Converting architectural lights to LED bulbs to take advantage of its excellent light, lower power consumption and longer lifespan is easy for screw-in bulbs. This is because LED bulbs can easily fit into the same screw-in sockets as incandescent and CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulbs, both of which are becoming less and less on store shelves.

Converting fluorescent lamps to adapt to LED tubes is more complicated. Not all fluorescent lamps have the same design. There is also a lot of confusing information about LED conversion.

One thing is certain: you can replace fluorescent lights with LED lights all at once. This allows you to upgrade the lighting according to a schedule that suits your wallet.

If you are unwilling to upgrade to LED bulbs, please keep in mind that bulbs and ballasts for T12 fluorescent lamps are becoming fewer and fewer and more difficult to find. In the near future, T8 bulbs and ballasts will be on the same cutting board. At this point, there are no arrangements to terminate T5 bulbs and lamps, but the goal of this fluorescent lamp is to discontinue production in the future.

There are many ways to convert to LED tubes. The easiest is to completely replace the old fluorescent lamps with brand new LED lamps. However, replacing four-bulb (8-foot long) fluorescent lamps (common in farm buildings) with LED fixtures may cost you $100 or more each.

On the contrary, there are many ways to convert existing fluorescent lamp devices to accept LED tubes. Such lamps are officially designated as UL Type A, and are sold in accordance with the descriptions of instant installation, plug-and-play, and remote drive lamps. 

"These products are designed to be installed directly into existing luminaires without modifying the luminaire," said John Hynek of Philips Lighting. "We do recommend that if the ballast in the existing luminaire has been in use for 5 to 7 years, the ballast should be replaced when a new bulb is installed."

Another option is to modify your existing fluorescent lamps to accept UL Type B lamps, which are usually sold as ballast bypass or direct line bulbs. This requires rewiring the fixture to bypass the ballast, which can be left in place or removed. "We strongly recommend that if the luminaire is rewired, a label should be placed on it, indicating that it can only use UL Type B bulbs," Hynek urged. 

The advantage of using the ballast bypass pipe is that you do not need to replace the old ballast. This can save $30 to $75 in new ballast costs for each fixture. Please be sure to check whether the ballast bypass tube you purchased has an installation wiring diagram, because no matter whether the tube is a single-sided tube or a single-ended tube, and two or two-sided tubes, the tedious work will be different. 

Hynek says that ballast bypass tubes are more expensive than ready-to-install tubes, but the difference depends on the needs of your existing installation.

The price of ballast bypass bulbs is approximately US$15 to US$40 each, depending on their light output. For example, four packs of 4,000-lumen, 40-watt, 8-foot-long LED bulbs are priced at $99 per pack. These prices will increase according to the quality of the bulb. A high-quality LED tube with an output of 4,500 lumens is priced at US$29.99, while an ultra-high-lumen LED tube with an output of 6,600 lumens is priced at US$51.95.

In contrast, Hynek said, the cost of instant installation of LED tubes is 25% lower than the cost of ballast bypass tubes.

Before committing to use any type of tube when converting an existing fluorescent lamp installation, the lighting industry strongly recommends that you discuss with the lighting supplier that you plan to replace the tube on the old fluorescent lamp installation. 

To do this, please collect information about the operating performance of the old luminaire (which should be printed inside the luminaire) and give it to the supplier to discuss options. 

"A reputable supplier can obtain this information and guide you in choosing a retrofit tube that suits your needs," Hynek points out.

In addition, Philips also provides a website (philips.com/instantfit) that provides a lot of information about the differences.

Finally, be sure to check with your local electrical supplier to see if it offers a rebate for conversion to LED bulbs so that you can redeem this reward.

There are two challenges in converting to a ballast bypass. First, the industry provides single-ended and double-ended bulbs. Some fixtures may not have the correct socket (sometimes called a tombstone) to accommodate the ballast bypass tube.

Regarding the difference of the lamp tube, for the single-ended bulb, all the wires are connected to the socket at one end of the lamp. The socket on the other end of the fixture is not wired.

For double-ended bulbs, you connect the power (hot) wire (usually the black or red wire) to the socket on one end of the bulb, and the neutral wire (usually the white wire) to the socket on the other end of the bulb. In the conversion of two or four bulbs, you can connect all the sockets at one end of the lamp to the power cord, and connect all the sockets at the other end of the lamp to the neutral line. “We found that the rewiring time for double-ended tubes is 25% less than that for single-ended LED tubes,” Hynek said.

Another complication of converting fluorescent tube lamps involves the type of sockets currently used in existing lamps. LED tubes need non-shunt sockets. Fluorescent lamps can have shunt or non-shunt sockets. The figure below shows the difference between the two.

Generally, older T12 fluorescent tubes use non-shunt sockets. T8 and T5 lamps with fast start, program start or dimming ballasts usually use non-shunt tombstones.

T8 and T5 lamps with instant-on ballasts use parallel tombstones.

To determine which socket is used in your fixture, use a voltmeter to determine whether the socket is shunt or non-shunt.

To do this, turn off the power of the lamp. Next, turn the VOM dial to the continuity setting. Place a contact on each side of the socket. If the outlet is shunted, the VOM will light up, sound, or beep. 

The good news is that replacing non-shunt sockets is quite cheap. The online price of non-diverging tombstones ranges from 69 cents to $1.

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