Light bulbs

How to choose an LED bulb

The bulb is the cheapest part of your lighting, yet it decides whether a room feels cosy or like an office. Check the cap marking on the old bulb and think about how bright and what tone of light you actually need.

• Cap. E27 is the large screw cap in chandeliers and ceiling lights, E14 the small screw in candle bulbs, GU10 the two-pin spotlight cap; G9 and 12 V MR16 are rarer. The wrong cap is the most common reason for a return.
• Lumens, not watts. 470 lm matches an old 40 W incandescent, 806 lm a 60 W, 1100 lm a 75 W and 1521 lm a 100 W. For general living-room light allow 150–200 lm per square metre.
• Colour temperature. 2700 K is warm, yellowish light for living rooms and bedrooms, 4000 K neutral for kitchens and hallways, 6500 K cool daylight for a desk or garage.
• Dimming. A dimmable bulb only works with a dimmable switch, and a standard LED behind a dimmer flickers. A smart bulb dims from the app, so the wall switch stays as it is.
• Smart standard. A Wi-Fi bulb (Tapo, Philips Smart, Nanoleaf) connects straight to the router and needs no hub. A Zigbee bulb (Hue, Aqara) needs a bridge but does not load the Wi-Fi and responds faster. A Matter bulb works with Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa at once.
• Energy class and lifespan. Most LEDs sit in classes D–F; filament bulbs are the most efficient. Lifespan is 15,000–25,000 hours, or 10–15 years.

Light bulbs in our range

The largest part of the range is smart bulbs: Philips Hue White, White Ambiance and White and Colour Ambiance in E27 (806, 1100 and 1600 lm), GU10 spotlights, 12 V MR16, decorative Lightguide bulbs and starter kits with a bridge. Wi-Fi smart bulbs come from Philips Smart (the WFB series: A60, G95, ST64 filament, GU10, E14), TP-Link Tapo L510E and L530E, Trust and Nanoleaf Essentials with Matter; on the Zigbee side there are Aqara GU10 and E27 bulbs. Standard LED bulbs are covered by Osram Parathom: Classic E27 and E14 from 4.9 to 19 W, the Filament series, Reflector GU10 and R50, Stick and G9. High-output industrial LED lamps of 20–50 W and 2400–5500 lm, including an IP65 model for outdoors, come from Visional and Ollo.

Brands

Philips Hue is the benchmark for smart lighting: 16 million colours, a flawless app, Zigbee and Bluetooth in the same bulb. Osram Parathom is the dependable everyday bulb when you simply need warm white light with the right cap. Philips Smart gives a Hue-like palette over Wi-Fi with no bridge and for less. Aqara suits homes that already run Zigbee sensors. TP-Link Tapo is the easiest first smart bulb, Nanoleaf stands out for Matter support, and Visional covers large-area lighting.

Related products

A bulb needs a fitting: see luminaires and decorative lighting. Switches, sensors and bridges are under smart home devices; browse the wider smart home section too. The full selection is in lighting.

Frequently asked questions

How many LED watts equal a 60 W incandescent? Look at lumens: a 60 W incandescent gave about 806 lm, and a 7–9 W LED delivers the same brightness.

Does a Philips Hue bulb work without a bridge? Yes, over Bluetooth straight from a phone, but only within the same room and without schedules. The bridge unlocks everything.

Why does my LED bulb flicker behind a dimmer? Either the bulb is not dimmable or the dimmer was made for incandescent lamps. Choose a bulb marked “dimmable” and an LED-rated dimmer.

Which colour temperature for a kitchen? 4000 K neutral white — bright enough to work by but not as cold as 6500 K. Over the dining table a warmer 2700–3000 K works better.

How quickly do bulbs arrive? Bulbs ship as a small parcel: they reach an Omniva, DPD or Venipak parcel locker in 1–2 working days.