LED Replacements for T8 & T12 Fixtures Have Arrived!
For several years there has been a lot of discussion and LED products introduced into the market that were designed to replace T8 and T12 fluorescent. Until recently however, the available options weren’t practical. Now there are a number of feasible LED options to replace your T8 and T12 fluorescent tubes.
LED Tubes
There are three LED tube options to choose from:
Type A DirecT8 LED Tube
Type A Direct Fit – Direct Fit LED tubes utilize the existing fluorescent ballast to operate. In most cases you need to have an electronic Instant Start ballast in order for this option to work. In some applications where Program Start ballasts are present, you would need Program Start LED tubes. Type A is the easiest to install as all you do is take the fluorescent tubes out and put in LED, but of the three LED tubes options they are the least efficient and when the fluorescent ballast dies (likely before the LED tube) you will have to replace the ballast for the LED tube to continue working.
Type B Internal Driver LED Tube
Type B Internal Driver – LED tubes with a built-in LED driver that operates on direct line voltage. In other words, you eliminate the existing fluorescent ballast and wire the socket directly into the fixture. This makes installation more involved but Type B is has the lowest life cycle cost of the three options as well as the most options.
Type C External Driver LED Tube
Type C External Driver – LED tubes that function with an external LED driver which is similar to how a fluorescent system uses a fluorescent ballast. Type C costs the most initially but is the most efficient of the three in terms of lumens per watt and also the easiest way to get dimming functionality with your LED tubes.
Below is a chart that ranks the three LED tube options in various qualities:
LED Retrofit Kits
If your existing fixture housing is in good shape and in the correct location but you want a new look, it would be worth considering an LED retrofit kit. There are LED retrofit kits for almost every type of fixture. Going this route will cost a little more than LED tubes, but often times provide you with better light quality and improved aesthetics.
TKD LED Retrofit Kit
LED Fixtures
If your lighting is outdated or if it is not in the proper location, your best bet would be to go with new LED fixtures. When this is the case you can often times optimize the lighting in your facility by reducing the number of fixtures you have in a space and still improve the overall lighting with new LED fixtures. This is the most expensive option, but usually results in the best long term energy savings. There is also a major advantage to having a fixture that is designed specifically for LED versus retrofitting a fluorescent fixture to LED.
Want to learn more? We recently gave a presentation to over 100 businesses in the St. Paul / Minneapolis area that were interested in going from fluorescent to LED – the slideshow to this presentation is below. You can also comment below this article or send us a message directly if you have questions or thoughts.
Our condo building garages have 9′ ceilings. They are outfitted with about 40 fluorescent strip fixtures, with two eight-foot-long T12 bulbs per fixture. We know that the T12 is being discontinued. We also want to get away from the labor and material cost of continually replacing ballasts. We are considering switching to LED.
Given the labor cost of changing and rewiring ballasts to accommodate LED T8 bulbs, we wonder if it would be more economical to totally replace the existing fixtures with LED fixtures. If we select an LED fixture that uses one or more four-foot bulbs, how many four-foot LED bulbs would generate the same amount of light as our current two eight-foot T12s?
Do you carry led t-12 8foot ballast bypass tubes. How much for them if you do I need 86 of them. I’m also in burnaby bc canada. How’s the shipping involved?
Thank you very much for this resource. It helped me understand my options!
how do i replace a t12 with an led
I need to know if there is an led retrofit kit for sheetrock mounted 2×4, 4 light, t-12 troffers.
I have a antique mall with about 40 fluorescent strip fixtures, with two eight-foot-long T12 bulbs per fixture. I am considering switching to LED.
Given the labor cost of changing and rewiring ballasts to accommodate LED T8 bulbs, we wonder if it would be more economical to totally replace the existing fixtures with LED fixtures. If we select an LED fixture that uses one or more four-foot bulbs, how many four-foot LED bulbs would generate the same amount of light as our current two eight-foot T12s?
Antique Mall Spirit Lake IA 51360 712-577-0428
I have a antique mall with about 40 fluorescent strip fixtures, with two eight-foot-long T12 bulbs per fixture. I am considering switching to LED.
Given the labor cost of changing and rewiring ballasts to accommodate LED T8 bulbs, we wonder if it would be more economical to totally replace the existing fixtures with LED fixtures. If we select an LED fixture that uses one or more four-foot bulbs, how many four-foot LED bulbs would generate the same amount of light as our current two eight-foot T12s?
I have a restaurant with 32 – 8ft T12’s. I don’t want to replace fixture as ceiling etc will have to be fixed. So… I would like to get the cost per type B internal tube ballast and remove the existing ballast from fixture. If you have something along those lines. Also would I have to change out the tombstones in fixture? Would need the cost of per tube and total cost for the 32 possibily more. I live in Calgary Canada. So shipping costs as well thank you.