John Morrison Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 general question, has anyone replaced stndard flourescent tubes with LED ones? Is it a straight swop? John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richard71 Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 A friend of mine has just done this in his bodyshop/workshop...…….made a big difference. I'll do the same in my small home garage. Richard. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cjstoodley Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Yes. Straight swap and much brighter. Very agreeable colour temperature too. None of that annoying flashing at start up either ! Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 it can be a straight swap into a ballasted fluorescent fixture, but make sure you buy the right kind of tube. For some tubes you must remove the ballast and rewire. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HSM Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 Fitted L.E.D. tubes in my garage reception, less power consumption & brighter, but you need to buy them with the fitting. Harvey S.Maitland Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 I have the complete LED fitments at home in the garage and the dog room, very good and lots of light from smaller fittings. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brian -r Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 Last time I Checked with the electrical factors ( about 1yr ago ) direct replacement were not available but complete LED fittings were on sale at around £60. This may have changed now the new EU directive has come in phasing out halogen bulbs so now LED is the standard. Fitted a lot of LED fittings in the year before retirement and the difference was very noticeable both in improved light and power consumption. Brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keithm Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 Screwfix do good ones https://www.screwfix.com/p/philips-g13-t8-led-tube-2000lm-20w-1500mm/6280v Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
signalredshaker Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 fitted five of the 5' twin type into my garage and although they use about the same energy (Fluorescent tubes are quite efficient) they are much brighter that a 6' twin fitting- or so it seems- and no losses at start up in cold conditions. They are ON at full brightness from the word go and there is no deterioration in light output as the fitting ages. I paid about £50 each on line. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted January 31, 2019 Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 For garage use what colour led does one select. They seem to be available in various shades of white and daylight ?!? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted January 31, 2019 Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 It's really a matter of taste. For a living area, people usually prefer a warmer color, like 2700K or so. For a garage, something cooler (but higher color temp, go figure) might look fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spit_2.5PI Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 I'm not familiar with LED tubes, but I presume that like fluorescents they will have a "Colour Rendition Index" or CRI. If accurate colour - e.g. spraying - is what you need, then look for something with a CRI of say 98%. Daylight and incandescent bulbs are 100%. I imagine most fluorescents, and single LEDs too, will be 50% to 80%, something like that. My wife uses Sylvania Activa tubes in her antique furniture restoration workshop for the colour rendition (CRI=98). Cheers, Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 "Color temperature" is maybe more important. it's the actual color of the light. Measured in degrees Kelvin. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grahamgl Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 Gentlemen, Please excuse my ignorance but can you fit an LED tube in a fluorescent light fitting and, if so, is it a straight remove old tube and fit new tube? Graham Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 I have not done this (yet) but I suspect you may need to do some re-wiring inside the fitting to remove the parts which were needed to "start" the old tube. I think all the LED tube would require is 240V direct across it. I stand to be corrected. Bob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 They should come with a replacement for the starter, which I think is just a link, so you don't need to remove the old ballast. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted February 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 Firstly, thanks to all the replies, I had looked at you tube, and it seems the way to go. It seems there are two types of LED, those that can in fact be used to simply replace an ordinary tube. the other type requires simple internal wiring mods, to use, the type that will be in new compete fittings, - wha tBob says. My issue is that I have 5 x 6ft double fittings now, and it seems for the price of a 6ft replacement tube, either kind, I can probobly buy a new 5ft double led fitting. Thats is going to take quite awhile to recover those costs in a garage. John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chilliman Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 John, I've fitted 4 of these as replacements for the double fluorescent's I had. Only did it within the last 12 months and they are a massive improvement - you don't realise how bad your existing lighting is until you upgrade to the new LED systems..I'm working on the bodywork most evenings and these have really made a difference for me. https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-twin-led-batten-60w-5600lm-5ft/7223v Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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