Well the sun puts out about 10,000 lumens per square ft so I guess that is a great place to start. But the quality and spectrum of your light is pretty important also. I don't test my lumens but I watch my plants in early veg to see what they want. If they are stretching a lot and getting huge spacing between the nodes then they are wanting more light. If they are staying really short and stacking nodes right on top of each other then this tells me they are getting too much light. You kinda have to find the right balance for your particular light. Just watch your plants closely and they will tell you what they want. Good luck!