-26 base.

Thanks

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Comments (5)

nvestysly
Original Author
9 years ago
After doing some research, going to big-box stores and some trial & error I've decided to go with a new light fixture that has three hanging pendants and utilizes standard E-26 base bulbs. The socket/fixture is rated for 60W on each leg.

I was not able to find 150 watt equivalent CFLs in my local big-box store. They are available via online purchase but not in the store. For now I'm going to install 100 watt equivalent CFLs and upgrade to 150 watt CFLs in a few weeks. The 150 watt equivalent bulbs are 43 watt consumed so I think I'm good for the 60 watt rating on each socket.

I'll post here again after I've completed the installation and had a chance to use both the 100 watt and 150 watt CFLs.
popeye175
9 years ago
We have somewhat the same dilemma, we have 2 large fluorescent box lights on each side of a skylight in the middle of our kitchen that we want to replace, they give lots of needed light to the center Island. I'm wondering if you solved your problem to your satisfaction & what you came up with. We also have a Cathedral ceiling. We are considering replacing them with schoolhouse pendants.

Linda
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nvestysly
Original Author
9 years ago
For now we are using 3 CFL's in our ganged pendent light fixture. Each CFL is 100 watt equivalent and rated at 1650 lumens. The combined 4950 lumens is approximately 1/2 of the old fixture we replaced. We've decided we can get by with that amount of light and it's actually "brighter" than we expected. The CFL's take about 5 minutes when turned on to achieve their full brightness. During that 5 minutes or so they make a slight buzzing sound but the sound disappears when they are fully on.

We tried 3, 150 watt equivalent CFL's and were much happier with the total level of light. Each of those bulbs is 2650 lumens so that brought us up to 7950 lumens which was almost indistinguishable from the 10,000 lumens fixture we replaced. Unfortunately, the 150 watt equivalent CFL's are very large and protruded from the bottom of the hanging pendant globes. If you really want plenty of light the 150 watt equivalent CFL's may meet your needs but a suitably large globe is required to conceal the bulb.
popeye175
9 years ago
Thank you this is very helpful info.
mroche
9 years ago
How big is the kitchen?
If you are willing to do a little more planning work, this is a good guide:
http://ieslightlogic.org/how-much-kitchen-lighting-do-you-need/

Place more light over the counter and a bit less in the general areas to create a nice effect that isn't like a hospital. Personally, I think CFL are really terrible. Not warm, not bright. LED, especially if you keep an eye on light temperature, can kick out a ton of light with 4" cans. And they are relatively cheap.

A 4" LED trim can do 900-1000 lumens.