Many of us use T8 fluorescent lights in our garages or workshops, and they work fine. But the world is moving quickly towards LED technology becoming the norm (if it’s not already, really), and that’s not a bad thing. LEDs have long lifespans, save energy and render light quite well without that awful green tint that fluorescents cast.
In the shop, good lighting is a must and something that’s actually harder to achieve than we tend to think about, without installing new ballasts and whatnot. Larson Electronics has a solution: the new L48″ T-Series LED replacement lamp, which can be plugged directly into a standard T8 ballast without rewiring.
When upgrading a fluorescent fixture to LED, you would normally have to bypass the ballast and wire the power directly to one end of the LED tube. Larson’s new lamp is equipped with a special driver that allows it to work with existing fluorescent ballasts without damaging the LED lamp. The new lamp can also be used in a fixture without a ballast.
While fluorescent lamps are omnidirectional and illuminate 360°, the LED style replacement lamps are directional and offer a 140° beam spread. The polycarbonate lens (vs. the traditional glass encasement) diffuses the light even when it’s being used without a ballast diffuser. The aluminum housing serves as a heat sink and provides rigidity and strength.
Larson’s new 15.9 watt T-series LEDs produce 130 lumens of light per watt, for a total of 2,000 lumens per bulb. That’s about 800-1,000 lumens less than some ‘super-bright’ traditional fluorescents on the market, but still bright considering most of us have multi-bulb ballasts.
The lights run directly off any voltage ranging from 100 volts to 277 volts, including 120 volts, 220 volts, 240 volts, and 277 volts AC. The internal LED driver is a “smart” driver, sensing the incoming voltage and adjusting accordingly to provide the current required for powering the lamp.
The new Larson L48″ T-Series LED replacement lamps are available in either 4000k or 5000k temperatures and can be purchased from Larson Electronics directly, or on No products found. for about $25 plus—and this is disappointing since these things are supposed to be “impact and vibration restistant”—$25-$47 shipping. Yikes!
