If you covered half of that same bulb in your room that measured one cd, the lumen value would decrease to 6.28 lm because it measures the amount of light in every direction, which is now cut in half due to the blocked illumination. One candela is the equivalent to 12.57 lumens. Lumens are the most common lighting measurement. The term lumen, represented by lm, measures the total amount of visible light that a lighting fixture emits in all directions, which is also known as luminous flux. A high candela value would be more important in that situation than a high lumen value.
The candela unit is best for measuring fixtures with a focused beam of light.įor example, a spotlight in the yard that points toward your house would be better measured using candela units since the goal is to direct the beam of light in one direction. If you have a bulb turned on in your room that only measures one cd, and you block part of it with your hand, the part of the light that is not blocked will still measure one cd because candela only measures in one direction. One candela is roughly equivalent to the amount of light a candle projects in a single direction. Candela, represented by cd, measures how much light the fixture emits in a particular direction, which is also known as luminous intensity.Ĭandela is named appropriately as it dates to when candles were the most common source of light. While candela means candle in Latin, the measurement stands for candlepower. Not knowing the difference between lighting measurement terms can be as maddening as not knowing the difference between the metric and imperial systems.īut worry not – we will define candela, lux, and lumens, so that the next time you buy lightbulbs or fixtures, you understand the specs without being fluent in a dead language. The terminology used for light output measurements can vary on each package’s specifications, so while you stand in a hardware store comparing light bulbs, not knowing what the difference is between candela, lux, and lumens, and cursing school for never teaching you Latin, don’t let your frustration get the best of you.
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