Truth Burst Forth in Radiant Light: The Astonishing Abundance of Lighting Since the Restoration

A young Joseph Smith is often portrayed reading the family bible under candlelight. His study and desire to know the truth led to the First Vision.  Great lights have burst forth with the Restoration of the Gospel Truths.

Another remarkable change since 1830 has been the astonishing abundance of lighting. An economic study suggests that the labor price of lighting since the Restoration has fallen by a factor of over 65,000.

Measuring Light

Light is radiation that stimulates the human eye. Light flux or flow is the rate of emission from a source. A unit of light flow is the lumen. Illuminance is the amount of light in an area. The unit of illuminance is the lux. One lux equals one lumen per square meter.

Measuring Cost

William Nordhaus analyzed the labor-time price of light through history. He created an index that measures the cost of buying 1,000 lumen hours in terms of labor hours. This method incorporates improvements in technology, labor productivity, and energy costs.¹

There have been a number of other significant improvements in lighting including reducing flicker, eliminating odors, and improving safety. These are special benefits and are not accounted for directly in the Nordhaus study, but nonetheless enhance the overall quality of lighting.

Historical Progress

Open fires were the earliest form of lighting the darkness. The labor price for 1,000 lumen hours required around 58 hours of labor. Oil lamps appear around 1750 B.C. and required 41.5 labor hours for 1,000 lumen hours.

A tallow candle in 1830 would generate 10 lumens for seven hours and cost around 1.3 cents. To produce 1,000 lumen hours would take over 14 of these candles for a total cost of 18.3 cents. Workers on the Erie Canal were paid 6.1 cents per hour. Consequently, the labor price for this standard quantity of illumination would be three hours.

A major improvement occurred in 1883 with the invention of the electric carbon filament bulb. The labor price for 1,000 lumen hours dropped to 45 minutes. In 1920 technology advanced again and tungsten replaced carbon in bulbs. The price dropped to 49 seconds. Compact Fluorescent bulbs were introduced in 1992 and the time price fell to 0.43 seconds. The most advanced technology today is light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. The price is 0.16 seconds.

Another way to think about this productivity improvement is that something that costs a penny today would cost $653 in 1830.

Lighting Productivity

In the 3,580 years prior to 1830, the labor price of lighting fell by a factor of 14, or at an annual rate of 0.073%.

In the 180 years since 1830, the labor price fell by a factor of 66,000, or at an annual rate of 6.36%.

After 1830 productivity increased by a factor of 87.

Sources: William D. Nordhaus, 1996. "Do Real-Output and Real-Wage Measures Capture Reality? The History of Lighting Suggests Not," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of New Goods, pages 27-70 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.