Fluorescent Tube lights have been a great option for laundry rooms, garages, and many other spaces for years. They are energy efficient and often provide ample lighting.
While these lights last a long time, when they go out it’s likely time to upgrade to a newer LED-style bulb. These bulbs last even longer than fluorescent light bulbs, are more energy efficient, and perhaps most importantly, do not contain mercury. While not harmful when a fluorescent light bulb is intact, if the light bulb breaks, this mercury is released and is hazardous.
The best replacement option today is the ballast bypass LED bulb – this replaces both the light bulb and the internal control unit of the fluorescent light fixture (also known as a “ballast”).
What is a ballast and should it be replaced?
Fluorescent bulbs need a control unit to ensure they get the right voltage, and just enough power to keep them operating. There is an internal component in all fluorescent light units that controls the power to the bulbs called a ballast.
This unit doesn’t last forever – if the bulb you have has already burned out, it may be time to replace this unit soon as well. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re replacing the bulbs, you might as well go ahead and replace the ballast too, to ensure a long-lasting solution.
Ballast-Bypass LED – A Great Replacement Option for Fluorescent Tube Lights
Ballast-Bypass LED kits are available that allow re-wiring of the fluorescent light fixture. This re-wiring allows use of a certain LED bulb without the use of a ballast. After this kit is installed, the ballast is removed.
Through wiring the new LED lights directly to the electrical circuit, both the light and the ballast are replaced, ensuring great operation of the light fixture for many years to come. Some of these units are rated for a whopping 50,000 hours of use! That’s more than twice the expected hours for a typical fluorescent light).
When to Hire Us
While a great long-term solution, replacing a light fixture with a ballast bypass LED requires opening up the fluorescent light and changing the way that it is wired. This can be daunting to many homeowners.
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