How much to maintain fluorescent T8s and upgrade to LED?

Roopeedoo

Hi,

Please could either an end user or contractor help me with some calculations?

Please could someone with flourescent T8 lamps tell me how often they need replacing (please specify lamp size) and how much it would cost to have the ballast and starter removed from the fittings in order to prepare them for LED?

I've been informed that they last for 8000 hours but would like to know how true this is...

Ben84

I have some T8 tubes around the house, including one in the kitchen that is used often. The tubes themselves are very long lasting, I've changed one since I moved in years ago. I'm not sure there's much energy savings to make from replacing them with LED bulbs, as lighting up a whole kitchen or garage with good bright light for 36W is actually very good already?

rogerblack

8000 hours is probably not unreasonable if they are on for long periods.

As to replacing with LEDs - a good T8 system will be as efficient at the moment than all but the best LEDs.

It's likely that it's going to be a couple of years yet before quality LEDs become reasonably cheap.

~100W worth of bare LEDs are now around a fiver in bulk. Without a driver or case or ...

RosieBirkett

Sorry, I have not been clear enough with my question.

I manufacture LED lamps, including T8s. They are rarely used in domestic environments and tend to win larger contracts.

The reason I am asking is because I would like to calculate a more accurate payback timescale, which would have to include the cost of removal of the ballast and starter from the existing fittings and a true fluorescent T8 life span.

RosieBirkett

rogerblack wrote: »

It's likely that it's going to be a couple of years yet before quality LEDs become reasonably cheap.

~100W worth of bare LEDs are now around a fiver in bulk. Without a driver or case or ...

Incidentally, the wattage from an LED is rather insignificant. The lumens per watt will tell you how much actual light you will achieve. A 2ft T8 of quality should cost an end user in the region of £30. For that you could expect 10w and nearly 1000 lumens.

The cost of existing LEDs will drop over time, but will forever be replaced with better and more efficient technology. I'm a similar way to the computer market, you can always buy old technology for less, but if you want to invest in better products there will be a premium for it.

rogerblack

RosieBirkett wrote: »

Incidentally, the wattage from an LED is rather insignificant. The lumens per watt will tell you how much actual light you will achieve. A 2ft T8 of quality should cost an end user in the region of £30. For that you could expect 10w and nearly 1000 lumens.

The cost of existing LEDs will drop over time, but will forever be replaced with better and more efficient technology. I'm a similar way to the computer market, you can always buy old technology for less, but if you want to invest in better products there will be a premium for it.

Oddly my reply to this seems to have gone - maybe I wrote it and diddn't post it.
Yes - sloppy writing - I meant 100W 'normal' equivalent - 1300lm or so.

In addition - there is somewhat limited room for improvement.

When I first got a decent power LED - it - from memory - cost about 8 quid, and produced 20lm@1W.
I recently bought one 900lm LED for 5 quid, already mounted on a little heat-spreader.

At 1W, this LED actually hits about 150lm/W - an improvement of sevenfold in a decade.
We're not going to see this again - simply as an absolutely 100% efficient LED would produce between 250, and 400lm/W (depending on how accurate you want white)

At the moment, LED is - mostly - unreliable, with light outputs that don't meet the claims, and comes nowhere close to being equivalent, except for the most competently made fixtures.
(It's not hard to pay as much for a poorly made fixture however)

It's going to be rather different in 5 years time, though LED bulbs will still be more expensive than CFL, they are likely to have better colour, and be more efficient.

In 8 years - CFL will have gone away totally.