LED Lightbulb Test: Do All Bulbs Shine the Same?

Family Handyman

We had two theories about LED lightbulbs: That some bulbs with the same lumen rating are brighter than others, and that some fade very quickly. To find out if our theories were right, we bought six 800-lumen bulbs online and put them to the test by measuring their brightness over one month of constant use.

How We Tested Them

We inserted six 800-lumen LED lightbulbs into a light bar. We left them on all day and night and tested their brightness by placing the light meter against each bulb.

Not All Bulbs Shine Equally

As expected, some of the lightbulbs burned brighter than the others right out of the box, with the Philips ($12 for a four-pack) being brightest.

But our second theory didn’t pan out. None of the bulbs dimmed significantly—at least not in their first 750 hours of use.