Christian B. Luginbuhl
U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station
10391 W Naval Observatory Rd
Flagstaff AZ 86001
cbl@nofs.navy.mil

Version 11.1
27 September 2011

The table below lists initial and maintained lamp lumen outputs for typical products, or specific products if indicated. For products with a range of outputs at a given wattage, the highest typical values are listed. These initial output values are the values considered by most lighting codes that specify shielding requirements based on threshold lamp lumen outputs or limit total lamp lumen outputs for development projects (such as Coconino County, AZ; Cottonwood, AZ; Flagstaff, AZ (HTML); Sedona, AZ (581K, PDF); Pima County, AZ; Yavapai County, AZ (55KB)).

Per year power costs are based on 4000 hours operation (approximately all night every night) and $0.10/kWh energy cost. Power costs are for lamps only (except for LED fixtures); they do not include ballast losses used with HID (HPS and MH), LPS and fluorescent lamps. Inclusion of these electrical losses will increase electrical consumption for these lights about 10-20%. Cost per 100 "maintained" lumens is calculated using "end of life" outputs and an assumed fixture efficiency of 0.70 for non-LED lighting. "End-of-life" outputs use the following lamp lumen depreciation (LLD) factors: 0.95 (LPS), 0.73 (HPS), 0.70 (LED), 0.80 (FL T-12), 0.90 (FL T-8), 0.62 (standard MH), 0.82 (INC) and 0.93 (TH). LLD values for pulse start metal halide vary for the lamps listed from about 0.44 to 0.66 - typical end-of-life values listed by the manufacturers are used for these products. End-of-life figures, rather than initial or "mean" outputs, are most appropriate when comparing outdoor lighting systems where recommended lighting practices specify minimum maintained illuminances (such as roadways and parking lots) and lamps are changed at burnout - by far the most common maintenance practice.

Actual in-service lumen outputs, power cost figures, and overall operation costs will depend on the particular lamp, ballast, local power rates, and installation and maintenence details. The different lamp types and wattages have differing replacement costs and differing lifetimes before burnout, so lead to different costs associated with lamp replacement. The figures in this table are offered only as approximate though representative values for rough light system power cost comparison and approximate verification of lamp lumen outputs submitted with lighting plans.

LED lighting is a new and fast-evolving technology. Representative figures for cool-white (4000-6000K CCT) products are included for completeness, but the products available are changing almost weekly and lumen packages are highly variable product-to-product.

Light Code Verification: Actual initial lumen outputs of lamps vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, depend on specific lamp and ballast specifications, and for metal halide may depend on lamp orientation. For determining compliance with light codes that have lumen specifications (such as shielding thresholds or lumens per acre caps - see the IDA Outdoor Lighting Code Handbook Pattern Lighting Code or the updated Pattern Outdoor Lighting Code ) the figures presented in this table are considered by most jurisdictions to be adequate. Technically, lighting plan submittals typically are to include the lumen outputs of the actual lamps proposed, but if values from this table are matched to the the lamp type and wattage of the proposed lighting product, they in general will be within about 10% or better of the true output.

"Neon" Lighting: For luminous output of luminous tube or "neon" products, see Typical Lumen Outputs for "Neon" Luminous Tube Lighting.

"Effective" Lumens: For those interested in the effects of the eye's spectral (Purkinje) shift on the relative efficiencies of the various lamp types, see the discussion of these issues in the IDA Outdoor Lighting Code Handbook.

Abbreviations:

LPS = low pressure sodium

HPS = high pressure sodium

MH = metal halide

LED = light emitting diode

FL = fluorescent

IFL = induction fluorescent

PL = compact fluorescent

INC = incandescent

TH = tungsten halogen

Lamp Wattage	Lumen Output		Power Cost	Cost per 100 Lumens*
	(initial)	(maintained)	(per year)	(per year)
Low-Pressure Sodium (LPS)
18	1800	1800	$7.20	$0.57
35	4800	4800	$14.00	$0.41
55	8000	8000	$22.00	$0.40
90	13500	13500	$36.00	$0.39
135	22500	22500	$54.00	$0.34
180	33000	33000	$72.00	$0.31
High-Pressure Sodium (Clear) (HPS)
35	2250	1643	$14.00	$1.21
50	4000	2920	$20.00	$0.97
70	6300	4599	$28.00	$0.87
100	9500	6935	$40.00	$0.83
150	16000	11680	$60.00	$0.73
200	22000	16060	$80.00	$0.71
250	29000	21170	$100.00	$0.67
310	37000	27010	$124.00	$0.66
350	46500	33945	$140.00	$0.59
400	50000	36500	$160.00	$0.63
430	51500	37595	$172.00	$0.66
Standard Metal Halide (MH)
150	13500	8413	$60.00	$1.01
175	15000	9348	$70.00	$1.07
250	23000	14333	$100.00	$1.00
360	36000	22434	$144.00	$0.91
400	40000	24928	$160.00	$0.91
1000	110000	67000	$400.00	$0.86
Pulse Start Metal Halide (MH)
50	3400	1496	$20.00	$1.91
70	5600	2464	$28.00	$1.63
100	9000	3960	$40.00	$1.44
150	14000	8000	$60.00	$1.07
175	17500	11000	$70.00	$0.91
200	21000	13800	$80.00	$0.83
250	25000	16500	$100.00	$0.87
320	33000	21000	$128.00	$0.87
350	37000	24000	$140.00	$0.83
400	44000	28500	$160.00	$0.80
450	50000	33000	$180.00	$0.79
1000	110000	73000	$400.00	$0.79
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
63	3400	2380	$25.20	$1.16
90	5400	3780	$36.00	$0.95
140	9996	6997	$56.00	$0.80
210	12300	8610	$84.00	$0.98
T12 Cool-White Fluorescent (FL)
21	1190	952	$8.40	$1.26
30	2050	1640	$12.00	$1.04
36	2450	1960	$14.40	$1.04
39	3000	2400	$15.60	$0.93
50	3700	2960	$20.00	$0.94
52	3900	3120	$20.80	$0.96
55	4600	3680	$22.00	$0.86
70	5400	4320	$28.00	$0.93
75	6300	5040	$30.00	$0.86
T12 High-Output (800 ma) Fluorescent (FL)
75	5150	4120	$30.00	$1.04
80	5600	4480	$32.00	$1.01
85	6900	5520	$34.40	$0.89
95	8625	6900	$38.00	$0.79
110	9500	7600	$44.00	$0.83
T8 Fluorescent (FL)
17	1400	1260	$6.80	$0.77
25	2225	2003	$10.00	$0.71
30	2900	2610	$12.00	$0.66
32	3100	2790	$12.80	$0.66
40	3725	3353	$16.00	$0.69
44	4000	3600	$17.60	$0.70
55	5050	4545	$22.00	$0.69
65	6100	5490	$26.00	$0.67
59	5950	5355	$23.60	$0.63
86	8200	7380	$34.40	$0.67
Compact Fluorescent (PL)
7	400	320	$2.80	$1.26
9	600	480	$3.60	$1.07
13	900	720	$5.20	$1.03
18	1250	1000	$7.20	$1.03
23	1500	1200	$9.20	$1.10
26	1710	1368	$10.40	$1.09
32	2400	1920	$12.80	$0.96
42	3200	2560	$16.80	$0.94
Induction Fluorescent (Sylvania Icetron) (IFL)
70	6200	4605	$28.00	$0.87
100	8000	5945	$40.00	$0.96
150	12000	8915	$60.00	$0.96
Incandescent (standard) (INC)
15	120	98	$6.00	$8.71
25	210	172	$10.00	$8.30
40	490	402	$16.00	$5.69
60	855	701	$24.00	$4.89
75	1180	968	$30.00	$4.43
100	1750	1435	$40.00	$3.99
150	2800	2296	$60.00	$3.73
200	3850	3157	$80.00	$3.61
Tungsten Halogen (Quartz) (TH)
75	1400	1302	$30.00	$3.29
100	1800	1674	$40.00	$3.41
150	2800	2604	$60.00	$3.29
200	3600	2952	$82.00	$3.97
250	5000	4650	$100.00	$3.07
300	6000	4920	$123.00	$3.57
500	10100	9393	$200.00	$3.04

* maintained lumen outputs for all non-LED sources are reduced by the factor 0.70 to approximately account for fixture losses.

• GE Lamp Products Catalog 2001-2002
• Osram/Sylvania Lamp & Ballast Catalog, 1998; 2004; 2010
• Philips Lighting Company Lamp Specification and Application Guide, 2001/2002
• Venture Lighting International HID Systems Sourcebook, 2000

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