How to replace fluorescent cabinet lighting with LED tubes
After years of putting up with flickering fluorescent lighting under my kitchen cabinets, the time had come to replace this ancient (nearly 100 years old), creaky and troublesome technology with LEDs. The benefits are obvious – apart from saving energy, LEDs switch on almost immediately with no flashing or flickering, are mercury-free and virtually maintenance free as well.
;)
[click to see]Under EU regulations (what else?) fluorescent tubes themselves are fast disappearing from sale after being prohibited from manufacture since 1st February 2024. Funnily enough, energy-saving compact fluorescents are no longer manufactured either. It’s still legal to sell off any existing stocks, but I found new tubes pricey, about £11 each. So now was a good time to look at upgrading.
My existing lighting uses old-school 15 Watt fluorescent tubes that are 438mm long (about 18”), rated 15 Watts. The two-pin connectors are known as G13 – 13mm apart. They measure ~26mm diameter (symbol ⌀) – which is ‘T8’ in old parlance ('T' for tubular). Tube diameters are specified in eighths of an inch, so T8 is 8/8ths or 1 inch, 25.4mm ⌀. (T5 is therefore 15mm ⌀, T11 is 35mm ⌀).
(Interesting sidenote - small halogen directional spotlight bulbs were classed as 'MR' - multifaceted reflector, eg MR11 or MR16 (8ths of an inch) the same way, so 35mm or 50mm ⌀.)
How to replace fluorescent cabinet lighting with LED tubes
I found that it’s perfectly possibly to replace old ‘florries’ with LED tubes. There’s an awful lot of choice and confusing terminology, but if you have old-style tubes with a traditional ballast (usually a big metal fixture containing the necessary electrical circuitry that operates the tube), here’s how it can be done.
First, some LED light tube terminology:
The number of Lumens is a sign of how bright the light fitting is. In olden days we went by wattage. My existing tubes are 950 lumens, which is about as much as I’d really want.
Colour temperature is the degree of ‘warmth’ – you can choose a slightly yellower 'warmer' light or a colder, harsher, blue-white light. It’s measured in ‘Kelvin’. I like warm white, which is about 3000K or less. Cool light looks harsher and about 3600K or more. Daylight is 5000K or higher.
Remember we’re talking about upgrading traditional fluorescent lighting here:
A ‘Ballast’ is the electrical circuit that kick-starts and drives a fluorescent tube. It’s usually in a metal box wired to the tube. The oldest types tend to hum a bit, and (annoyingly) the light may flicker a little. These are known as Electromagnetic Ballasts or EM for short. (An electronic ballast has none of these problems – but they’re still driving an old-school fluorescent tube.)
A ‘starter’ is the little round cylinder or ‘ignition switch’ found on EM ballasts that helps with the process. They contain a bulb and bi-metallic strip, and they eventually wear out and need replacing. Electronic starters can be used instead – they’re more reliable and offer none of the lighting-up drama.
;)
^ Starters for fluorescent tubes (traditional and electronic) [click to see];)
The LEDVANCE tube and LED starter fitted [click to see]To upgrade those old fluorescent tubes, a range of direct-drop-in LED tubes is available, such as the LEDVANCE Superior ‘Glass’ type that I used. Mine are rated 5 Watts, 3000K (warm white), 810 Lumens (perfect!) and have a 5 Year warranty. You must match the correct length (44cm in my case) in mm. and diameter (the ‘T’ number, T8 – 1” dia.)
If you shop around, these LED upgrades cost the same price as a replacement fluorescent (if you can even get them), but use 1/3rd of the electricity, and have instant ‘on’ with no flickering or noise.
Very importantly, note that a *special LED starter* (or dummy starter) is also supplied with them. They replace the old type which must not be used.
Dummy starters contain just a shorting wire or maybe a resistor. So you can simply swap the old tube and the starter, for a no-hassle upgrade.
;)
[click to see]To removed the old light tube, spin it 90 degrees to align its pins with the exit slots, and the tube ends will slide outwards and away. Then you must replace the starter with the new LED types. Rotate them in their sockets until they click and can be extracted.
The new tube is inserted just the same way, both ends into their slots, rotate the tube 90 degrees until the pins click into place and are connected.
Mine came with warning labels which I applied to the existing ballasts as a reminder. They powered on instantly. If yours don’t, double-check the starter is fully home and the tube is fully rotated into proper position.
REMEMBER: when upgrading legacy lighting that has a traditional electromagnetic ballast, choose carefully: look for an ‘EM’ MAINS LED tube & LED starter.
Mine were SKU 255051 sourced from www.any-tubes.co.uk which are in fact shipped from Eindhoven, Holland. Carriage is extra. (Sadly the UK courier DPD were terrible in my locality, but that’s another story.)
- A wide range of LED tube lengths and diameters is available, and there are LED replacements with LED starters for Circline circle-shape tubes (with those 4-pin G10q connectors) too, made by Osram and LEDVANCE.
LED fluorescent replacement, LEDVANCE ;)
;)
