Tube Lights

LED Tube Lights

There is a myriad of models of LED tube lights to choose from and here is a small guide to understand what you should be looking at to select the right ones for you.

Ballast Compatibility: While old fluorescent tubes DO need a ballast, LED tube lights DON’T. You can choose from: a) Ballast compatible (ballast removal is NOT necessary), b) NOT Ballast compatible (you NEED to remove the ballast) or c) Hybrid (they work with or without ballast). Keep in mind that the ballast consumes around 20% of the energy of the tube, so leaving a ballast with an 18W LED tube light will actually draw around 22W. LEDRadiant DO NOT recommend leaving the ballast, especially if your goal is to maximize savings.

Length / Width: LED tube lights come in different lengths: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 feet (and others) and they have different thicknesses: T12 (1.5” diameter), T8 (1” diameter), T5 (5/8” diameter).

Connector: LED tube lights connect to a fixture through a connector that rest at both ends of the tube. These can be G13 (most of the T12’s & T8’s), G5 (most of T5’s), FA8, nipple or single pin (8 footers). There’s another kind of connector, called Recessed double contact R17d and is only for high output lumens tubes.

Lens: You can also select between Clear and Frosted lens. The only difference between them is that, in the clear ones, you can actually “see” the LED chip inside the LED tube light, so if they are going to be at eye level,  you might want to select frosted, otherwise it is 100% an aesthetical selection. BOTH of them have the same amount of lumens.

Material: Some LED tube lights are half aluminum and half plastic, others are 100% plastic and other ones are 100% glass. Selection of material does not affect performance and it is also entirely aesthetical.

Compare from our different models of LED tube lights and choose the one that better fit your needs. Do not hesitate contacting us if you have any question regarding our LED tube lights.