The Benefits of LED Tubes
More and more industries and commercial businesses are turning to LED as the lighting source for their work places and warehouses over traditional linear fluorescent lights. Offering double the lifetime of a traditional tube, and potential energy savings of up to 80%, LED lighting has the potential to minimise your maintenance and replacement costs while ensuring your business is perfectly illuminated with crisp, high quality lighting.
Benefits of switching to LED:
- LED tubes are up to 80% more efficient than a standard T8 or TL-D fluorescent tube
Switching to LED can potentially slash your energy bills in half, leaving you with more profit to reinvest back into your business.
- As bright or brighter than a fluorescent tube, without the additional cost
LED tubes are available in a range of light outputs, and because LED tubes direct the light downwards, unlike fluorescent tubes with a 360°d beam angle, additional energy is not consumed lighting the ceiling or the back of the fixture where it is not needed.
- No compromise on light quality
LED lighting produces quality light with a high colour rendering of 80-89 or 90-99Ra, so colours are represented accurately, and are available in a choice of colour temperatures to suit the needs of your business. For example, products in the Philips MASTER LEDtube Food range are designed to bring out the deep red hues of meat products, to make your meat counter more attractive to browsing customers.
- No flicker, glare or warm-up time
Unlike traditional fluorescent tubes, LED lighting emits no irritating background hum, does not flicker and reaches full brightness instantly
- Environmentally friendly
By switching to LED you are also helping to ensure a greener environment, as they are a mercury-free alternative to traditional tubes.
- Durable, robust and adaptable to extreme conditions
LED tubes are significantly more durable than fluorescent tubes and can operate in extreme temperature conditions from -20°C to 40°C.
- Hassle free replacement
The majority of the LED tubes in our range can be installed instantly into your old open or closed fixture, with no need for complicated rewiring.
Applications:
- General lighting: cellars, stairways, garages, corridors, offices, health/residential care, etc.
- Retail: car parks, shops, etc.
- Industry: warehouses, garages, cold storage, supply rooms, etc.
Choosing the correct LED tube:
Wattage:
The most important aspect to bare in mind when choosing your replacement LED is the wattage of your current tube, and the length of the tube directly corresponds to the wattage. We make it easy for you to find the equivalent replacement for existing tubes by including the old wattage in the product title. For example: Philips CorePro LEDtube Glass 16W 840 120cm - Replaces 36W T8
Colour temperature:
When choosing your replacement LED tube, you may want to consider the colour temperature that best suits your lighting purposes. LED tubes are available in the following colour temperatures:
- 2700k (extra warm white):
Similar to the orange glow produced by an incandescent or halogen light bulb, this colour temperature is often recommended for meat and bakery products to highlight the natural red and orange tones to make the produce look more fresh and attractive to potential customers.
- 3000k (warm white):
Slightly whiter than 2700k, this colour temperature is ideal for use in hospitality and residential settings as it creates a natural, ambient light.
- 4000k (neutral white):
A crisp white light with no blue or yellow tones, this temperature is preferable for use in retail, supermarkets and showroom lighting as colours are presented accurately. This is also the preferred temperature for office spaces, hospitals and manufacturing warehouses as it promotes alertness, increases wakefulness and enhances visibility.
- 6500k (cool daylight):
This very cool colour temperature strongly favours blue colours and flattens red tones, and can be applied to specialist environments such as graphic arts studios, winter goods suppliers, bathrooms and cold storage.
Light Output:
Many people still mistakenly assume that wattage and light output directly correspond. This is, in fact, not true, as LED lighting operates on a reduced wattage while emitting the same or better light output as a traditional fluorescent. LED tubes are available in the following light outputs, with higher outputs recommended for high ceilings and increased visibility:
- Basic Output: 800-1600 lumens, e.g., Philips CorePro LEDtube Budget range, Osram SubstiTUBE Value range
- Standard Output: 1600-2000 lumen, e.g., Philips MASTER LEDtube HF range, Osram SubstiTUBE Advanced range
- High output: 2100-31000 lumen, e.g., Philips MASTER LEDtube High Output range,
- Ultra Output: - 2500-3700 lumen, e.g, Philips MASTER LEDtube Ultra Output range,
Installation:
Does your luminaire contain a starter? If yes, then you have magnetic or conventional ballast. If not, your luminaire operates on an electronic ballast.
Conventional ballast:
- Choose a tube compatible with a conventional ballast – you can check this on the product page.
- Replace the old starter with the LED starter included in the packaging.
- Insert the new LED tube in place of the old fluorescent tube.
Electronic ballast:
- Choose a tube from the Philips MASTER LEDtube InstantFit range or the Osram SubstiTUBE range for easy, plug and play replacement.
- Simply fit the new LED tube into place.
Don’t forget, you can always contact our customer service team for advice on making the switch to LED!