Fluorescent tube

Benny2020

How much power does an old (20 years plus) 4ft Fluorescent tube use?

Swipe

What does it say on the bulb? How many watts?

Benny2020

Don't have access to it, its my parents asking.
They are 89 and 90 so i am not going to ask them to get on a step ladder and look, just wondered if anyone had a ball park figure.

Robin9

36 watt .........

Flight3287462

Robin9 said:

36 watt .........

Aye about that now but what were they 20 years ago?

Anyway you should be able to half that Wattage with an equivalent LED model.

MWT

Depends on the size, the old 6ft tubes were around 75W.

Section62

MWT said:

Depends on the size...

....And the driver electrical components. (which vary widely)

Robin9

Benny2020 said:

How much power does an old (20 years plus) 4ft Fluorescent tube use?

Change it for a 4ft LED and your parents will be amazed by the brightness.

Benny2020

My dad managed to have a look, it's 36w.
Thought it might be more.
What do modern ones use?

gefnew

Here is a chart.
Led Vs Fluorescent tube comparison chart (smartledstriplights.com)

Section62

Benny2020 said:

Thought it might be more.

It will be more - see my previous post about the driver/control electricals.

TBH I wouldn't bother with a LED replacement tube.  They are hit and miss whether they work properly, and without disconnecting the (now redundant) control driver/equipment the power consumption may still be more than the rating of the replacement tube.

If you need an electrician to disable/remove the driver/control electricals so the LED tube works properly then you might just as well pay an electrician to install a made for purpose LED luminaire.

Normally I hate things going to waste rather than being reused/repurposed, but with a 20 year old fluorescent luminaire the environmentals/economics of retrofitting it as LED don't make a great deal of sense. (IMV)