Cheapest place to get 76 LED fluorescent equivalent tubes?

MoreProbs

The tubes are T5 49W/840. These are around 5' long. The building has 76 of these, some twin fittings some single. Lighting is the biggest use of electricity.

We think we can save electricity each year if we replace all the tubes with LED types as these are 26W for the same output.

Can I ask if anyone knows where the best places to buy LED tubes are? And what does the 840 refer to, is it the light colour? Thank you.

Mister_G

Are you sure that they are not T8 rather than T5.  I can't find anyone doing the T5 in that length.

This looks like a good price at £10 each if you buy 10.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303932855814?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=1110006&algo=HOMESPLICE.SIM&ao=1&asc=20201210111314&meid=21da43aaa4af4adda4686e0a13863c35&pid=101195&rk=1&rkt=12&sd=323767257418&itm=303932855814&pmt=1&noa=0&pg=2047675&algv=SimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuAspectsV202110NoVariantSeedKnnRecallV1&brand=Energizer&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum:30393285581421da43aaa4af4adda4686e0a13863c35|enc:AQAHAAABIMFr2e4EmAnM%2ByHZkULYKDIJ4L66fOjNL0iupgt%2BzO1%2F3AE1t3mNirUYB96NktMCicMagiS6mbeTl0xquGODv9nF2OwsOioH59F5fusZPwUAR6PnOUaNfgum7ykkyQ5j2OC%2B0Q0p%2BWTIaf61JBjrjMU7O1NPGVOxZNqim5S8WhTL53Wi5Fbu4pEP2W%2FbdMB1QbesUS6uDl0Kwm%2FQQMBSYV6LT3JcRhMjQN2DuRVCXtbWNP7o8ssDCcTRzZRWFQ5M1zsn5AMJVpdvu%2BIy0EcbftLYRiDEtuYvrCFqpgXuz5JlL4jpKkvCNtjuwkC8Ovv6z69h7VnpN8D2%2BNctYqEsQ%2FIqqovXv2x5sWQ%2FX1Nfu2LPzaJSgPFbf4M09PZPEV9sEQ%3D%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675

And 840 is Cool White

tacpot12

You should be able to save some money, but you also need to know if your fittings have High Frequency (HF) ballasts or the older mains ballasts. You need a different (more expensive) tube for HF.   

Yes, 840 relates to the colour of the light. 840 = 4000K.

I've not bought T5 LED fittings yet, but my experience with other LED bulbs leads to think that if you buy cheap, you will regret it. I would recommend going for a good brand like Osram or Philips, unless you see reviews to the contrary.  Buying in the sort of quantity you need, you should get some discount, and it would be worth calling electrical suppliers like CEF to see if they can beat the online sellers. You could try asking your electricani if they have an account at CEF, as they might get more discount that you will, but this might be discount off an inflated price. 

grumbler

840 = Cool White

Did you do any calculations?

LED tubes will cost you about a tenner each and, with 23W difference, will take about 1250 hours to pay for themselves at current prices.

I'd replace them one by one when they fail or, possibly, even consider replacing the fittings.

Rodders53

Are you sure the leds are the same lumens out and directions you need for that power consumption.  Who does the maintenance and lamp replacement, currently?  Check with them for a view on changing them?

Note you may need to rewire the luminaires to accept led tubes if they are the more energy efficient electronic ballasts...  That cost would impact any electricity savings payback timescale.

Lighting controls could also save electric, if not money, e.g. PIR sensors to switch off in unoccupied areas.  If overly bright, removal of a fitting here and there?

https://ledison-led-lights.co.uk/tube-lights-t8-t5/t5-led-tubes/t5-led-tube-150cm-22watt.html claims 125 lumens per W x22  = 2750 lumens and a 50,000 lifetime.

https://www.osram.com/ecat/LUMILUX T5 HO-Fluorescent lamps T5-Fluorescent lamps-Lamps-Digital Systems/com/en/GPS01_1027864/ZMP_60197/ has 4800 lumens initially and 4,320 lumens (90%) at 16,000 hours of running with further slow light out decay until failure.

There has been a thread elsewhere were people are refitting fluorescent tubes due to poor led light pattern/levels and excess failures.  So beware and do a lot more research.

Any electrical wholesaler will quote for a bulk Order quantity.  Get multiple quotes, but ensure you are comparing the exact same item.  (Same applies for fluorescent tubes themselves).

Gerry1

Mister_G said:

This looks like a good price at £10 each if you buy 10.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303932855814 <snip>

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303932855814 was all that was needed !

Robin9

It's all very well replacing florescent by the nearest equivalent LED but are you sure that the lighting you have is correct and is cool white the best option - perhaps warm white could be better.

Mister_G

Gerry1 said:

Mister_G said:

This looks like a good price at £10 each if you buy 10.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303932855814 <snip>

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303932855814 was all that was needed !

So it was, thank you!  I was just being lazy!

I have used these to replace the fluorescents in our village hall and they have been very successfull.  Having the replacement "starter" in the pack was very useful for the old magnetic ballasted fittings that we had and saved any rewiring.

MoreProbs

Thank you all for your comments. There's more to think about than I'd imagined. 
The most worrying is the light output as the fluorescent has over 4000 but the LEDs are more like 2700. That's a big difference.

To answer some questions, I don't know what type of fittings they have, and some look more modern than others. They seem to use the same tubes. I can find this out and take some photos. Yes, they have done some sums and they think they'd break even in one year so would save after that.
Thank you everyone, you have been so helpful. I'll try and get more info, and perhaps what they should do is to try replacing just a few and making sure they are happy with them.

Mister_G

Yes, probably best to try replacing a few before commissioning such a large outlay.

The emission from the phosphor in the fluorescent lamp falls off with time, so if the tubes have been in for sometime you may find the lower lumens of LED lamps not too signinficant.

chris1973

Aliexpress. We fitted our entire office and factory out with them from a vendor on there, and they are all still going strong 4 years on.