Lumens Per Square Foot: Recommended Amount Needed for a Room (2024)

FAQs

Lumens Per Square Foot: Recommended Amount Needed for a Room? ›

1000-3000 lumens per 100 Square Feet

As a handy rule of thumb, a sitting room or bedroom will generally require around 10-20 lumens per square foot, while a bathroom or kitchen will need a stronger level of lighting, at around 70-80 lumens per square foot.

Living room: 1,000 to 2,000 lumens. Bedroom: 1,000 to 2,000 lumens. Hallway: 500 to 1,000 lumens.

To determine the required lumens, you will need to multiply your room's square footage by your room foot-candle requirement. For example, a 100 sq. ft. living room, which needs 10-20 foot-candles, will need 1,000 - 2,000 lumens.

To determine the needed lumens, you will need to multiply your room square footage by your room foot-candle requirement. For example, a 100 square foot living room, which needs 10-20 foot-candles, will need 1,000-2,000 lumens. A 100 square foot dining room, which needs 30-40 foot-candles, will need 3,000-4,000 lumens.

As you can see in the list above, different areas require different footcandles. We can understand this with an example: an office ideally needs an average of 40 foot-candles or 40 lumens per square foot.

Generally, you'll need one can light for every four to six square feet. The taller your ceiling height, the more can lights you'll need.

Determine the needed lumens

For example, a 100-square-foot living room, which needs 10-20 foot candles, will need 1,000-2,000 lumens. A 100-square-foot dining room, which needs 30-40 foot-candles, will need 3,000-4,000 lumens.

The recommended illumination for the general lighting in your garage is 50 lumens per square foot. For a standard single-car garage measuring 14 feet wide and 20 feet long, you'll need roughly 14,000 lumens for the 280 square feet of space.

The number of lumens needed for bathroom lighting varies depending on the room size and personal preference. Generally, we recommend around 50-75 lumens per square foot in a bathroom. For example, a small bathroom that is 5 feet by 8 feet (40 square feet) would require 2,000-3,000 lumens (50-75 lumens per square foot).

How many lumens do I need for a 12x12 room? ›

For an average 12′ x 12′ bedroom, you would need around 4,000 lumens of light.

For the average space of 250 sq. ft., you will need roughly 5,000 lumens as your primary light source (20 foot candles x250 square feet).

Multiply the room square footage by the footcandle requirement. For example, a 100 square-foot living room, which needs 20 foot-candles, will need 2,000 lumens. A 100 square-foot dining room, which needs 40 foot-candles, will require 4,000 lumens.

Illuminance is calculated with the following formula: Lux [lx] = luminous flux [lm] / area [m2]. The illuminance is 1 lux if a luminous flux of 1 lumen falls uniformly on an area of 1 m². The further away the area is from the light source, the lower the illuminance.

For example, a traditional 60-watt incandescent bulb produces about 800 lumens of light. By comparison, you can find an LED (light-emitting diode) bulb that produces that same 800 lumens but uses only about 9 watts.

Summary: Calculating Total Lumens Needed for a Room

Multiply your room square footage by the footcandle requirement. For example, a 100-square foot living room, which needs 20 foot candles, will need 2,000 lumens. A 100-square foot dining room, which needs 40 foot-candles, will need 4,000 lumens.

The amount of lumens per square foot you'll need in order to effectively provide light for indoor plants are around 400 - 1000 lm. Choose a light bulb that offers this much but remember, this is a general guideline--Some plants need over 2000 lm! Fluorescent tubes are generally considered the best plant grow lights.

For spaces that are between 15 and 20 feet, you may want to look for lighting solutions between 16,000 and 20,000 lumens. If you want to cover spaces that are 20 to 30 feet, then you will need a higher lumen output. For spaces above 20 feet, 40,000 lumens will be more effective.