How do you know the difference between LED tubes and fluorescent tubes? Linear fluorescent tubes are some of the most common lights in commercial buildings. However, the world is moving away from inefficient lighting and most businesses and institutions are embracing LED tubes to replace the fluorescent lights. Tube lights are named after the size of their diameter with T5 being 5/8 inches, T8 is 1 inch and T12 being 1.5 inches. Like other types of lighting, the biggest difference between fluorescent tubes and LED tubes lies in their energy usage and longevity.

• Difference by Type

While LED lights are based on light emitting diodes either singulars diodes or a cluster, fluorescent lighting comes in either tube lighting (T5, T8, and T12) as well as CFL (compact fluorescent lighting) which encompass the standard light bulbs.

• Longevity

LED tube lights last up to 25,000 hours while fluorescent tube lights last around 10,000 hours and hence need to be replaced often. If you use fluorescent lighting, you would have to replace the average tube 3 times to equal one LED tube’s lifespan.

• Energy Consumption

Fluorescent lighting also consumes more energy than LED lighting. LED tubes use around half the energy (in watts) than fluorescent tubes. As a result, LED lights are about 5 times more efficient than the fluorescent lighting taking into account lifespan and energy consumption.

• Better Lighting

Tubular LED lights are better than fluorescent lights because they provide better lighting. They deliver more lumens per wattage than fluorescent tubes do. For example, an LED T8 tubelight replacing a 32W fluorescent T8 tubelight consumes only 15W for 1800+ lumens output. This means that LED tubes use much less power per lumen (unit of light generated).

• Safety

LED tubes and bulbs do not contain any harmful substances as opposed to fluorescent tubes and bulbs which contain small amounts of mercury and thus can be poisonous if they break.

• Durability & Maintenance

LED tubes are also more durable than their fluorescent counterparts due to their design. As a result, replacement is minimal when you compare with the near constant replacement of fluorescent lighting. Therefore, going LED for your warehouse, school or any other commercial building will result in cutting down your consumption significantly as well as cutting down on maintenance costs by up to 90%.

This means, replacing your fluorescent lighting tubes with LED tubes will save you money in the long run. LED tubes are much more efficient. If you use lighting often in your business, institution or even home, LED lighting makes sense on a monetary and environmental level.