Home & Garden

Led t8

  • Last Updated:
  • Feb 19th, 2016 6:50 pm
Tags:
None
Jr. Member
Oct 31, 2014
158 posts
50 upvotes
Toronto, ON

Led t8

Has anyone made the switch to LED T8's yet? Instant fit or rewired? Anyone look into it but didn't think the expense was worth it yet?
3 replies
Newbie
User avatar
Sep 23, 2010
30 posts
25 upvotes
Ottawa On
toronto649dt wrote: Has anyone made the switch to LED T8's yet?
Instant fit or rewired?
Anyone look into it but didn't think the expense was worth it yet?
Yup.
Objective: modernize my Hockey Theater room lighting after a florescent tube bulb outage
(Media room, Man cave)

Project:
I purchased the T8's in 2 pack from COSTCO NEPEAN about 2weeks back,
I think $39 per pack of two tubes, total $86 bucks for four T8 tubes.

I plan to buy two more soon.
The rebate coupons wont work because these parts do not have the energy-star certification.


http://www.costco.ca/Luminus%C2%AE-4-ft ... 33182.html

OK I had cheapo T40's in those T32 house fixtures that are in my ceiling lighting wells.
Replaced back in 2008.
Not sure of color temp on originals but reddish white type. Annoying.
The floresecent tubes 'strobe-flicker' at 120 Hz.
In comparison, I have not noticed 120 Hz flicker with the LEDs.

LED Replacements (in pairs) are consuming 44 Watts *measured* with an AC
Current Clamp Meter on the High side AC wire (116~123VAC 60Hz in Ottawa).
(Professional Caution: You have to be qualified or trained to be able
to dismantle the fixture to access one side of the AC line. Don't do this at home unless qualified or knowlegable.)

I clamped on the feed when I checked the ballast XFMRs and starters, under power (carefully).
The fixtures are 1992 date coded and old and I want to make sure they are not leaching black ooze (not good). All good.

I checked the fixtures in the Garage and Shop and found two with PCB leaching; not good.

Discovery: Yes, the LEDs consume roughly 25~50% of the older large tubes.

Older 1992 T40 dual tube fixtures actually measured 102 watts total.

Discovery: really Warm to touch ; about 38C or so.
LED tubes, running two hours, 28C. Very cool.
I think the Temperature from is from oversized use of T40 big diameter tubes in place of T32's.
Conclusion: The LED tubes run a lot cooler.
This temperature comparision is also true of the $25! Tri-Light LEDs I bought at Canadian Tire.

(Costco has online deal at $44 for two bulbs on the same Luminous brand)
The surface of a incandescent 30-70-100w bulb is scalding hot;
the equivalent LED tri-light bulb cool to touch, so that you could continuously
grasp the LED bulb in the top brightness without harm.


Size: wow, a bit smaller in diameter ? Or perhaps I am not familiair with T8's.

downside: LEDS are bright (these are the two banks in my media room)
If I transition from dark Media room to full bright, its an iris changer for a few seconds or so.
"Instant" ON effect for the LEDs.

Summary:
I had four tubes running before in two (dual tube) ceiling fixtures in a media room.
I was using cheaper 40W, and not the 32W.
It was overheating my ballasts. In comparision, the LED tubes run cooler and I can see how the claim of
40% consumption reduction is correct.
upside
(1) LED tubes are cooler in operating temperature.
(2)Energy Consumption is 1/3 of incandescent/florescent bulbs.

downside?
(3) wow, perhaps LED tubes are too bright at 4000K really bluish white color. Perhaps twice as bright in perception.
(4)Tubes cannot be dimmed.
(5) two Led Tubes are more expensive than a dozen pack of T32's (recently cheapo priced at $29.99 on sale)
but there is a good chance that you will sell your house in a decade, with those same LED bulbs as a feature.

Safety notes:
(6) I have to look into my flor.fixtures in my shop; some of the ballasts have visual indication of PCB ooze on the ballasts.
My House is aged from 1961, with some 1980's and 1990's fixtures so modernization is a future consideration.

I would have missed all of this, had I not converted to LED tubes,
and then took the time to inspect the ceiling fixtures, clean out spider webs, wash the difuser and bezel;
the Man stuff in my Hockey Theater. I found loose marrett-twist-ons, spiders, dust, mouse crap,
spray-foam leaching some yellow stuff onto the diffusers...

NEXT topic: Holy crap! While playing with my AC clamp Current meter (!carefully!) :

my electric water heater
(12yrs old, 60 gallon behemoth is consuming "large" off the 2phase 238Vac!The consumption is much higher than
the Furnace Fan.
I gotta find some way to econo-this in the retiring years.
Natural Gas may be my answer but a new Tank will need a forced exhaust;
Q: is there a way to modify that existing Water Heater to suck less of the Alternating Current?
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jun 12, 2007
20807 posts
6623 upvotes
London
The thing to watch out for with the LED replacement tubes is that they don't work in all fixtures. The good thing about Costco is that you have easy returns if your fixture isn't compatible.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 4, 2004
7534 posts
792 upvotes
Toronto
The lumens output of an LED T8 is significantly less than that of a fluorescent T8. Bear that in mind.

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)