Lumens, NOT Watts

I saw this in the news.
I wonder if this is ALL bulbs? or just flouros and incandescents?

I saw examples of the new labels, and they show a slide scale of 2700k and up.

I also saw that in 2012, incandescent sales will be out-lawed totally.



Coming in 2011: New Labels for Light Bulb Packaging


Lumens and Kelvins, and NOT Watts!

Labels Will Emphasize Lumens, Not Watts, as a Measure of Bulb Brightness
Starting in mid-2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced today, consumers shopping for light bulbs will notice new labeling on packaging designed to help them choose among the different types of bulbs on the market – traditional incandescent bulbs, and newer high-efficiency compact fluorescent (CFL) and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The new labels will enable consumers to save money by selecting the most efficient bulbs that best fit their lighting needs.

Under direction from Congress to re-examine the current labels, the FTC is announcing a final rule that will require the new labels on light bulb packages. For the first time, the label on the front of the package will emphasize the bulbs’ brightness as measured in lumens, rather than a measurement of watts. The new front-of-package labels also will include the estimated yearly energy cost for the particular type of bulb.

While watt measurements are familiar to consumers and have been featured on the front of light bulb packages for decades, watts are a measurement of energy use, not brightness. As a result, reliance on watt measurements alone make it difficult for consumers to compare traditional incandescent bulbs to more efficient bulbs, such as compact fluorescents. A compact fluorescent bulb may be able to produce the same amount of brightness as a traditional incandescent bulb, while using significantly less energy, or watts. New energy standards mandated by Congress will effectively phase out traditional low-efficiency incandescent bulbs from the U.S. market over the next few years. The new labels that focus on brightness in lumens will help consumers make purchasing decisions as they transition to more energy-efficient types of bulbs.

Under the new rule, the back of each package of light bulbs will have a “Lighting Facts” label modeled after the “Nutrition Facts” label that is currently on food packages. The Lighting Facts label will provide information about:

brightness;
energy cost;
the bulb’s life expectancy;
kelvins;
light appearance (for example, if the bulb provides “warm” or “cool” light);
wattage (the amount of energy the bulb uses); and
whether the bulb contains mercury.
The bulb’s brightness, measured in lumens, and a disclosure for bulbs containing mercury, also will be printed on each bulb.
 
light_bulb1.jpg


the new bulb label.
 
Agreed. Only thing is buying online atm most places don't seem to give a lot of detail... some because they're selling khak bulbs amd don't want you to know exactly how khak they are :p

Have decided to buy all my kit for cash from the shop, and will hopefully be able to do some label checking there :)
 
Will speed up my trips to the store when buying new bulbs...so frustrating when there is no lumen or kelvin info on the box.....

It's about time.
 
So I went to Wal-Mart today to look at the CFLs they have for sale. OMG...I'm so happy they are changing the labels. I can't believe how confusing their labels are currently. Most of the GE CFL bulbs didn't mention if they were warm, cool, or daylight. If they did mention it then they didn't mention the Lumen output.

:lot-o-toke:

Can you tell me if I should be looking for a soft light/ warm light, cool light, or daylight CFLs for clones? I was thinking the warm lights would produce too much heat, the cool light produces less heat, and the daylight CFL has higher color spectrum. I do have a Plant Heat Mat that I also intend to use.

Also, how many Lumens per sq ft do clones need? Thanks in advance for any input.
 
I believe you would need daylight but having some warm in there wont hurt. You could also use a T5 or T8 If you wished to. Many more people use them for clones.
 
Thank you Myzz617 for the reply.

I think I will use a mix of daylight and warm CFLs to get the full color spectrum. I think CFLs are more engery efficient than the T5s or T8s. I plan to use my 600 Watt MH bulb for vegetation so I don't think it will be a problem using the CFLs for clones. Thanks for the input!
 
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