How Many Watts are Required for Each Room?

Thinking of installing some LED bulbs in your home?

Well, how much watt LED bulb is required for a room will largely depend on the size and shape of the room, the amount of natural light, and what you use the room for. For example, the wattage required for the LED bulbs in your kitchen will differ from those used in your bedroom.

If you’re interested in adding some LED lighting to your home, read on to find out more. Find out the ideal wattage for an LED bulb needed to light up a room in your home, as well as how to calculate it. 

What is wattage?

Wattage, or watts (W), refers to the amount of electrical power a light bulb uses to produce light. Higher wattage generally means brighter light is emitted with traditional incandescent bulbs. Energy efficient LED bulbs use much lower wattage while producing the same brightness in comparison. 

For example, you can replace a 60W incandescent bulb with a 9W LED bulb and still achieve the same level of brightness without using as much electricity. This is important to remember when we calculate the watts required for each room in your home, and how much energy LED bulbs can save.

Top tip: Check the lumens value on the packaging of your bulbs (if the information is available) to ensure they are the same brightness, so you can be satisfied with your new LED bulb. 

So…how many watts in an LED bulb is required for a room?

Let’s take a look at some common rooms in the house to see how much wattage is recommended for the LED lightbulbs used in each one. As technology improves, LEDS are becoming more efficient at producing light, with some having high lumens per watt value. If energy saving is your goal, we recommend looking for a high value such as a 150 lumens per watt or 200 lumens per watt.

Bathroom

Functional lighting is important here, but so is comfort. This is a place where you need to see what you are doing clearly, especially when looking in a mirror. It’s also somewhere you should be able to relax when it’s required and not be blinded by light.

In general, it is recommended to use about 3W per square foot for suitable lighting with traditional bulbs.

Bedroom

Just like the bathroom, the bedroom is a space for relaxation and rest. Soft, calming, and dimly lit vibes are recommended here to help unwind and secure restorative sleep. Many people opt for colour-changing and dimmable LED strips in the bedroom due to their customisable nature and versatility.

In general, it is advised to allocate around 1.2W per square foot for ambient lighting with standard bulbs.

For more information and advice on using LED lighting products in your bedroom, read our blog – can you sleep with LED lights on?

Kitchen

Using bright, cool-toned lights can aid visibility and make the kitchen space more comfortable to work and spend time in. There’s often more need for more light bulbs in your kitchen than there is in any other room in the home. You are likely to have ceiling lights, worktop lights, spotlights, extractor fan lights, and more. Using energy-efficient LED bulbs will significantly reduce your energy consumption in comparison to standard bulbs. It also provides excellent lighting for meal preparation, washing, and other daily activities.

In general, with traditional bulbs, you should allocate around 2.8W per square foot for functional lighting. 

Living room

You want a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere in the space that you probably spend the most amount of time in - outside of the bedroom. This is where you relax with friends and family, so the lighting choice is important to create a comfortable environment. Again, using LED bulbs will help you significantly reduce your energy consumption as they are much more efficient. You can even consider combining lamps and wall lights for layered lighting.

It is recommended that you aim for around 1.8W per square foot with traditional bulbs for ambient lighting.

Dining room

This may be a space that you only use for dining, but it doesn’t mean your lighting choice isn’t as important as it is in any other room of the house. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are important times for family and friends - and therefore, the mood should reflect this with adequate eating. You want to be comfortable and not blinded by light, but you also want to see what’s on your plate! This is why a lot of people opt for a dimmer switch to adjust the light intensity for different occasions.

It's typically recommended to use about 1.8W per square foot in your dining room, with traditional light bulbs.

Why use LED lighting products?

LED lighting products are an excellent choice due to their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and versatility. They allow you to set a different mood and lighting style in every room of your home, which is why choosing the correct wattage is important.

Take our c35 bulb as an example. This 4.5W bulb combines the best features of traditional bulbs and modern LED lighting solutions. This makes it a highly efficient and energy saving alternative to traditional 'candle' bulbs. So it’s an ideal choice for chandeliers or other lighting applications used in entrance halls, corridors, or rooms used to socialise in. They are perhaps not the best choice for bedrooms, where a dimmer light is preferred.

How do I know if I have the right wattage?

The test is simple – turn on the light switch and see how you react. If the wattage is too high you will have a harsh, glaring light that may be uncomfortable to look at or function in. If the wattage is too low then the atmosphere can be dim and uninspiring. 

How to calculate how many watts an LED bulb requires for a room

There is a simple calculation you can use to calculate how much watt LED bulb is required for a room. Multiply the room’s square foot measurement by 1.5 to 2.5. The results will largely depend on the room’s natural light and the additional lighting needs, as well as the size and shape of the room.

Remember this is how to work out the wattage required for traditional light bulbs. For example, a 200 square foot room would require 300 to 500 of total wattage for traditional bulbs. But one 60W incandescent bulb can be replaced with a 9W LED bulb. So this would mean you would only need 5 to 9 watts for LED bulbs.

Using different wattage bulbs in the same room

It is possible to mix different wattage bulbs in one room. This approach can be used to combine general, task, mood, and accent lighting to enhance your home’s changing atmospheres. 

Taking your bathroom as an example, it is recommended you use lower wattage light bulbs for your vanity areas and fixtures than you would for your ceiling.

Maximum wattage

It is always highly recommended that you check the manufacturer's guidelines to avoid overloading the power supply and potential safety hazards. 

Generally speaking though, it will be obvious that you’re using unnecessary amounts of power just by the amount of blinding light there will be in the room!

Consider lumens as well as wattage

Wattage only shows energy use and not actual light output. Lumens (LM) measures the total amount of visible light emitted by a source. The former indicates how much energy a bulb consumes, whereas the latter indicates brightness. 

As a consumer, you might be led to believe that more watts means brighter bulbs with incandescents, in turn becoming accustomed to buying watts. In reality, you should be considering like for like replacements based on the lumens. With so much choice in the LED market, it can be confusing or difficult to make the right decision! 

This is another handy metric to use when considering which bulbs to choose for your room. Generally speaking, more lumens create brighter light and fewer lumens create dimmer light.

Keep in mind that these calculations are for guidance purposes only and will alter depending on the layout of your home, ceiling heights, and preferences. 

Take the ‘what?’ out of your wattage needs – contact Vision Lighting today…

Here at Vision Lighting, we can help you find the most suitable lighting solutions for your needs and take the ‘what’ out of your wattage requirements.

Feel free to browse our wide range of LED products, accessories, power supplies, and more. This includes our collection of LED bulbs, like our popular A60 light bulb and our highly efficient GU10 LED bulb.

If you need more information or would like to talk about some of our products please do not hesitate to get in touch. We are based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, but are more than happy to help with enquiries from across the country. So if we can shed some clearer light on your home improvement plans, please do let us know! 

You can call us at +44 (0) 1132 799745 or email us at info@vision-lighting.co.uk.