Watt is not lumen

Bet you thought it was supposed to be a question: "What is a lumen?"  or perhaps: "What is not human?"

No it is a very clear and accurate statement. Lumen is derived from the Latin word for light. It is the amount or brightness of a light perceived by the human eye.  Since every eye is different the lumen measure is based on the average of an eye disease free person with 20/20 vision.

Yeah so, this is important because? The new mandated light bulbs may not carry a wattage measure but will carry a lumen measure. So I thought everyone should know what a lumen is.

So how does a lumen relate to watts.  It doesn't.  Watts is the amount of power used.  With incandescent bulbs the more watts  used the more light. But a florescent bulb giving off the same lumen may use only a third as much power. Every type of bulb is different.

Good news. If you want to replace an incandescent bulb with another type and get the same lumen effect, there is a ratio you can use: 16 lumens per watt. This ratio is only good for watts of incandescent bulbs. No, no, no, not lots of incandescent bulbs; watts.

If the incandescent bulb is under 25 watts the ratio is 8 lumens per watt.  So, happy shopping for your new mandated light bulbs.

By the way, the term watt was named for James Watt and his work on steam boats in the early 1800's before electricity was in use.  A watt is the power needed to move 2.2 pounds 3 feet in one second.  Now, convert that into lumen.  You can use anything as the object to be moved. When I consider this mandate I think of moving Bull ___t.

I hope this was illuminating.