T5 led replacement

oil pan 4 · 01-25-18, 04:20 AM

I have a bunch of emergency light wash down rated industrial rated high output 54w T5 fixtures I got for free.
After being in service for 5 years or so most of the NiCd emergency power ballasts are flat dead, any survivors are really weak and barely light the emergency tube so I'm just removing them. When new these fixtures were over $500 each. Otherwise they have a single 4 lamp ballast.
Some of the fixtures have a dead ballast, and dead lamps.

I have combined all the functional lamps with working ballasts. Leaving me with 4 dead fixtures with and short a few tubes.

I have repowered one of the fixtures with 2 dual 54w ballasts wiring the ballasts to their own switch, then installed it in my shed and found that I really like being able to select 2 or 4 lamps. That leaves me with 3 dead lamps.

This brings me to the T5 LED part.

I found and bought two T5 LED replacements for direct 120v power. They were advertised as "T5 high output", but they are only rated for 2800 lumen.
Problem, standard T5 is rated for 3,000 lumen, high output are rated for 5,000 lumen. So they won't be as bright as high output, and won't even be as bright as standard T5. That's fine since I wanted to do some 28 and 54 watt fixtures. This will be my led trial for the low side. Then on top of that the LED tubes are kind of expensive, $17 each plus shipping, since I bought 2 that makes it $22 per tube.
T5 ballasts can be had for around $10 or less per tube, shipping included, depending if it's a 1, 2, 3 or 4 tube ballast.

So I'm getting these 22w led tube replacements and I am going to compare them to standard 28w tubes.

I'm going to get the test fixture ready, wire in a dual 28 watt ballast and leave the other side unhooked but primed to take 120v power. I will need the led instructions to properly wire the tombstones up for 120v power.

oil pan 4 · 01-30-18, 12:07 AM

The T5 LEDs came in.
More concers, they are not really good for hot environments like pretty much all of NM.
So I can't put them out in my shed where I am expecting it to get 120°F in the summer.
And I don't think mixing LED and florescent in the same fixture will be a good idea. The T5 tubes will cook the LEDs. So that idea is out.

Elcam84 · 06-10-18, 10:18 AM

It still hard to beat the t5 for its light output per watt and space considerations.

I have about 6 left over fixtures from a Moes grill that use the short t5 bulbs. They put out a tremendous amount of light and I have not found anything LED that comes close to being that bright. These are big track mounted lights as well.

01-25-18, 04:20 AM	#1
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	T5 led replacement I have a bunch of emergency light wash down rated industrial rated high output 54w T5 fixtures I got for free. After being in service for 5 years or so most of the NiCd emergency power ballasts are flat dead, any survivors are really weak and barely light the emergency tube so I'm just removing them. When new these fixtures were over $500 each. Otherwise they have a single 4 lamp ballast. Some of the fixtures have a dead ballast, and dead lamps. I have combined all the functional lamps with working ballasts. Leaving me with 4 dead fixtures with and short a few tubes. I have repowered one of the fixtures with 2 dual 54w ballasts wiring the ballasts to their own switch, then installed it in my shed and found that I really like being able to select 2 or 4 lamps. That leaves me with 3 dead lamps. This brings me to the T5 LED part. I found and bought two T5 LED replacements for direct 120v power. They were advertised as "T5 high output", but they are only rated for 2800 lumen. Problem, standard T5 is rated for 3,000 lumen, high output are rated for 5,000 lumen. So they won't be as bright as high output, and won't even be as bright as standard T5. That's fine since I wanted to do some 28 and 54 watt fixtures. This will be my led trial for the low side. Then on top of that the LED tubes are kind of expensive, $17 each plus shipping, since I bought 2 that makes it $22 per tube. T5 ballasts can be had for around $10 or less per tube, shipping included, depending if it's a 1, 2, 3 or 4 tube ballast. So I'm getting these 22w led tube replacements and I am going to compare them to standard 28w tubes. I'm going to get the test fixture ready, wire in a dual 28 watt ballast and leave the other side unhooked but primed to take 120v power. I will need the led instructions to properly wire the tombstones up for 120v power.

01-30-18, 12:07 AM	#2
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	The T5 LEDs came in. More concers, they are not really good for hot environments like pretty much all of NM. So I can't put them out in my shed where I am expecting it to get 120°F in the summer. And I don't think mixing LED and florescent in the same fixture will be a good idea. The T5 tubes will cook the LEDs. So that idea is out.

06-10-18, 10:18 AM	#3
Elcam84 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: TX Posts: 275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	It still hard to beat the t5 for its light output per watt and space considerations. I have about 6 left over fixtures from a Moes grill that use the short t5 bulbs. They put out a tremendous amount of light and I have not found anything LED that comes close to being that bright. These are big track mounted lights as well.