There was a time when buying light bulbs used to be a much easier task than it is today. Then along came LED, CFL, and light bulbs bent on reducing energy. With this, the good old incandescent started losing their place on our bulb holders. Gone are the days when finding a bulb for your home just meant looking at the wattage on the box. If a bulb was rated 100 watts, you knew it would be 25% brighter than a 75-watt one.

An entirely new rating system is now used and this has been giving shoppers grief for quite a while. At the center of this confusion is the word ‘lumens,’ which appears along its older and more familiar cousin ‘watts.’ Learning about lumens is the price you pay to help keep our planet safe. Don’t worry, though. We will tell you everything you need to know about the new lights rating system.

Lumens are units used to measure how much light a bulb puts out. Watts measure how much electrical power the bulb uses. With incandescent bulbs, the expected brightness pretty much depended on the wattage of the bulb. One lumen is equal to the amount of light given out by a birthday candle.

The idea with energy saver bulbs is to use fewer watts and produce more power. Incandescent bulbs produced by different companies are pretty uniform. On the other hand, energy saver bulbs are so varied, you don’t know if two 50 watt bulbs will be equally bright. This is why CFL and LED bulbs have lumen figures printed on them while incandescent varieties only have wattage.

When you hear “lumen per watt”, think miles per gallon. This is a measure of efficiency. It measures how many lumens of electricity a bulb can produce when using up one watt of electricity. This is the factor that should interest you the most when you are buying light bulbs. The first step is to figure out the brightness you want in lumens. If you want a brighter room, go for a bulb with more lumens. To dim it down, consider a bulb with a smaller lumen rating. Also, find the lumens per watt rating to determine which bulb has the greatest efficiency. Usually, the lumens per watt rating is an average, as bulbs reduce in efficiency with time. The lumen per watt rating is calculated by dividing the brightness in lumens a bulb offers by the number of watts it takes to produce.

Watts can be converted into lumens by multiplying the lumens per watt rating by the brightness.

The Federal Trade Commission now requires a product information summary, called the Lighting Facts label, to be attached to every lighting product. Another label that you should be on the lookout for is the Energy Star mark. The system was created by the Environmental Protection Authority in 1992 to govern the energy consumption of various household and industrial appliances. When it comes to lighting, this mark is put on bulbs that have met a certain lumen per watts threshold. This mark effectively spells impending doom for incandescent bulbs because they do not come anywhere near fulfilling these new efficiency ratings. If you are not into reading the fine prints and making calculations, the Energy Star logo will make your life easier. Look for the label on light bulbs to ensure you are getting a good deal.

The chart below can help to understand the Energy Star system.

This chart is an excellent indicator of how incandescents measure up to energy savers.

Aside from the fact that you have one more bullet in your trivia arsenal, your hunt for light bulbs should now return to the simple task it should be.

By: Sarah Trocolli

Father of electricity Nikola Tesla was known for being brilliant, quirky and driven in his pursuits to understand electricity, and after many experiments, Tesla eventually laid the ground work for the modern day Alternating Current electric supply system. As a tribute to Tesla and all the dads around the world, Mr. Electric® presents a few kid-friendly experiments exploring the basics of electricity for a fun Father’s Day activity. The kids can explore electrons, static electricity, voltaic batteries and other simple components of electricity – all under the safe supervision of their dads.

Level of difficulty: Easy

What you need: A dark room, fluorescent light bulb and a comb or woolen scarf.

What to do: Run the comb through your hair or through the wool scarf at least 20 times to let the electrons build on the comb. Then turn out the lights and hold the comb to the bottom of your florescent light bulb and watch the electrons charge the bulb. This is great for learning about electrons, and it can be a fun magic trick! For further explanation, click here.

Level of difficulty: Easy

What you need: Cornstarch, vegetable oil, mixing bowl, large spoon, balloon, and a measuring cup.

What to do: Blow up the balloon, tie it and then rub it on your hair. Mix a fourth cup of cornstarch and a fourth cup of vegetable oil into a mixing bowl, and then put the mixture on a spoon. Hold the spoon with the mixture on it near the balloon and watch the mixture gravitate towards the balloon. This experiment looks like a gooey monster stretching to touch the balloon, and it is a fun way to learn about static electricity! For further explanation, click here.  

Level of difficulty: Moderate

What you need: Distilled white vinegar, five pieces of copper wire, five galvanized nails, ice tray and one LED light

What to do: Wrap five nails with five pieces of copper wire and place them separately in the ice cube tray filled with vinegar. Create a circuit by placing the end of the copper wire not wrapped around the nail into the ice cube tray next to it until each section has one nail and one copper wire in it, and then place the LED light in the tray. You have just created a Voltaic battery! For further explanation, click here.

Level of difficulty: Challenging

What you need: Eight D-sized batteries, mason jar or other clear glass, electrical tape, pie pan, scissors, toilet paper tube, mechanical pencil refills and two sets of small alligator clips.

What to do: Connect the batteries positive to negative to create train of batteries. Place the toilet paper tube in the center of the pie pan and using electrical tape, attach the alligator clips and mechanical pencil refills to the tube. Place the mason jar/glass over the tube and connect the other end of the clips to the batteries. After the batteries have a few minutes to charge the circuit the mechanical refills will begin to glow and you will have a DIY light bulb. This is a great way to show that household items can be used in an innovative way. Exercise caution, as this experiment exerts heat and can cause the glass to become very warm. For further instruction, click here.

We hope these electrical experiments provide an enjoyable experience for dads and kids to spend quality time together while learning lots and having fun. Thank you to all the fathers who enlighten children and empower the thinkers of tomorrow. Happy Father’s Day from everyone at Mr. Electric!