LEDAdd1ct
Flashlight Enthusiast
I searched CPF first and found a few threads that touch on the subject, but nothing that easily came up in a search. Part of the purpose of starting new threads is not simply to satisfy one's own desire for information, but to provide an easily searchable database for others.
In that spirit, can someone please answer the following questions in layman's terms?
The best I can find is that "efficacy" means lumens that come out per watt. So, if 100 watt incandescent light bulbs generally produce 1600 lumens, then the efficacy is 16 lumens for each watt of power the bulb receives:
1 watt in yields 16 lumens;
100 watts in yields 1600 lumens
But what does efficiency mean, then? I am not an electronics expert, so please keep it simple. I trust the ability of those on CPF to put things in simple language much more than the usual data Google churns up.
1) What is efficacy?
2) What is efficiency?
3) What is the key distinction between the two?
Thank you!
(NOTE: Started the thread here because it is neither a "Flashlight Electronics" question nor is it strictly an "Incandesent" or "LED" question. It is a question about lumens and lights in general, and would apply to any lighting technology or system that uses power to spit out lumens.)
In that spirit, can someone please answer the following questions in layman's terms?
The best I can find is that "efficacy" means lumens that come out per watt. So, if 100 watt incandescent light bulbs generally produce 1600 lumens, then the efficacy is 16 lumens for each watt of power the bulb receives:
1 watt in yields 16 lumens;
100 watts in yields 1600 lumens
But what does efficiency mean, then? I am not an electronics expert, so please keep it simple. I trust the ability of those on CPF to put things in simple language much more than the usual data Google churns up.
1) What is efficacy?
2) What is efficiency?
3) What is the key distinction between the two?
Thank you!
(NOTE: Started the thread here because it is neither a "Flashlight Electronics" question nor is it strictly an "Incandesent" or "LED" question. It is a question about lumens and lights in general, and would apply to any lighting technology or system that uses power to spit out lumens.)