T8 Lights loosing their brightness?

[jcummins]

As the topic says...do they? Maybe I've grown accustom to bright led lighting I've done in other areas, and it makes my eyes think these T8s have lost something when they haven't.

I moved here some 8 years ago, and barn lights really poor. The former owner built a really nice barn, but spent zero dollars on lighting. I added T8 light over work areas....9 or so. Today I noticed the light output isn't the way I remember. I'm thinking of putting some LED lights over the general area of the barn, it has a higher overhead, and only has some of the outdoor flood lights, Been on my list to do that for awhile....but the work area lighting's output comes as a surprise. Don't like the idea of redoing that too.

 

[Alan W.]

Led lights will spoil ya. Fluorescent lights lose brightness over time. I have finally swapped all my fixtures over to no ballast led tubes.

 

[teejk]

As the topic says...do they? Maybe I've grown accustom to bright led lighting I've done in other areas, and it makes my eyes think these T8s have lost something when they haven't.

I moved here some 8 years ago, and barn lights really poor. The former owner built a really nice barn, but spent zero dollars on lighting. I added T8 light over work areas....9 or so. Today I noticed the light output isn't the way I remember. I'm thinking of putting some LED lights over the general area of the barn, it has a higher overhead, and only has some of the outdoor flood lights, Been on my list to do that for awhile....but the work area lighting's output comes as a surprise. Don't like the idea of redoing that too.

I guess the tubes could lose output as they get near the end of their lives. The other thing with T8's is they use electronic ballasts. It's conceivable that they lose output as they age...never really noticed since one day they are on and the next day they aren't but I guess they might die a slow death. And yeah...it's a PITA to fix them. I found ballasts at a reasonable price for the 4 tube fixtures so will continue to repair. The 4' 2 tube ones I'm changing out to LED because the ballasts cost more than the fixture.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It is an interesting point. I have maybe a dozen T8 fixtures in a small garage. They do appear to be not as bright as when I put them in, but everything doesn't appear as bright to me anymore.

I used to work as an electrician and re-lamped thousands of fixtures. I never heard it said, that fluorescent lights got dimmer with age. I am certain, it would have been a complaint.

I built a 80 foot drive shed already five years ago or so. I still have not installed lighting beyond ten or so T8 temporary fixtures that I have to plug in, used for finishing the concrete at the time. LED is still too expensive and unreliable if you ask me, so since I rarely have to go in there at night, I am waiting.

 

[Diggin It]

Flourescents definitely dim with age. No question about it.



I have had a number of LED strip lights dim and fail, some within months. I attributed at least part of it to the fact they were cheap accent lights for vehicles and they may not have been intended for use as night lights on 12VDC wall warts as I was using them.

One of the reasons I've held off on the shop lights is to see what others were experiencing long term. I don't use shop lights to anywhere near the extent others do.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yes, they do

I replaced all my fluorescent lights with LED, was tired of constantly changing tubes. none have failed yet.

 

[dragoneggs]

I was shocked when I put some Costco LED shop lights up next to my old 4ft fluorescents. Ended up buying all new LED fixtures at $19.99ea and donated the old fixtures. If you watch at Costco they cycle the pricing a couple times a year from $29.99 to $24.99 to $19.99ea. At that price it is worth worrying about if the bulbs are compatible just buy the complete fixture with bulbs.

Other benefits I found besides energy savings is the instant on and much less radio reception interference.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I Googled it. CFLs do loose much light toward end of life, but T8s should not do so to a degree you would notice. If I understood the articles correctly.

 

[oosik]

Yes, fluorescent lights will dim with age. Usually, this is an indication that they soon will go "poof" and need replacement.

 

[jcummins]

Well at least it's not my eyes.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Please post a link to the data.

 

[Alan W.]

Manufacturing plant I use to work at would periodically replace all the overhead fluorescents and it was surprising how much dimmer than the new ones they would be.
When you compare the cost of an led replacement tube versus a high quality fluorescent tube the difference isnt that much and if the ballast is bad its a no brainer.

 

[dragoneggs]

Well at least it's not my eyes.

Well can you really rule that out?

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

Where I work we have hung 1,000's of LED fixtures and they do not get dim like HPS, fluorescent or MH bulbs do. Yes a few fail every now and then but much less than swapping bulbs. And if you buy a name brand, they typically have a good warranty on them.

My house is mostly LED and almost all of my shop and barn. The power savings is nice compared to some older stuff. Also the light color doesn't change over time like some

 

[ultrarunner]

I replaced 40+ T8 bulbs today at work... most where still illuminating but at the end of life... they were no longer bright when side by side.

Lots of fixtures are 4 bulbs... I like to mix and match in pairs... so the inside 2 or the outside two will be new... no one really notices much when paired.

But, put a new bright T8 next to an old one and the difference is quite apparent.

Some of the fixtures have 6 ea. bulbs so there are always bulbs to change if I look.

Could not be happier with my Costco LED bulbs but not in the budget since I still have about 500 new T8 on the shelves...

Ballasts run about $12 wholesale when I last did a bulk buy... so good on those too.

Some weeks I would replace 2 or 3 ballasts but have not replaced a single one this year... which is strange.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

One of my jobs when I worked for the Navy was as Facility Manager. We had an office space of 79,000 SF. Fluorescent amps were eating my budget replacing several at a time. Decided to re-lamp all fixtures (thousands of lamps) as it saved extensive contractor labor cost. All done, everybody complained that it was too bright. The union made us disconnect 2 lamps in each fixture. Final saving: $0 So they do diminish output severally. Was never noticed with the minor replacements.

Ron

 

[nbking]

Yes I second the Costco led shop lights. They are great. Nothing worse than the old florescent lights with their ends arcing, flickering, etc.

 

[ededic]

I know this may sound flippant but has anyone washed those old T8 bulbs. Dust can certainly dim them. Not arguing that they may not dim over time but a bucket of water, some window wash concentrate and a rag could buy you some cheaper brightness. Don’t forget to wash the fixtures where they reflect.

 

[mikester]

I Googled it. CFLs do loose much light toward end of life, but T8s should not do so to a degree you would notice. If I understood the articles correctly.

If you found it on google then it HAS to be true.

Yes all fluorescent bulbs dim over time. So do LED bulbs. Keep those receipts and hope the manufacturers honour their warranties...if those bulbs are even available any more.

 

[Diggin It]

I know this may sound flippant but has anyone washed those old T8 bulbs. Dust can certainly dim them. Not arguing that they may not dim over time but a bucket of water, some window wash concentrate and a rag could buy you some cheaper brightness. Don稚 forget to wash the fixtures where they reflect.

Yes, in some cases, cleaning can help. But is anybody really going to go through their shop every year or so washing lamp tubes? Anybody that has had flourescent tubes for any amount of time knows that when the ends begin to darken, the lamps are not putting out as much light.

That's the part I'm not clear on yet with LEDs .... longevity. Also, remember they're semiconductors, the same as any chip in any PC or other electronic device. That makes them more prone to lightning strikes and power surges. One or two LEDs failing may be replaceable at a reasonable cost. A whole house, office or shop full being blown out at once by a power surge could be rather expensive.