Replacing fluorescent lamps with LED lamps: reasons for replacement, which is better, replacement instructions

Lighting devices are constantly being improved. This process can be easily traced, starting from the moment the “Ilyich light bulb” appeared.As a result of modernization, in addition to direct filament lamps, fluorescent options have appeared, and in modern conditions, replacing fluorescent lamps with LED devices is quite an urgent task.

Society strives for the best, and this is obvious. The main criteria for aspirations are convenience, comfort and, of course, savings. But how to perform the replacement correctly and what should you remember? We will consider these issues in detail in our article, we will understand the features of LED and fluorescent light bulbs, their pros and cons.

We will also provide recommendations for choosing a suitable light bulb and step-by-step instructions for replacing the device.

Features of the fluorescent lamp device

In order to more clearly understand society’s desire to replace fluorescent lamps with LED devices, it is logical to become more familiar with the gas design.

Indeed, a light device with a luminescent coating is a sealed glass tube, usually filled with mercury vapor.

Fluorescent lamps with lamps filled with a gaseous medium are “powered” by electricity through a choke element. More advanced designs are equipped with an electronic circuit without chokes and are considered somewhat improved in terms of operation

Two modifications of such devices are available:

1. For outdoor installation (with high pressure flasks).
2. For domestic installation (with low pressure flasks).

In fact, inside the cylinder of a fluorescent lamp there is a mixture of gases consisting of mercury vapor and argon. The inside walls of the glass flask are coated with a special composition - phosphor. When an electric discharge is formed in a gaseous medium, a gas glow is formed, and due to the phosphor, this glow is transformed into light in the visible range.

We wrote more about the design of luminescents In this article.

Advantages of fluorescent lamps

The development and production of lamps of this type, first of all, were the result of a constant request to save energy resources. We should pay tribute - fluorescent lamps allow significant savings.

An energy-saving light device and a traditional source with a direct filament. If we compare the energy parameters, the difference is significant in favor of the first device, where current consumption is reduced significantly

At the same time, you can save due to the higher light output of devices, placing a smaller number of devices per unit area compared to direct incandescent lamps.

The feasibility of using gas-discharge lamps is noted not so much for the domestic sphere, but for industrial and economic structures, that is, where it is necessary to illuminate large areas with minimal costs in terms of energy consumption.

Among the advantages of fluorescent lamps, a decent operating time stands out. The average operating time for gas structures is 10,000 hours.

Comparative cartography, which notes the electrical advantages of light devices of different periods of use.As can be seen from the comparative parameters, the traditional direct-heat lamp is the most “wasteful” light device

If fluorescent lamps are compared to direct filament analogues, where the maximum operating time is 1000 hours, the significant difference becomes more than obvious.

Disadvantages of light devices with phosphor coating

However, the existing advantages of fluorescent lamps, unfortunately, do not hide the obvious disadvantages of these same devices. And the main negative here is the increased chemical hazard.

Structure of the luminescent light source: 1 – sealed glass tube; 2 – phosphor layer; 3 – filament; 4 – luminous flux visible to people; 5 – mercury atom

The cylinder of each lamp contains at least 2 mg of mercury, and this chemical element is classified as extremely dangerous for a living organism. Of course, as long as the flask is sealed, the chemical hazard is reduced to zero.

However, cases of broken glass cylinders of fluorescent lamps are quite common practice. Therefore, it is important to immediately think about the right recycling of fluorescent lamps.

Also of note are the “cold” light and the “strobe” effect. Both effects have an adverse effect on vision. That is why fluorescent lamps have not found widespread use in the domestic sphere. In a word, there were every reason to raise the issue of replacing fluorescent lamps. A suitable alternative was quickly found.

LED-based luminaires

An alternative to fluorescent lamps - LEDs - has appeared relatively recently and has been a clear success from a technical and environmental point of view.

LED design of artificial lighting device: 1 – installation disk for LEDs; 2 – metal tubular part; 3 – power supply conductors; 4 – AC to DC converter

The variety of LED light fixtures is great. There are very miniature designs that fit in the palm of your hand, and there are lamps for lamps, similar in shape to fluorescent lamps

Structure LED lamps does not imply the presence of any aggressive chemicals, especially harmful to human health. As such, there is no unified design of LED lamps.

On the contrary, this option is “tailored” to a unique design structure. True, model series are produced, which include lamps somewhat similar to one another, with the exception of small details.

Comparison by technical area

If we compare LED devices with fluorescent lamps in terms of luminous flux efficiency, the first devices are, of course, inferior. The scattering ability of fluorescent lamps is still noted at a higher level.

Therefore, LED lamps are often used instead of fluorescent lamps as spotlights. Meanwhile, for domestic conditions, the factor of effective light dispersion is usually not dominant.

A characteristic feature of LED lamps is a small degree of light dispersion compared to fluorescent structures. Typically, only multi-row linear lamps have a high level of dispersion

But if you compare devices by power consumption (power), LED lamps look like the most economical of all existing modifications.The same significant advantage of the LED design is stated in terms of durability. Even fluorescent devices with their maximum rating of 20,000 hours are inferior to LED lamps with their standard of 50,000 hours.

An undeniable advantage is the overall dimensions of LED lamps. Perhaps these are the smallest light devices of all existing ones.

This is what one of the smallest light sources included in the range of LED designs looks like. Typically used as a spot lighting device

Traditional direct filament lamps can still argue in this direction, but the temperature parameters of traditional lamps reduce this debate to a loss. LEDs heat up slightly (at normal ambient temperature 25-27 ºС).

Disadvantages of LED designs

The list of shortcomings usually consists of three main points:

• gating;
• poor build quality;
• use of substandard parts.

Based on this list, you can understand the significant difference in price, which is often fixed on the market. As a rule, high-quality branded devices have high price tags. But the assortment in the low price category is most likely a substandard product.

Substandard LED devices. Some of them did not work even for one hour - they broke down. In addition, in almost all of these lamps there is a discrepancy in the quality of workmanship and the use of harmful chemicals

What are the risks of purchasing substandard products? Such lamps in most cases “suffer” from a strobing defect - flicker invisible to the human eye, which affects the brain system. In this case, LEDs are no different from halogen.As a result, users often end up with nervous irritability, weakness, and poor health.

Budget devices are assembled from the same inexpensive parts that do not meet technical standards. During the assembly process, toxic materials are used: lead, phenol, formaldehyde resins.

In appearance, these four LED lamps look quite nice. However, these products from an unknown Chinese company were, in practice, marked by a frankly short service life. Often such products are made of substandard material

The conclusion is obvious: if you already buy an LED lamp, saving in this matter is simply inappropriate. In turn, buying an expensive product with your eyes closed is also not recommended.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the rating best led light bulbs leading manufacturers of lighting products on the market.

Instructions for replacing LED bulbs

So, if the technical and operational characteristics of LED linear lamps are to the user’s taste and the option of replacing fluorescent devices is ripe, how to do this?

The replacement can be roughly divided into two options:

1. Complete dismantling of the old lamp and installation of a new one.
2. Use a halogen chassis for LED installation.

With the first option it is clear - you will have to remove the old light bulbs (lamps), and in return install new ones that run on LEDs.

Why do the following work need to be done sequentially:

• turn off the power supply to the lamp;
• carefully remove fluorescent lamps and dispose of them according to the rules;
• disconnect the power supply line;
• dismantle the chassis;
• install the chassis under the LED lamps;
• connect the power supply line.

For the second option, a characteristic feature is the selection of LED light fixtures that correspond to the dimensions of the fluorescent lamps that are supposed to be replaced. It is extremely important that plinth LED lamps also matched (usually G13 base type).

Linear LED lamps are no different in configuration from traditional fluorescent lamps. As a rule, the base part is optimally suited for installation on a chassis where gas appliances previously stood

Next, on the old chassis, you need to remove the entire auxiliary circuit set: throttle (EMG), electronic ballasts (in modified designs), starter block, smoothing capacitor.

The power lines of these elements are simply closed. That is, power is supplied to the base block of the LED lamp directly from the network, bypassing any additional elements.

Connection diagram for LED linear lamps. As can be seen from the figure, the connection here looks even simpler than that of fluorescent devices. There is no peripheral fittings in the form of electronic ballasts, electronic ballasts, starter elements

If a chassis is installed on two or more LED elements, in this case the base blocks for each device are connected to the others according to a parallel circuit.

Which lamps are best to choose as replacements?

It is recommended to use a standard principle that has been repeatedly tested by the personal experience of many users. The first recommendation is to choose devices from the range of well-known manufacturers that guarantee high quality products. Such devices are usually expensive, but quickly pay for themselves due to economical energy consumption.

The second selection principle is the number of LED elements per unit area of ​​the working surface of the lamp. The more LED elements placed on the surface, the higher the dissipative ability of the lamp. Therefore, if you need to illuminate a large area of ​​the room, you should choose products with the maximum possible number of LEDs.

This LED lamp, where the placement of working elements is marked in a three-row design, is close to fluorescent devices in terms of light dispersion

Out of habit, a potential buyer chooses light fixtures with an eye to the power parameter. In this case, the power is determined slightly differently - taking into account the ratio of 1 to 10, when compared with a conventional direct incandescent lamp. For example, if the power of a conventional device is 100 W, then the LED analogue will correspond to 10 watts.

It is also important to focus on the color temperature of the lighting fixture. We wrote more about this parameter in the next article.

Based on the operating conditions, lamps are selected according to the protection class. For domestic use, IP40 is usually a satisfactory option. For rooms with higher requirements - protection class 50 and higher. More information about the protection class and meaning decoding we talked here.

High protection parameters are necessary for luminaires installed in special rooms with an explosive environment.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The video material clearly demonstrates the practice of replacing one type of lamp with another. Sequential actions for dismantling and installing working elements.

An example that will definitely be useful for practical use:

If we evaluate the technical characteristics, operating conditions and functioning of devices in everyday life, LED light sources win. They also have their drawbacks, but even with them they save energy and last a long time.

On an industrial scale, the savings are quite significant if you choose reliable light bulbs from trusted manufacturers with a good warranty period.

Do you have experience replacing fluorescent lights with LED bulbs? Please share your opinion in the comments block. Or maybe you still have questions after reading our material? Ask for advice from our experts and other site visitors - competent users will be happy to share their experience with you.