Today LED linear tube lights are one of the easiest ways to reduce your energy costs, simply replace all inefficient fluorescent linear tubes with high efficiency LED linear tube lights. On the face of it, this may seem relatively simple, but how do you know what tube type to purchase, for safety, efficiency and illumination levels.
The most overlooked aspect of this process is “SAFETY.” Not all LED tubes are listed with UL or ETL the same way and careful investigation needs to be carried out to determine what approvals these different tube types carry. Here is a brief explanation of the 3 most common types on sale today.
TYPE A ( Ballast compatible)
These tubes are the simplest to install, no modification is necessary to the wiring just a simple lamp replacement and away you go. However this is not the most efficient solution available as the ballast will use energy and eventually fail, requiring you to replace the ballast. Be aware of tube manufacturers whos tube states they can work with line voltage also! Check to make sure they have been approved for this type of Installation, most are not!
TYPE B (Ballast Bypass)
Type B tubes are the most efficient as the ballast is eliminated from the circuit, making the system efficient and eliminate a failure point. There are two different type B styles single end power and double end power. The single end power tube requires modification to the wiring to energize the tombstone on one side of the fixture only, this can mean changing existing tombstones to non shunted if you don’t already have those. Double end power tubes require no electrical modification other than the simple bypass of the ballast, these are ultimately the quickest and least expensive Type B installation.
TYPE A+B (hybrid tubes)
Hybrid LED tubes offer the best of both worlds, a simple plug and play option requiring no electrical work, but using higher energy initially. Then when the ballast does fail, you can bypass and run the tube on line voltage, beware today most hybrid tubes bypassing the ballast have to be single end power, meaning electrical modifications and possible tombstone replacement.
TYPE C (External power supply)
Type C tubes are not common, they do eliminate/bypass the ballast and require some electrical work. This style offers the longest life of all product styles, but not the lowest cost.
Americas Best LED offers a range of LED tube lights that are all commercial grade and highest quality. Call today for advice at 727 314 8656