Output Watts of Compact Fluorescent Vs. Incandescent Lights

Lumens

• Both CFLs and incandescent lights come in a range of lumens. For example, a 60-watt incandescent bulb produces about 900 lumens, while a 100-watt incandescent bulb produces about 1,750 lumens.

Watts

• Incandescent lights use three to four times as many watts as CFLs to produce the same amount of lumens. For example, an incandescent light bulb uses about 75 watts to produce 1,200 lumens, while a CFL uses only 20 watts to produce an identical amount of light.

Efficacy

• The efficacy of a light is measured by dividing the light output, or lumens, by the watts used. For example, an incandescent light that uses 100 watts to emit 1,750 lumens has an efficiency of about 17 lumens per watt. CFLs are much more efficient than incandescent lights.