Which Philips Hue bulb is bright enough for my home?

Philips Hue is one of the most sought-after brands for smart lighting. Though its lights come with a higher price tag than some cheap smart LED light bulbs, they’re some of the easiest to install and integrate into smart home ecosystems as well as operate through the newly improved Hue app or voice commands. These bulbs connect directly via Bluetooth or a Hue Bridge, often included in starter kits and worth considering if you want to take advantage of all the smart features Hue bulbs have to offer.

Philips Hue 60W vs. 75W vs. 100W: Measuring brightness

There are many Philips Hue bulbs to choose from when you’re just getting started, so one of the first factors to consider is how bright you want your bulbs to be. For instance, a kitchen, bathroom, and office space will need brighter lighting than a dining room, bedroom, or hallway.

In the past, most people would look to wattage as an indicator of how bright a traditional, incandescent bulb measures, but this changed with the adoption of energy-efficient LED light bulbs. Wattage is actually a measurement of how much energy a bulb uses, while lumens measure the amount of light emitted from a bulb and thereby how bright that bulb will be. These days, you can find smart LED bulbs with significantly lower wattage than incandescent bulbs but emit just as many lumens. In other words, less energy equals more light.

Philips Hue 60W vs. 75W vs. 100W: What’s the difference?

When you’re shopping for a Philips Hue Bulb like the classic A19 white and color ambiance bulb, you’ll notice the choice between 800, 1,100, and 1,600 lumens as opposed to watts. This chart compares the traditional wattage equivalent (60W, 75W, and 100W) with the actual wattage and lumens of Philips Hue light bulbs.

Philips Hue 60W vs. 75W vs. 100W: Which bulb should you get?

Once you’ve decided what room or space you want your Philips Hue bulbs for, you’ll need to determine just how bright you want your bulbs to be. If you plan on installing your bulbs in your kitchen, workspace, bathroom, garage, or even a home gym, you’ll need the brightest bulb you can get or Philips Hue’s 100W 1,600-lumen bulb. If you plan on setting up your bulbs in a big living room or dining room, you can use the 75W, whereas any hallways, bedrooms, or entertainment spaces will do just fine with the 60W 800 lumen bulb. The larger the area, the more lumens you’ll need.

Also, keep in mind that a range of sizes and shapes for Philips Hue bulbs will also affect how light is distributed. And if you purchase a white and color ambiance bulb, you’ll be able to dim your lighting and change the white temperature between 2,200K to 6,500K. So if you’re watching a movie or hosting an intimate dinner, you can adjust your lighting to best suit the mood and not be stuck with blinding, bright light.

Welcome to Hue

Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance A19 LED Starter Kit

$199 at Amazon
$200 at Best Buy

Get started with 800 lumens

This Philips Hue starter kit comes with four multicolor bulbs as well as a Hue Bridge, perfect for lighting up your living room with 800 lumens per bulb.