I would like to know what I should take into consideration for the replacement of my old T8 fluorescent tubes (36 W) with LED tubes. How should they be replaced/installed?
Answer provided by Alfonso, Technical Engineering Manager for EYE Lighting with experience in Europe and Australasia in lighting, electrical systems, energy efficiency and renewable energy.
According to the Australian Standard AS/NZS 60598.2.1 it is required that LED tubes are correctly marked indicating rated supply voltage, wattage, frequency, case temperature and an indication of the lamp cap configuration(being either Type A or Type B).
When buying your LED tube lamps they should come with a warning label specifying not to use with fluorescent lamps. That label shall be attached in the retrofitted luminaire. A wiring diagram for their installation shall be supplied too. It has to be considered as well that when modifying the luminaire with a different wiring configuration, the manufacturer of the original fitting is no longer responsible for its compliance.
Some LED tubes run directly on mains voltage as they have a built-in driver in the caps but some others operate from the ballast having the advantage of not modifying the luminaire’s wiring. Either way, make sure that a qualified electrical contractor performs the necessary modification adequately; there are safety issues involved in that task that you must be aware of.
You should also take into consideration that your original luminaires were designed to be used with fluorescent lamps. These tubes have a 360˚ output, together with the luminaire’s optic provide a light output and distribution that will be modified and reduced when installing LED tubes. The example below compares the light distribution obtained in a generic T8 reflector luminaire when using a fluorescent tube (top) and a LED tube (bottom):
The LED tube in the same luminaire my not be able to reach the same output due to the loss of light in the reflector panel.
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