Replacing old Fluorescent Lights with LED batten

[winston1]

fluorescent lights

Is this for aesthetics only or is there a practical reason for not using something like This

Yes at 22 watts it is going to be about half the light output of a 58 watt tube.

 

[FrodoOne]

fluorescent lights

Is this for aesthetics only or is there a practical reason for not using something like This

Both ascetics and efficiency.
The light from LED Panels is mainly "downward" - NOT at the 180 to 270 degrees of LED "tubes" nor at the 360 degrees of Fluorescent Tubes.

 

[Dave4290]

Both ascetics and efficiency.
The light from LED Panels is mainly "downward" - NOT at the 180 to 270 degrees of LED "tubes" nor at the 360 degrees of Fluorescent Tubes.

Are the LEDs replaceable on the panels or do you replace the whole panel? If the whole panel is replaced it seems a lot more expensive option in the long term?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Just get another fluorescent.

 

[FrodoOne]

Are the LEDs replaceable on the panels or do you replace the whole panel? If the whole panel is replaced it seems a lot more expensive option in the long term?

LED Panels are likely to last for many years longer than Fluorescent Tubes, as are LED Tubes.
It is an "Efficiency versus Life Span" question.

 

[flameport]

I just want to make sure the wiring is going to be as easy

This: https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/4837549-28w-5ft-led-steel-batten-fitting-4000k if you want something equivalent to the single 58W fluorescent you have got now.
Or this: https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/4837555-55w-6ft-led-steel-batten-fitting-4000k if you want it significantly brighter.
Both have cable entry holes and fixing holes in the same place as fluorescent battens.

LED panels are all very well if you want something which looks totally different and most certainly will not have the same holes for wiring and fixing.

Led tubes which can be shoehorned into fittings designed for fluorescent tubes are junk. Do not buy.

 

[flameport]

Just get another fluorescent.

Good luck finding any.

In any case, a poor choice as all fluorescent tubes will be off the market in less than a year from now.
Supplies will then be limited to those who hoarded a stash of old stock in a warehouse to sell at inflated prices.

 

[ericmark]

Yes at 22 watts it is going to be about half the light output of a 58 watt tube.

Yes that is what I did, I swapped a 65 watt fluorescent tube for a 58 watt tube, and the ballast did work, but tube life dropped from around 4 years each to 6 months, so I fitted a 22 watt LED, which worked, but around half the lumen as @winston1 says, but to my mind that was enough, I could not easy access the fitting, so the tube change made it easy.

My son has now bought my old house, and he decided the spread was not good enough, so fitted down lights not sure on size of each down light, but he is using more power for the same amount of light, however it is a high ceiling, so there is room for the light to spread, and store his wife's bike.

But in the main we fitted 5 foot fluorescent lamps to get the spread, and did not really need the lumen output, so dropping to 2200 lumen from around 5200 lumen is often not an issue, but only you will know that, the fluorescent can have a wire wound ballast or a HF ballast, the latter increases tube output and life so makes the fluorescent tube the same as LED for life and lumen per watt output, but the former can use well over the rated 58 watt, and the tubes don't last as long, so very hard to compare LED and Fluorescent as it depends on the type of ballast.

However I have seen silly claims as to equivalent, clearly a LED tube is replacing a fluorescent not a tungsten, so any equivalent should compare with fluorescent, but often they don't, they compare with tungsten which is ridiculous as you could never fit a tungsten in the fitting.

 

[Notch7]

LED Panels are likely to last for many years longer than Fluorescent Tubes, as are LED Tubes.
It is an "Efficiency versus Life Span" question.

LEDs are pretty unreliable in my experience.

 

[SUNRAY]

Led tubes which can be shoehorned into fittings designed for fluorescent tubes are junk. Do not buy.

Could you explain why a 'tube' used in one fitting is good, but "junk" when used in a different fitting.

 

[flameport]

Tubes have the LEDs contrived into that shape, which means they have little or no thermal management, will be limited to being in a single thin strip along the centre of the tube, the placement and quantity of individual LEDs cannot be optimal and the LED driver is shoved into that tube with the LEDs so it can overheat and fail.
Most also require adjustments to the wiring within the fitting.

Those designed specifically as LED fixtures such as those linked to above have LEDs on a wide aluminium plate for cooling, and the individual LEDs are positioned on that plate to provide the proper distribution of light.
The LED driver is a separate component, so any heat from the LEDs won't be directly coupled to it.
There is no 'tube' involved.

 

[flameport]

LEDs are pretty unreliable in my experience.

Depends on what you have been buying.
There are plenty of substandard LED lamps and light fittings available.
There are also plenty of good ones.

 

[SUNRAY]

Tubes have the LEDs contrived into that shape, which means they have little or no thermal management, will be limited to being in a single thin strip along the centre of the tube, the placement and quantity of individual LEDs cannot be optimal and the LED driver is shoved into that tube with the LEDs so it can overheat and fail.
Most also require adjustments to the wiring within the fitting.

Those designed specifically as LED fixtures such as those linked to above have LEDs on a wide aluminium plate for cooling, and the individual LEDs are positioned on that plate to provide the proper distribution of light.
The LED driver is a separate component, so any heat from the LEDs won't be directly coupled to it.
There is no 'tube' involved.

Thank you, I understand the direction you are coming from now.

 

[ericmark]

I have to admit the first LED replacement for a 5 foot tube only lasted 18 months, and for most of that time, the house was unoccupied.

The one fluorescent with a HF ballast was top of stairs, it was an emergency light, as stairs in the centre of the house, it was fitted while working on building of Sizewell 'B' bought second hand at a radio rally, and I have replaced the tube once in the 30 plus years it has been fitted, however one lamp does not mean all last that long.

At a fire station in California, the world's oldest light bulb has been burning for 118 years. By now not only the light bulb, but also the town Livermore are famous and are even in the Guinness Book of Records.

I can say without much fear of contradiction most do not last that long.

LED's were fitted by me around 2010, and most seem to last for years, had a few GU10 fail, and odd E14, but compared with compact fluorescent (not tubes) and tungsten they last far longer.

But the LED replacement for the fluorescent tube has to have a wide voltage range, to allow leaving the wire wound ballast in place, and resistance to spikes caused by the ballast, if the ballast is removed then it gets full 230 volt.

I have also been looking on how to replace the kitchen light, in my case 4 GU10's arranged in a square, I think maybe lighting track is the best option, so I can move lights to where required, if I could lift floor boards I would fit modern equivalent to old 2D lamps, but can't get access to run cables, so the lighting track allows me to run power surface without it looking like an after thought, even though it is.

I would prefer power track, so I can also power the island in middle of kitchen, but it is down to how to get power to it. Also then how do I switch the lights on/off, I could use speech control, hey google etc. And not worry about switches.

But this is my problem not yours, the point is you need to design what you want, and there are loads of options.

 

[Sureitsoff?]

"These Days" you really should consider using "LED Panel" lights, rather than replacing "Fluorescent Battens" with something which looks like them !

(e. g. https://www.lights.co.uk/led-panel-lights/ )

Not at those prices would i consider them........