viable replacement options for 8' fluorescents

[somersetsparks]

Hi all,
Been asked to quote for replacing 150 8' fluorescents on light line trunking, the fittings are on for 18 hours a day and access to many is difficult, many of the fittings are original 1967 cromptons still going strong! have been looking at replacement options, just wanted opinions of the forum.
So far the options are...
Thorn twin 6' t8 high frequency fittings circa £26
Crompack LED fittings (5' equivalent)circa £106 each
T5 flurries (haven't priced yet)

So far, I can't see much advantage in the LED fittings, they output lower amounts of lumens per fitting and still only manage 96lm/w. Compared to a 70w t8 at 89lm/w.
Another consideration is the distance between the lines of lighting trunking, flurries give a good spread whereas Led's tend to be a bit more localised.
Also lifespan is an issue as I don't want to be on repeated call backs for faulty fittings and I'm not 100% convinced by LED lifespans yet.
Final point is price, convincing someone to buy fittings at more then four times the cost may be an issue!
Any input much appreciated

 

[tazz]

We changed 220 in Just this one home over a 2 year period, would say on average we had 35 plus per lighting circuit...no flashing or flickering, very happy with the company we used Simple Lighting, gave good discounts.

 

[somersetsparks]

You might need to look at the number of fittings on each circuit if changing for LED,bearing in mind inrush currents.

Currently 18 8' fittings on 20A bs88 fuses, wired in 4mm singles utilising trunking as earth. 4mm is due to length of run. Should be fine for 20+ LED fittings?

 

[plugsandsparks]

FWIW, the last time I looked at this (about a month ago) T8 HF tubes were putting out 10% more lumes / watt than the best LED tubes. About 103 from memory, depends on exactly which tubes you use. When I factored in tube change to get a like for like duration of 25000 hours, it was still miles cheaper than LED. Also the light spread from a tube is just so much better than LED. Maybe in a couple of years they can be better but in my view unless a tube change is very difficult its still T8 for 6ft fittings as a direct replacement for 8ft.

 

[tazz]

Looks very nice. I am a big fan of LED fittings. Especially in hard to maintain areas.

When it gets too big like Kings cross, all em lighting is auto tested in zones by Advanced lite panel....then the panel tells you when to change lamp or battery on its self test

 

[tazz]

FWIW, the last time I looked at this (about a month ago) T8 HF tubes were putting out 10% more lumes / watt than the best LED tubes. About 103 from memory, depends on exactly which tubes you use. When I factored in tube change to get a like for like duration of 25000 hours, it was still miles cheaper than LED. Also the light spread from a tube is just so much better than LED. Maybe in a couple of years they can be better but in my view unless a tube change is very difficult its still T8 for 6ft fittings as a direct replacement for 8ft.

I really think its buy a try at the moment, Ive heard good and bad from different guys using different manufactures, at the moment were happy with our supplier and service, if it changes then we move on.

 

[somersetsparks]

I hadn't factored in 103lm/w tubes! The ones that come with the fittings are 89lm/w. This would almost certainly sway me to recommend flurries as the light spread in this factory is a major concern of mine, all the trunking are spaced with flurries in mind

 

[Guest125]

When it gets too big like Kings cross, all em lighting is auto tested in zones by Advanced lite panel....then the panel tells you when to change lamp or battery on its self test

impressive kit mate.

 

[tommo1]

We have been using the cooper crompack led with various outputs and got very good results they are very bright and look well on the lighting trunking. We fitted 48 today we was replacing 2x58w fittings

 

[Guest125]

FWIW, the last time I looked at this (about a month ago) T8 HF tubes were putting out 10% more lumes / watt than the best LED tubes. About 103 from memory, depends on exactly which tubes you use. When I factored in tube change to get a like for like duration of 25000 hours, it was still miles cheaper than LED. Also the light spread from a tube is just so much better than LED. Maybe in a couple of years they can be better but in my view unless a tube change is very difficult its still T8 for 6ft fittings as a direct replacement for 8ft.

I really like LED and the light quality. Don't expect modern 58/70w fluorescent tubes to be as stable as an old 100w. We have far more early failures in fluorescent tubes in the first year that LED fittings.

 

[tazz]

Sounds like another good recommendation Tommo

 

[plugsandsparks]

One average over the last 5/6 years I get one tube failure in a hundred. These fittings are what I have recently used. POPPACK BATTEN 2X70W T26 HF L840 ? Great Britain (English) I think if you scan LED strip lights even today, they can manage about 91 l/w and they are at the expensive end of the range.

 

[somersetsparks]

One average over the last 5/6 years I get one tube failure in a hundred. These fittings are what I have recently used. POPPACK BATTEN 2X70W T26 HF L840 ? Great Britain (English) I think if you scan LED strip lights even today, they can manage about 91 l/w and they are at the expensive end of the range.

That's the battens I always use, their cheap at £26 each and seem to last the distance, why anyone bothers with cheapo makes I don't know. The only fault with the thorns is that don't bother to secure the cables inside.