Retrofitting LEDS May Get A Whole Lot Easier

If you’ve ever worked in a [city] office, commercial or educational setting and looked up at the ceiling, you’ve seen the long light fixtures that keep the public areas bright. They often feature plastic shields covering linear bulbs that can stretch as far as three feet long. Each room tends to have many of these fixtures, and they usually hold at least 2 bulbs.

Fixtures like this are often reserved for more utilitarian settings, and you’re not as likely to see them in common areas in residences. They may be found in closets or utility rooms, but they are not the type of high-end fixture that can be found in areas that are designed to be aesthetically pleasing.

These fixtures do not have a history of being energy efficient, but have been consistently used because they are very bright. The light that tube bulbs are able to provide has been very difficult to replicate using energy efficient options. Many of the more innovative lighting styles require time to warm up which leaves the room dim or bathed in unflattering white light while they heat. Other fixtures don’t achieve the brightness that the predecessor is able to produce. Newer bulbs often sport energy efficiency that can save users a substantial amount of money on the 40 percent of their electricity bills that is often devoted to lighting, but these bulbs have yet to provide the same quality light for businesses and consumers.

Philips may have finally devised a solution to this problem that offers both the brightness that the linear lights are able to achieve with the energy efficiency that current [city] consumers and businesses are looking for. The Instant Fit T8 bulb from Philips is a replacement for standard T8 bulbs, and they fit into the linear commercial and residential fixtures.

Up until now, using LED bulbs required retrofitting of fixtures. [city] consumers and businesses couldn’t just purchase new bulbs and snap or twist them into the existing setup. The fixture was often as much of a problem as the bulb for energy waste, and the whole thing would have to be replaced in order to fit the LED bulbs and provide reliable efficiency.

The Philips Instant Fit T8 actually offers an alternative to fixture replacement. In fact, a new fixture isn’t even necessary. The bulbs themselves are retrofit into the older style. They snap right in and can be used immediately without any repairs or adjustments to the existing hardware. This is a huge advancement with upfront cost savings for the building owner or business manager.

The savings that could come from making the switch are huge for the [city] business or individual, but they are just as big for the country and world as a whole. Lighting charges make up for about 40 percent of electricity usage. LED lights are so much more energy efficient that they can reduce the existing bill by as much as 50 percent and sometimes even more. If you think about how many of these lights are used at your company, your doctor’s office, the closets in your home, the gas station and more, there is an enormous amount of energy to be saved with the simple switch to a similar light innovation.

Obviously, the bulb has to be released onto the market first, and we have to confirm that it can offer the brightness and the savings that Philips claim. If they deliver, the upfront investment will be minimal compared to long-term savings for businesses and companies. More than that, the expense for these “fixtures” is so much less than retrofitting an entire [city] building for bulbs and specific fixtures. A bulb that can tap into existing technology and save business owners the output of much needed capital could be a game changer for the LED bulb industry.