LED Fluorescent Tubes

LED Tubes are a straight swap for traditional Tubes as they are available in the same lengths. Simply remove your old tube and fit the new one. It is important to note that to get the full benefit of the LED tubes efficiency, removal of the old control gear and rewiring the fitting to suit the LED tube purchased is best practice. If the control gear is left in your fitting, it will still draw current making the setup slightly less effective than an LED tube that is powered directly from mains supply.
 

With the new range of LED Tubes there is no need for a ballast or change to the wiring in your original fitting. All you have to do is fit the tube and change the starter for a LED Fluorescent Tube starter that comes with the tube when you purchase it. It is however, still recommended to have the fitting rewired to operate the tube from a direct mains supply, as the control gear will still draw current making it slightly less efficient than an LED tube powered directly from mains supply.
 

Both these LED products are good energy saving products which offer long lifespans and low maintenance costs. There are certainly benefits to both system types, such as LED battens being the best for a new installation, as they are a complete product included in its own housing, making installation easy and cost effective. LED fluorescent tubes are a brilliant choice for those with an existing array of fluorescent fittings, as they are a retrofit product that can either be installed straight into the fittings with little effort (slightly less efficient that direct to mains wiring, but allowing for easy maintenance) or the fittings can be rewired to house the tubes at full efficiency.

Most modern LED tubes tend to have slightly brighter, or very similar lumen outputs (LED tubes can vary in efficacy, so this depends on the brand) to fluorescent tubes, making them ideal like for like replacements. Due to the LED tubes often having better colour rendering, they often appear much brighter than their fluorescent counterparts. Not only do they generally have a slight edge in lumen output and colour rendering, but they also do not lose much brightness over the course of their life, whereas fluorescent tubes lose their maximum brightness fairly early on into their usage. Given the brighter outputs, better colours and lumen retention, as well as the superior lifespan, LED tubes are certainly the better choice of the two.