A Buyer's Guide to LED Tube Lights - RS Components

26, May. 2025

 

A Buyer's Guide to LED Tube Lights - RS Components

LED tube lights are among the most popular and versatile lighting solutions available today. They’re particularly well suited to applications and install environments where the goal is to achieve a flexible variety of modern, clean-looking indoor lighting in rooms and displays of all sizes.

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You’ll often find assemblies of larger LED tube lights being used to provide bright, even lighting across many types of wider or more open spaces. Common examples might include commercial displays, workshops and laboratories, kitchens, hallways, foyers, factory floors, gymnasiums, car parks, and any other communal, multipurpose or high traffic areas.

Smaller LED tubes are also highly popular options for accent lighting in and under cabinets, worktops and other items of built-in or freestanding furniture, as well as in many different types of signage assemblies and other important display areas.

Today, a huge number of homes, business premises and civic facilities are transitioning away from the traditional, older style fluorescent/CFL tube lighting and installing LED alternatives in their place. There are several great reasons to do this, with the most compelling being the lower running costs and far longer lifespans of LED lamps vs fluorescent equivalents. This generally results in vastly improved efficiency throughout the working life of the light. In turn, this ultimately means that you can expect far better value over time, as well as considerably reduced environmental impact, by switching to LEDs.

In this introductory guide, we’ll find out a little more about the different types of LED tube lights you can buy online, as well as briefly looking at how to fit them. We’ll also compare LED tubes to other common types of tube and strip lights, and contrast the relative strengths and weaknesses of each kind.

LED tube lights are usually categorised by various key designations. The most common of these are tube length (this can be stated in either imperial or metric measurements) and bulb or lamp size. Lamp size is typically given as a ‘T’ measurement, with widespread standard sizes including T5, T8 and T12.

If you’re wondering exactly what is the difference between T5, T8 and T12 lights, the main point to remember is that the higher the T rating, the thicker a lamp will be in diameter. T equals 1/8 of an inch and the number after the T denotes how many eighths of an inch wide the bulb is - hence T8 is exactly one inch or 8/8ths. You can use this to calculate the diameter of different sized LED tube lights. Therefore, T8 tubes at 1-inch (25.4mm) have a larger diameter than T5 tubes (5/8-inch or 15.9mm), but they are not as wide as T12 (1.5-inches or 38.1mm) lamps.

In standard fluorescent tubes, smaller diameters almost always mean better efficiency. A T5 bulb will use less energy to produce the same amount of light as a T8, while a T12 will run at about 45% higher electricity consumption to output the same amount of light as a T5. Being vastly more power-efficient across the board, newer LED equivalents don’t follow quite the same pattern in terms of percentages. However, the basic principle remains similar, even if the ratios between bulb diameter and energy usage stay far closer together as you move up the lamp sizing scale.

It's also worth noting that different tube sizes will tend to be associated with different lamp bases or sockets. T8 and T12 tubes are mounted to bi-pin G13 bases as standard, while T5 tubes are normally attached to a bi-pin G5 socket fitting. In simple terms, this is essentially the tube light equivalent of standard bulb cap styles and sizes.

Fitting an LED tube light is fairly straightforward, regardless of whether it’s a brand-new fixture or a retrofit for an older fluorescent lamp set up using the existing lighting fixture.

Many people are still in the process of transitioning to this more modern, efficient technology. As a result, it’s quite common to see existing fluorescent tube fixtures housing new LED bulbs. For that reason - and because installing LED tube lights in brand new, purpose-built LED housing fixtures is a fairly self-explanatory, plug-and-play sort of job - we’ll concentrate on the retrofitting process in this section of the guide.

The exact process for retrofitting an LED tube light into an existing fluorescent strip lighting fixture will differ slightly depending on what type of fixture setup is in place. The main deciding factor here will likely be the age of the pre-existing fixture. Older versions are often still equipped with both a conventional magnetic ballast and a starter, whereas slightly newer fluorescent lighting arrays might only include an electrical ballast.

Either way, newer LED lamps don’t require a ballast. In older arrays, the job of the ballast was to regulate the current flowing to a fluorescent lamp for as long as it remained lit after the starter had initially caused the inert gases inside the tube to arc and illuminate. LED tubes don’t need any sort of continuous active power regulation and can, therefore, bypass the starter component altogether.

Most retrofit LED tube installations will require the user to perform this ballast bypass procedure themselves. It’s not complicated to do, and it’s generally a recommended step during a retrofit, as leaving ballasts in place can sometimes result in adverse performance effects such as buzzing or flickering of LEDs. Furthermore, bypassing the ballast completely will also ensure that your LED lights are running at optimal efficiency, by eliminating a potential source of wasted power draw from the circuit.

One of the first things that most people want to know about LED tube lights is how they compare to the older-style traditional fluorescent tubes in terms of performance and money-saving.

The simple answer is that LEDs effortlessly outperform fluorescent lamps for all-round efficiency over the course of their working life. In any direct LED vs fluorescent tube comparison test, the newer LED standard will last far longer and can produce a much brighter light at vastly lower levels of energy consumption than their older fluorescent counterparts.

However, it’s also worth taking a slightly closer look at some of the more specific questions that are often asked about the performance and variations between the two bulb types. We’ll also provide a chart for easy comparison between the two in the next section of this guide.

LED vs Fluorescent Lumens - Which is Brighter?

In terms of LED vs fluorescent brightness, both lamp types are capable of outputting extremely bright and clean light over a reasonably wide area, depending on the exact specifications of the tubes and fittings being used. However, the key difference is that LED varieties can generate the same level of brightness at far lower wattages than their fluorescent equivalents.

While overall brightness - measured in lumens - may be the same when taken as a single standalone measurement between equivalent LED or CFL lamps, this means that the LED version is achieving this brightness at a far lower rate of energy consumption, heat generation, and day-to-day running costs. You can see in the comparison chart below some rough equivalents for lumens/wattage between fluorescent and LED lamps designed to light the same area to the same degree of brightness.

The Cost of LED vs Fluorescent Lighting

Speaking of relative costs, when it comes to LED vs fluorescent lighting, there are two important factors to consider. Firstly, the initial price of LEDs is generally slightly higher, to begin with. However, as this newer technology becomes more commonplace, the initial cost difference is actually starting to reduce fairly quickly.

Perhaps more importantly when considering overall expense and budgeting, though, is the fact that LED tubes are so much more efficient and cost-effective over the working life of the lamp itself. Because they run at much lower wattages to produce the same lumen output as their fluorescent equivalents, LEDs are far cheaper in terms of energy bills. Additionally, this lower power consumption means less heat and far slower rates of degeneration, meaning that a single LED tube light is typically expected to last anywhere from 3-5 times as long as an equivalently rated CFL version.

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Since the cost of an LED lamp is unlikely to be anything like five times that of a fluorescent tube, the LED version very quickly becomes a more cost-effective option despite being slightly more expensive on day one. Average estimates suggest that real-time savings are typically achieved in less than two years of standard use.

Other Advantages of LEDs Over Fluorescent Tube Lamps

  • LED bulbs are more environmentally friendly, both in terms of energy use and manufacturing materials/processes - and this also applies to disposal (LED lamps contain no mercury)
  • LED tubes are more directional - one of several reasons why they’re more efficient is that they don’t bounce light in a 360-degree radius, half of which is ‘wasted’ if they’re installed on a ceiling or wall
  • LED versions are easily dimmable with the correct setup, whereas fluorescent lamps are typically either on or off
  • LED tubes are sold in numerous different colour temperatures, ranging from cool or ‘daylight’ models to warm white
  • LED tubes are far less fragile than fluorescent equivalents, being made of rugged plastics rather than thin glass

LED vs Fluorescent Tube Comparison Chart

The following LED vs fluorescent tube comparison chart should help you to quickly identify some of the equivalent values and strengths of LED tube lights when compared to the older CFL standards:

Wattage Equivalency Chart

Lumens OutputLEDFluorescent400--7W8-12W650--10W13-18W--13W18-22W-+14-20W23-30W+25-28W30-55W

The 5 Most Trusted Led Tubular Lights Brands on Amazon | TUBU

Introduction

When it comes to lighting solutions, LED technology has revolutionized the industry. LED tubular lights, in particular, have gained immense popularity due to their energy efficiency, durability, and versatility. With numerous brands flooding the market, it can be challenging to determine which ones are reliable and trustworthy. In this article, we will explore the five most trusted LED tubular light brands available on Amazon.

What are LED Tubular Lights?

LED tubular lights are a type of lighting fixture that consists of a tube-shaped bulb with LED technology. These lights are designed to replace traditional fluorescent tubes and provide superior lighting performance. LED tubular lights are known for their long lifespan, low energy consumption, and excellent color rendering capabilities. They are widely used in various settings, including residential, commercial, and industrial applications.

The Most Trusted Led Tubular Lights Brands

  1. Toggled LED Tubular Lights

Toggled's LED Tubular Lights' main features include direct wiring and dimmer compatibility (120 VAC). These lights are specifically designed to replace T8 and T12 fluorescent tubes, resulting in significant energy savings (up to 70%) and reduced maintenance costs. Additionally, they improve the quality of light. With direct wire technology, there is no need for fluorescent ballasts, which eliminates the need for future ballast replacements and avoids issues like hum, noise, and flickering. The pre-wired light sockets that come with the tubes make the retrofit process faster. Toggled LED tubes can be used within existing fluorescent light fixtures, but it may be necessary to bypass the existing fluorescent ballast systems. Toggled a truly unique & patented triangular shape tube is optimized to deliver a broader and more uniform light distribution which also provides sufficient back-lighting to eliminate the "cave" effect in troffers.

  1. TUBU LED Tubular Lights

TUBU's LED Tubular Lights offer unparalleled customization and development options to meet users' specific requirements. Every TUBU product undergoes rigorous testing and quality control procedures to ensure its reliability and performance. In addition, the lamps have received various certifications such as CE, RoHS, ENEC, CB, D-mark, ETL, DLC, FCC, IK10, and IP69K, validating their suitability for use in diverse and challenging environments.

In addition, TUBU's LED tube lights are compatible with a dimming function, allowing users to adjust the brightness according to their preferences. The lights also support sensor integration, enabling automatic control based on occupancy or ambient light conditions. At the same time, the correlated color temperature (CCT) of the light can be customized to create the desired lighting atmosphere.

TUBU's LED Tube Lights are designed with quick ports for direct wiring, ensuring quick and easy installation. With these features and functions, TUBU lamps provide a versatile lighting solution that can be customized to meet the unique needs of any environment.

  1. Philips LED Tubes

Philips' LED tubes are designed to deliver superior energy savings, ensuring more sustainable and cost-effective lighting solutions. With a lifespan of up to 70,000 hours, these lights provide long-lasting performance, reducing the need for frequent replacement and maintenance. Also equipped with surge suppression technology, which protects light from sudden power surges and ensures its durability. It also features industry-leading security features to ensure a safe and secure lighting experience.

LED Tubular Lights from Philips are ideal for ESCO (Energy Services Company) projects. Ensuring that all of its LED tubes meet the highest light quality standards. This means that no matter which CorePro MainsFit bulb type is used, the end user can enjoy a comfortable and well-lit environment for increased productivity and well-being.

  1. Feit Electric LED Tubes

Feit Electric LED Tubes are designed to easily convert your existing fluorescent lights to LED technology without any rewiring. These LED tubes are compatible with most existing electronic ballasts for a quick and easy plug-and-play experience. Has lower heat emission. Not only does this feature help maintain a comfortable environment, it also increases the overall life of the tube. Plus, the tube ends won't blacken or burn over time, ensuring consistent and reliable performance.

During installation, it is possible to choose from 3 or 4 CCT options, from warm white to luxurious daylight, or select Select to switch between different temperatures with a wall switch. Full brightness is instantly available, even in sub-zero temperatures, with relatively cool running performance.

  1. Sunco Lighting

Sunco Lighting's LED Tube Lighting features double-ended power for a hassle-free installation experience. It's conveniently plug-and-play compatible with a wide range of popular electronic ballasts, meaning no extra wiring is required. This makes it ideal for both residential and commercial applications, saving you time and effort during setup. At the same time, it is equipped with a frosted cover to act as a diffuser, effectively softening the rough edge shadows and creating a more beautiful environment.

Sunco Lighting prides itself on providing high-quality lighting solutions and its LED tubular lighting is backed by prestigious certifications such as UL, DLC, and RoHS. These certifications ensure product safety, energy efficiency, and compliance with industry standards.

For customer peace of mind, Sunco Lighting offers a generous 5-year manufacturer's warranty on its LED Tube Lighting. This warranty ensures you receive reliable support and assistance should any manufacturing defect or performance issue arise.

Conclusion

While all the mentioned brands are reputable and reliable, TUBU stands out as the recommended brand for LED Tube Lights. TUBU offers a wide range of LED tubular lights combining excellent performance, energy efficiency, and durability. Their commitment to quality and customer satisfaction sets them apart from the competition. With TUBU, you can trust that you are investing in a reliable and trustworthy LED lighting solution. And TUBU can provide 3-5 years of after-sales warranty service!

In conclusion, when it comes to LED tubular lights, it's essential to choose a brand that you can trust. Toggled, TUBU, Philips, Feit Electric, and Sunco Lighting are all trusted brands that offer high-quality LED tubular lights. Whether you're lighting your home, office, or any other space, these brands provide reliable and energy-efficient solutions. Consider your specific lighting needs and choose the brand that best suits your requirements. With the right LED tubular lights, you can enjoy superior lighting performance and energy savings.

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