One of our customers’ recurring questions is about the advantages of replacing fluorescent tubes with LED, especially when it comes to commercial lighting.  Do LED tubes last longer? Do they offer better performance? are they more efficient? And the questions go on. 

This article will explain some of the advantages, enumerating some to answer why LED tubes are the perfect replacement for our old fluorescent tubes. 

Dimming

LED tubes, overall, offer the best performance when it comes to dimming for a much better price; they are easily dimmable from 100% of the light to even 0.5% of the light.  Fluorescent tubes, on the other hand, although some of them can be dimmable as well, have fewer options and present an inferior performance (down to about 15% of their normal light). LED tubes give more control in dimming with a more satisfactory result.

Directionality

When we talk about  Directional Lighting, we are talking about how the tubes emit the light; fluorescent tubes are omnidirectional, which means they emit the light for 360 degrees around the bulb, sometimes reaching unnecessary areas. Since LED tubes emit lights 180 degrees, it is easier to target where the light is needed; you get the best of your lightning without any light loss. LED tubes’ directional lighting offers better control over the direction we want from our lighting.

Efficiency

There’s no secret about it; LED tubes consume less electrical energy. Some studies show that they are 30% more efficient than fluorescent tubes. The general performance drop is also pretty low compared to fluorescent lights. Based on this, we can easily conclude that using LED tubes will surely cut down the budgets allowed for lighting in the long run, its one of the most important factors in Replacing your fluorescent tubes with LED.

Life Span

Both options are pretty durable and offer a long lifespan, but LED tubes are much more durable, ranging from 25,000 hours to 200,000 hours of light before we consider a replacement. LED tubes are more robust and resistant and can withstand much better vibrations or abuse; it explains the manufacturers’ ten years of warranty often offered. A long life span is a significant feature to consider when investing in lights, primarily for commercial use. LED tubes will surely last longer and have a low maintenance cost. 

Color Rendering

Fluorescent lights are known for their CCT values (correlated color temperature), with typical values ranging from warm white at 2700K to daylight at 6500K. These values are now reachable by LED lighting, which means that CCT is also possible with LED tubes. LED tubes generate the entire spectrum of visible light colors without using any traditional color filters.

Weather Conditions

We do not recommend fluorescent tubes for outdoor lighting, especially when the temperature drops drastically. CFLs’ light quality will suffer significantly in such conditions. LED tubes perform much better in cold weather; they don’t require heating, making them perfect for use in cold weather. LED tubes will be the best to use outdoor based on our weather.

No Mercury

LED tubes contain non-hazardous materials and are entirely free from lead; they contain Plastic and Aluminum, easily recyclable components. The absence of mercury is a significant asset to LED tubes, as opposed to fluorescent tubes that have a small amount of mercury which was always a big concern for customers and environmentalists. Switching to LED tubes is a safe choice for the future.

Let’s conclude

Fluorescent tubes have done the job for more than 100 years; they were the best choice to replace incandescent lighting, increasing safety and longevity, but now that LED technology is mature and much more affordable, it has become almost natural to switch to it. High quality, improved performance, and extended longevity are all characteristics needed in any lighting project, which explains why LED tubes will make fluorescent technology obsolete. Please check all our LED tubes and bulbs and contact us to get all the information needed for your lighting needs.