40W G9 and other lamp names at a glance
In the past, everyone had a rough idea of what to expect when they screwed in a 40W lightbulb. Both the brightness and the color of the light came as no surprise. Modern light sources, which are designated with G9, T5 or T8, however, present a mystery.
That is what the lamp names like G9, E27 and S14 say
The names all refer to the type of base of the lamp. This is how you can tell whether a lamp fits into an existing socket. If you want to replace a lamp, you always have to choose one that has the absolutely identical socket designation as the old one.
- G9 is the name for a specific base shape for high-voltage halogen lamps. You can only insert bulbs with this socket into these lamp sockets. Nowadays, however, these no longer have to be halogen lamps; there are also LED or energy-saving lamps with these bases.
- E27, for example, is the base of the usual incandescent lamps that are turned into a socket. E14 is the smaller base that is used, for example, for candle lamps. As you probably know, there are a number of different light sources that fit in these sockets and can also be used.
- S14 is a socket base that is used on so-called line lamps. These lamps look similar to fluorescent tubes, but they were originally incandescent lamps. Today these lamps are also available as energy-saving lamps.
- Names like T8 or T5 are lamp types for fluorescent tubes. With these lamps, the base and the length of the tube are important.
With the old lightbulbs you usually had a rough idea which ...
Basic information on the designation 40W
The term 40W always refers to the power that a lamp draws from the mains. The following applies: the higher the wattage, the brighter the lamp burns - provided you are comparing lamps of the same type. An LED lamp with 10W is brighter than an incandescent lamp with 40W.
- A 40 W halogen lamp has a light intensity of 800 lumens. This corresponds to a 60W incandescent lamp.
- If you are looking for an energy-saving lamp with this light intensity, that would be around 13W. But you will only find slightly darker lamps with 11W or brighter ones with 15W.
- With LED lamps you already have this light intensity with 10W.
Designations on older lamps that you can only use lamps up to a certain wattage always refer to the lamp for which this lamp was manufactured. So if your lamp can handle lamp G9 40W, you can also use LED lamps that are brighter and usually even lamps that have 50W. But you don't have to limit yourself to LED bulbs that only have 10W, because that light is colder than the halogen light.
