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Philips LED InstantFit T8s 
Was grabbing some stuff at HD today and I saw these for sale. Interestingly these are designed to run off existing instant start ballasts instead of straight 120v like most of the other LED T8 tubes on the market. Philips only specs these at 1600 lumens which is pretty meh compared to the 2800 lm from a typical /841 F32T8. The lamp life is better than regular T8 but I believe long life T8 last just as long or even longer lol. 

[url=http://download.p4c.philips.com/l4bt/4/406662/led_t8_instantfit_lamp_406662_ffs_aen.pdf]Click here[/url] for spec sheet. 
Keywords: Lamps

Philips LED InstantFit T8s

Was grabbing some stuff at HD today and I saw these for sale. Interestingly these are designed to run off existing instant start ballasts instead of straight 120v like most of the other LED T8 tubes on the market. Philips only specs these at 1600 lumens which is pretty meh compared to the 2800 lm from a typical /841 F32T8. The lamp life is better than regular T8 but I believe long life T8 last just as long or even longer lol.

Click here for spec sheet.

COL_IMG_1299.JPG tmp_80215-11309695913.jpg IMG_20140419_173621.jpg COL_IMG_0896.JPG FSAC_1a35291_Assembling_B-25_bombers_at_North_American_Aviation,_Kansas_City[MED]~0.jpg
File information
Filename:IMG_20140419_173621.jpg
Album name:joe_347V / Misc. Lighting Pics
Keywords:Lamps
Company and Date Manufactured:Philips, 2014
Wattage:14.5w
Lamp Type:LED
Filesize:345 KiB
Date added:Apr 19, 2014
Dimensions:1184 x 1600 pixels
Displayed:240 times
Color Space:sRGB
Contrast:0
DateTime Original:2014:04:19 17:36:24
Exposure Mode:0
Exposure Program:Program
Exposure Time:26/917 sec
FNumber:f/2.4
Flash:No Flash
Focal length:3.97 mm
ISO:332
Make:Lge
Max Aperture:f/2.4
Model:Nexus 5
URL:http://www.galleryoflights.org/mb/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=17342
Favorites:Add to Favorites

Comment 10 to 29 of 29
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joe_347V   [Apr 20, 2014 at 05:25 AM]
Yeah, even if the exposed LED tubes were behind the fixture diffuser, it's still a bit to glary.
traffic light1   [Apr 20, 2014 at 10:02 AM]
I ones I have are clear and the light is even they are in all open fixtures.
GEsoftwhite100watts   [Apr 20, 2014 at 06:15 PM]
In a wraparound or anything with a prismatic diffuser it could look kinda interesting but still glary...
Also what if they used a phosphor, just like the Philips L-Prize screw-in lamp did? Then you could have different "colors" more easily. Only issue I can see is if some of the LEDs start to color-shift unevenly...then it would look weird.. Shocked
streetlight98   [Apr 20, 2014 at 06:42 PM]
I think the reason these have no diffusers is because diffusers do block light so the tube will be less efficient. And they want to make the tube as efficient as possible to compete with existing T8 fluorescent tubes so they get rid of any coating. My eyes are sensitive to light so I don't like clear lamps (that goes for HID, incandescent, LED, and all other lamps). I still have the squint outside on cloudy days because it's still too bright lol.
yuandrew   [Apr 20, 2014 at 08:26 PM]
Interesting to see these at a Home Center. The only other "plug and play" (in the fact you don't have to bypass the ballast/rewire the fixture) LED fluorescent retrofit I know of is the EverLED. Originally, they made LED bulbs for Maglite flashlights

http://www.everled.com/
Silverliner14B   [Apr 21, 2014 at 02:32 AM]
Where are they made?
FGS   [Apr 21, 2014 at 02:52 AM]
GEsoftwhite100watts - I already seen sections with color shifted within it from DAY ONE! Not only it look weird like you said, all it does is p---s me off every time I walk by that area. Don't they test these at the factory making sure the colors are even? Ugh! Mad
joe_347V   [Apr 21, 2014 at 05:36 AM]
@Mike, maybe they should offer the tubes in exposed and diffused variants or at least offer a optional diffuser for the tubes.

@yuandrew, yeah I'm surprised that HD would be selling them. They seem to be more of a specialty item as I don't really see homeowners buying them lol. The Everled one you linked seems to be compatible with more ballasts as it run works on magnetic ballasts.

@Dave, I forgot to check, but I zoomed in on the original pic and I think the sleeve says China.
xmaslightguy   [May 01, 2014 at 03:11 AM]
Interesting Shocked
Haven't seen these at the local HD yet

I wonder what the ballast "sees" one of these as
akara   [Oct 21, 2014 at 09:58 AM]
Have anyone used them?
I am interested on buying some of these.
Could you please let me know you experience with them?
Thanks Razz
xmaslightguy   [Oct 22, 2014 at 01:18 AM]
I saw something like this at Home Depot last week...they had a pair in a display light, and seeing them lit it looked basically like a fluorescent (atleast to the casual user it would, but I picked up right away that "there's something weird about those lamps" LOL so I went in that aisle for a closer look.) Be interesting to try one, but not for $25 or whatever it was they wanted...
GEsoftwhite100watts   [Oct 22, 2014 at 01:24 AM]
Yeah I've seen "diffused" ones in a supermarket cooler and back stockroom and there was "something weird" but otherwise was fine.
akara   [Oct 22, 2014 at 07:35 AM]
What do you mean by there was something weird?
Question Rolling Eyes
streetlight98   [Oct 22, 2014 at 11:01 AM]
Well it's obviously not a fluorescent lamp. "Something weird" is that the surface brightness is uneven even though the tube is frosted and the lamps have more glare than a typical fluorescent. I've seen them in use. They seem to give decent light, but you can tell they're not fluorescent. Also, typically only half the tube lights up so fixtures with reflectors look weird.
GEsoftwhite100watts   [Oct 22, 2014 at 03:42 PM]
They indeed do look a little strange with reflectors...
akara   [Oct 24, 2014 at 01:43 PM]
But, what about their performance?
Are there any problems with them, like flicker or drop in the light output?
streetlight98   [Oct 24, 2014 at 08:00 PM]
Well they're a fairly new thing. They've only been around for a couple years. There have been incidents with some having dead sections of LEDs (so part of the tube is out, which really screws with people's heads if they think it's a fluorescent lamp lol) but I haven't seen these in particular. If you really want to know how these perform, you'll have to buy some and lets us know how it turns out. Laughing Personally, I'll keep using my linear fluorescents. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. Neutral
GEsoftwhite100watts   [Oct 25, 2014 at 01:24 AM]
Me too, though in a brand new installation I might give these a whirl...
streetlight98   [Oct 25, 2014 at 02:17 AM]
I a brand new installation why would you install a retrofit kit? Razz In a brand new installation, I'd install LED-specific fixtures.
GEsoftwhite100watts   [Oct 25, 2014 at 02:50 AM]
Yeah but I'd want something replaceable/backretrofitable.

Comment 10 to 29 of 29
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