Watts, lumens and why a 9 W LED is not a 9 W bulb

People still buy light by watts, which measured consumption on an incandescent bulb. On an LED it tells you almost nothing about brightness.

Lumens are the output

Lumens measure light produced. As a rough guide for LED replacements: about 450 lm for an old 40 W bulb, 800 lm for 60 W, 1,100 lm for 75 W and 1,600 lm for 100 W. Two 9 W LEDs from different makers can differ noticeably in lumens.

Efficiency is lumens per watt

Dividing lumens by watts tells you how efficient a lamp is. It is the honest way to compare two bulbs at the same price.

Match the base before anything else

B22 bayonet and E27 screw are the two common household bases in India, and they are not interchangeable. Check the base on the page against the fitting you already have — brightness is irrelevant if the bulb will not go in.

Where the figures come from

Wattage, base type and lumen figures on our pages are the supplier’s specification for that item. We list them as given; we do not measure output ourselves.