What is the best bulb type for a floor lamp?

Most floor lamps take an LED bulb between 5W and 15W, which corresponds to the 40W–100W incandescent equivalent stated on the lamp's rating plate. Never exceed the maximum wattage marked on the fitting; with LEDs this is rarely an issue because a 100W-equivalent LED draws only around 12W. Check the cap type before buying — the vast majority of floor lamps use one of three: E27 (27mm screw, the standard UK fitting), E14 (14mm small screw, common in slimmer designs) or, occasionally, GU10 for directional heads. Well-made floor lamps are specified around the bulb, so a fitting with a shade-mounted or closed shade will state a lower maximum wattage to prevent heat build-up. When choosing between floor lamps, the fitting type matters as much as the design — an integrated LED model like the Crochet Black LED Floor Lamp removes bulb selection entirely, while a standard E27 fitting gives you full flexibility to change colour temperature and brightness later. Start at 806 lumens (roughly a 60W equivalent) for a living room lamp and adjust from there.

LED bulbs outperform halogen in floor lamps on every practical measure. A halogen bulb converts roughly 90% of its energy into heat rather than light, which matters in a floor lamp where the bulb often sits inside a fabric shade centimetres from the fitting — excessive heat degrades shade linings, discolours diffusers and, in the worst cases, scorches material. An LED producing the same lumen output runs at 40–60°C rather than 250°C+, lasts 15,000–25,000 hours against a halogen's 2,000, and costs around a fifth as much to run. A 10W LED used four hours a day costs roughly £1.60 a year at current UK tariffs; the equivalent 60W halogen costs nearer £9.60. Halogen retains two genuine advantages: perfect colour rendering (CRI 100) and full compatibility with legacy dimmers, but modern LEDs with a CRI of 90 or above close the colour gap, and dimmable LED compatibility is now a solved problem with trailing-edge dimmers. Unless you specifically need the halogen look for a vintage fitting, specify LED — and if the fitting is an integrated LED model, the question is already answered at purchase.

Warm white at 2700K–3000K is the correct colour temperature for the majority of floor lamps, because the fitting's job is almost always ambient or reading light in the evening. Below 2700K — the very warm 2200K or amber bulbs — light becomes too orange for reading comfort; above 3500K, the cool white begins to feel clinical in a domestic living space. Reserve 4000K for floor lamps in home offices, reading corners used primarily in daylight, or modern minimalist schemes where a crisper white is a deliberate design choice. Colour rendering matters alongside temperature: choose a CRI of 80 as the minimum, and 90+ where the lamp lights a reading chair or sits near artwork, because low-CRI bulbs make fabrics and timber tones look muted. One situational caution: in open-plan layouts where the lamp shares a circuit or zone with fixed kitchen lighting, it is worth matching its colour temperature to the downlights so the two sources read as one scheme — the same zoning logic covered in NICEIC's guidance on kitchens and electrics. A single 3000K bulb is the safe default when you cannot decide.

A dimmable bulb matters in a floor lamp used for evening ambient light, because a fixed 806-lumen output that reads as comfortable for reading is often too bright once the main lights are off. Specify a dimmable LED and a trailing-edge dimmer — either an inline dimmer on the lamp's flex, a wall dimmer on the circuit, or a smart bulb controlled from an app or voice assistant. The compatibility rule is absolute: a dimmable LED on an old leading-edge (triac) dimmer will flicker, buzz or fail to reach low brightness, so check the dimmer's minimum load, which must sit below the LED's wattage. If the lamp sits close to a bathroom doorway or an en-suite entrance, treat placement with the same care the regulations apply to fixed fittings — NICEIC's homeowner guidance on bathrooms and electrics explains the zone logic, and although portable lamps are outside the bathroom zone rules, keeping flexes clear of damp areas is basic practice. For smart homes, a dimmable smart bulb sidesteps dimmer compatibility entirely and lets the lamp join lighting scenes with the rest of the room.