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How much light I need ?

Twenty years ago, you’d pick up a light bulb box and see wattage listed – typically 25, 40, 60 or 100 watts. We all knew that a 100-watt incandescent bulb looked brighter than a 25-watt one.

Yet, what we’re seeing isn’t wattage – it’s lumens (wattage is the amount of energy the bulb uses).

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To determine the lumens needed for a room:

 take the square meters of the room and multiply it by 444.

Room measures 5m x 3m= 15sqm

15sqm x 444 = 6,660 lumens

Look for lighting fixtures or light bulbs that produce a total of 6,600 lumens

Here’s a quick guide to lumens needed by room size – although you can use more lumens for work areas like bathrooms and kitchen islands and less for low-light areas like bedrooms:

Size of Room                                          Number of lumens need (can come from more than one light source)

             5sqm                                                                                                                     2200 lumens

           10sqm                                                                                                                     4400 lumens

           20sqm                                                                                                                     8800 lumens

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