Lumens are a measure of the total amount of visible light emitted by a source per unit of time. In lighting, lumens refer to the measure of light output or brightness of a light bulb. Lumens are a more accurate way to measure the brightness of a light bulb than watts, which measure the amount of energy used by the bulb. The higher the number of lumens, the brighter the lightbulb, and the lower the number of lumens, the dimmer the lightbulb. When shopping for light bulbs, it is recommended to compare lumens instead of watts to ensure that you get the amount of brightness you want.