Up to 60 percent electricity savings with the new retrofit lamp family.

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22 Nov 2011

In 2010, approximately 60 million fluorescent lamps in the T8 category were sold in Germany. Among others, these lamps were used for illuminating parking garages, warehouses or corridors. Many of these are operated in luminaires with conventional control gears (CCG) – even though more efficient lighting solutions have already been available for quite some time.

An easy way for building operators in order to save electricity – and thus, costs – would be to switch to so-called T8-LED retrofits. With the new Substitube Advanced by OSRAM, conventional T8 lighting installations with conventional control gears can immediately be retrofitted with economical LED technology. This results in electricity savings of up to 60 percent – without the need for any structural modifications.

As a basic principle, there are two possible substitutes for T8 fluorescent lamp solutions: apart from the LED retrofit, there is also the option of using the slimmer T5 fluorescent tubes with electronic control gears (ECG). Although it is true that T5 lamps are less expensive than LED lamps, they do require the installation of new luminaires. The LED solutions are particularly worthwhile when the following framework conditions are given:

• High number of daily operating hours
• Frequent switching on and off, for instance in combination with motion detectors
• Rapid availability of the complete luminous intensity
• Low ambient temperatures
• Operation in sensitive areas such as storage facilities for foodstuffs
• In buildings that may not undergo physical alterations – for instance owing to fire protection precautions

With Substitube, OSRAM has already developed a solution in 2010, by means of which T8 fluorescent lamps with ECG can quickly be substituted by energy-efficient and long-lasting LED lamps. The portfolio is now supplemented by the new Substitube Advanced family, which has a homogenous wide angle light, and at first glance can very easily be confused with the light of a conventional fluorescent lamp.

The LED alternative emits a directed light – for instance, when it is used in a batten luminaire, it can attain illumination that is comparable to that of T8 fluorescent lamps, depending on the ceiling height. Thanks to its low power consumption, the LED alternative can achieve energy savings of up to 60 percent.

What is more, owing to the LEDs’ long service life of up to 40,000 hours, the maintenance cycle is also reduced. This is of particular interest for installations containing luminaires that are not easily accessible.

The catalog “A new approach to light” offers an overview of the OSRAM LED product range for professional lighting. The catalog is available for download at www.osram.com/led-catalog.