I have some 2'x2' fluorescent fixtures I'd like to convert to LED. Each ceiling mount fixture uses a pair of 40W T12 tubes.
I've seen LED U-tubes, but they require a T8 type ballast. That means I would need to replace the ballasts.
I thought why not use four 24" LED direct wire tubes. A Google search actually came up with a video showing this, but they only used three LED 24" T8 tubes.
Some more searching found comments saying since the LEDs faced down, all their light was projected downward & therefore you didn't need as many lumens. However I'm not sure if that pertained to both LED strip light conversions and also LED tubes which may help diffuse the light because they are enclosed in a tube.
Home Depot sells 24" direct wire LED tubes for $10 which come with non-shorting tombstone holders. The original holders would be swapped with non-shorting ones, and I would have to add holders to the opposite side of the fixture since there are none there. These would not be powered but needed to hold up the other end of the tube.
Depending on where I look, a 40W U-bend fluorescent is about 2,200 lumens. The Toggled brand 24" LED tube is 1,120 lumens. A pair of them would be 2,240 which should match the original tubes.
My concerns -
Will the LED tubes produce too much light, or more than I'm used to? I could use 3 tubes, but would probably have to replace the reflector in the fixture in order to maintain an even light distribution.
How will the ≥ 80 CRI of the LED look compared to the 90 CRI of the fluorescent? Would most people notice a difference?
Any comments & suggestions would be appreciated.\
Thanks
I've seen LED U-tubes, but they require a T8 type ballast. That means I would need to replace the ballasts.
I thought why not use four 24" LED direct wire tubes. A Google search actually came up with a video showing this, but they only used three LED 24" T8 tubes.
Some more searching found comments saying since the LEDs faced down, all their light was projected downward & therefore you didn't need as many lumens. However I'm not sure if that pertained to both LED strip light conversions and also LED tubes which may help diffuse the light because they are enclosed in a tube.
Home Depot sells 24" direct wire LED tubes for $10 which come with non-shorting tombstone holders. The original holders would be swapped with non-shorting ones, and I would have to add holders to the opposite side of the fixture since there are none there. These would not be powered but needed to hold up the other end of the tube.
Depending on where I look, a 40W U-bend fluorescent is about 2,200 lumens. The Toggled brand 24" LED tube is 1,120 lumens. A pair of them would be 2,240 which should match the original tubes.
My concerns -
Will the LED tubes produce too much light, or more than I'm used to? I could use 3 tubes, but would probably have to replace the reflector in the fixture in order to maintain an even light distribution.
How will the ≥ 80 CRI of the LED look compared to the 90 CRI of the fluorescent? Would most people notice a difference?
Any comments & suggestions would be appreciated.\
Thanks