The only way to finish your remodeling project ideally is to install the ideal lighting into your bathrooms. For this, you should know the right lumens for your bathroom vanity light.
Most bathrooms are in areas with no interference of any daylight or natural lightning. You need proper lighting with the correct brightness to perform the task precisely since having the right vanity lights could be beneficial in many ways. You will have a perfect grooming experience and feel comfortable and peaceful in your bathrooms.
Bathroom vanity lighting has a different purpose than ambient and general lighting. It should be perfect for brightening up the vanity area. Once you know exactly how many lumens you need in your bathroom vanity, it is easy to buy the right lights. This article will discuss some essential points to consider for achieving the correct number of lumens for your bathroom vanity lights.
What do lumens mean?
The lumens are the measuring units of a bulb’s visible light. The more significant number of lumens means the brighter the bulb, and the lower number of lumens mean the dimmer the bulb. Just as watts measure how much energy you will get, lumens measure the brightness produced by a light bulb.
So when you buy light bulbs, you need to focus on the number of lumens a light bulb can produce. Unlike the traditional way when people purchase new light bulbs, they usually read the watts of the bulb. It is another way of estimating the required lights in your areas. It is a simple method to get proper light for your vanity areas and other home parts.
Standard lumens for bathroom vanity light
According to standard rules, you will require 1600 lumens for a bathroom vanity light. If you install incandescent bulbs, you will need two 60W bulbs, each producing 800 lumens.
Conversely, if you install an LED bulb, then you can achieve the proper lumens with fewer LED bulbs. Each LED bulb can produce more lumens than the other bulbs, i.e., 1200 lumens.
Important points to consider about the lumens for the bathroom vanity light.
Numerous factors decide how many lumens you need for your bathroom vanity light. During the remodeling project, it is necessary to understand the correct number of lumens for your powder rooms so it can be convenient for shaving or putting makeup on.
Achieving the perfect brightness in your area doesn’t mean you only need brighter bulbs. Other things need to be considered, such as light color temperature, CRI, Watts, type, location of light fixtures, shape, and size of bathrooms, ceiling height, number and types of lights, and lighting purpose.
Let’s discuss them in detail.
Size and shape of the room space
The vanity’s size and area should be taken into account most carefully. According to this, you will decide how many light fixtures you need in your bathroom and above the vanity. The number of light fixtures will brighten your area and enhance the style.
For larger sizes, there is nothing wrong with selecting more than one light fixture or one light fixture with multiple light bulbs. Primarily three vanity lights are fixed in the larger rooms for performing vanity tasks.
However, for a small room, you will need only one or two light bulbs with the correct brightness.
In addition, the shades of the room are also essential while considering the lumens. You might need more lumens for a darker space than the average number.
Color Temperature
Color temperature plays an essential part in deciding the number of lumens. It refers to the warmness and coolness of the light bulbs and measures in kelvin, so your area can feel warmer or cooler according to your choice. The light bulb with 1000 to 3000 K tends to produce warmer light, while the bulbs with 3500K make cooler light.
The recommended light is warmer (at 3000K), perfect for mimicking the daylight and performing various grooming tasks.
On the other hand, if you need a clean feel, your bulbs should produce the cooler light at 6500K.
Color rendering index/CRI
Each bulb has a specific light appearance. The color rendering index generally studies it. It can be easily estimated that a bulb shows light with how much precision.
The halogen and incandescent bulbs tend to show a 100 CRI rating, while the LED bulbs offer less CRI score (80-90). The recommended CRI score for vanity areas is 90-100.
Watts
Wattage also plays an essential role in providing suitable lumens for your bathroom vanity light. As discussed above, a 60-watt bulb can produce the required lumens. This wattage is enough for the vanity area. However, a bulb with 75-100 watts for guest rooms is perfect for performing the tasks.
Another best option is also available if you require high brightness, which is dimmer. Dimmers provide high brightness in the morning when you need to shave, brush or put some makeup on. Through this, you can use 100 watts in the morning and 35 watts in the evening.
Moreover, focus on bulbs that consume fewer watts and give more lumens if we focus on traditional bulbs that tend to produce 500 lumens while consuming 40W energy. That means for the required vanity lights, you will consume 60 watts of power and cost a high value. In contrast, you can achieve more lumens in fewer wattages through LED bulbs.
Types of light bulbs
Another vital thing to consider is what type of lights you will install in your bathrooms. When you choose one, various light options are available in the market. All you can do is select according to your need and bathroom design.
Following are the light options from which you can select one. Whichever option you choose, make sure the CRI score is between 90 and 100. The incandescent and halogen bulbs have more CRI scores than other bulbs.
- Incandescent bulbs
The most commonly used bulbs are incandescent. These bulbs involve the heating of tungsten filaments to produce light. As we have discussed earlier, these bulbs use more wattage and provide less number of lumens in bathroom vanity. So utilizing these bulbs means paying a high cost.
- LED bulbs
Unlike traditional bulbs, LED bulbs have more options for lights. They use less power to provide more lumens. These bulbs are long-lasting and cost-effective. So buying such lights is a worthwhile product.
- CFLs
The spiral-shaped bulbs are designed to produce less energy. These are similar in size to incandescent bulbs. Compared to traditional bulbs, these can last longer but have less durability than LEDs.
- Halogen bulbs
These are the updated form of incandescent bulbs that utilize halogen gas encapsulated into the quarts to produce the lightning. Hence these light bulbs have excellent durability. They make the apparent brightness which is ideal for task lighting.
You can check the lumens chart below to understand better which type of bulb you need for a bathroom vanity with the required lighting lumens. Regardless of the type, a bulb will be brighter with more lumens.
| Lumens To Watt Chart | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumens | Incandescent Bulb (Watts) | CFLs (Watts) | Halogen Bulb (Watts) | LED Light (Watts) |
| 450 | 40 | 9 | 28 | 6 |
| 800 | 60 | 13 | 45 | 7-10 |
| 1100 | 75 | 18 | 53 | 10-15 |
| 1600 | 100 | 23 | 72 | Up to 20 |
The lumen output and wattage given in this chart are based on commonly available light bulbs. The rational value can vary slightly from the chart. Even some LED lights show different lumens to watts ratios.
FAQs
Which light bulb is best for bathroom vanity lighting?
The best bulb for vanity lighting is LED lights. These are integrated light fixtures that can produce different ranges of lumens, from 1200 lumens to 2000 lumens. LED lights have the double capability of producing lumens from a traditional light bulb, making them a perfect vanity light.
Is 1200 lumen good for vanity lights?
The 1200 lumens are suitable for lighting any room. But for vanity, you need more brightness than the other room spaces. The recommended lumens for vanity lights are 1600 lumens so you can achieve the best grooming experience.
Final Thoughts
All day you keep using the bathroom vanity for cleaning purposes. This area should have enough brightness to perform any task. As discussed earlier, different bulbs give various ranges of lumens. So, by reading this guide, you can easily choose a bulb for your vanity light.