LED tube lights: Everything you need to know

LED tube lights: Everything you need to know

Here is all you need to know about LED tube lights, to help you make the right choice for your home

Tube lights are common at homes and can be found in bedrooms, drawing rooms, kitchens, and work spaces, as well as in commercial installations. Tube lights are available in various sizes and brightness levels, making their purchase choice confusing. Tube lights are available as LED tube light and fluorescent tube light. Both have varieties, in terms of brightness, length, utility, etc. 

Type of tube light bulbs

• There are several types of LED and fluorescent tube lights. The most common are T5, T8, and T12. T means tubular, while the number represents the diameter in eighths of an inches. For example, T8 represents 8/8th of an inch. Thus, T8 means it has a diameter of 1 inch. The other diameters are measured accordingly.
• Another factor for tube lights is the power in wattage. Different tube lights have different wattage.
• The amount of light given out by a tube light is measured in lumen output.
• The CRI or color rendering index represents the quality of light output with 100 CRI being equivalent to natural sunlight.

Fluorescent vs LED tube lights

• Fluorescent tube lights are low-pressure mercury vapor gas discharge lamps that use the principle of fluorescence to produce visible light. The flow of electricity or electrons through these fluorescent lamps is regulated by an electric ballast.
• LED tube lights operate on the principle of light emitting diodes to provide illumination. Owing to their low power usage, it is increasingly being used to replace fluorescent tube lights to provide illumination.
• LED tubes last longer, are highly energy-efficient, and use no mercury. However, they would need an electronic component in the form of an LED driver to regulate the electrical flow within the tube to eliminate the use of a ballast.