Tubes & Battens

Specification

Everything published for this product. Anything not listed here is not published — ask and we will confirm it for the unit you are buying.

What it is

A linear lamp in a fitting called a batten. T8 is the older 26 mm tube, T5 the slimmer 16 mm. LED tubes replace fluorescent in the same fitting, sometimes with a wiring change.

Which wattage is which length

On a T8 fluorescent tube the wattage fixes the length, so either one tells you the other. 18W is 600 mm (2 ft), 30W is 900 mm (3 ft), 36W is 1200 mm (4 ft), 58W is 1500 mm (5 ft) and 70W is 1800 mm (6 ft). Ask for a 5 foot tube and you are asking for a 58W. T5 runs on its own ladder - 14W is 549 mm, 21W is 849 mm, 28W is 1149 mm and 35W is 1449 mm - so check which type the fitting takes before ordering by length alone. LED replacement tubes keep the fluorescent length they replace but draw far less: a 5 foot LED tube is around 22W against 58W.

Who buys it

Warehouses, workshops, car parks, kitchens and corridors - anywhere lit by rows of linear fittings rather than individual lamps.

Made of

Fluorescent: a glass tube, a phosphor coating, argon and mercury vapour, with a bi-pin cap at each end. LED tube: an aluminium extrusion, an LED strip, a driver and a diffusing cover.

How it works

A fluorescent tube needs a ballast to strike the arc and then limit the current. An LED tube either uses that existing ballast or needs it bypassed - and which one you have decides whether the swap is a two-minute job or an electrician's.

Where it is the wrong choice

Do not order LED tubes without knowing whether the existing fittings have magnetic or electronic ballasts, or need bypassing. The wrong combination gives a tube that will not strike, or one that runs hot and fails early. And do not mix old fluorescent with new LED along the same run - the colour difference is obvious and reads as a fault.

Brands

OSRAM and LEDVANCE.

Delivery

All 7 Emirates from our own yard. Sharjah and the northern emirates are usually same day on stocked lines; the rest of the country is one to three working days. The delivery charge depends on the emirate, the load and the offloading, and is confirmed in writing on the quotation rather than guessed at here.

Genuine stock

Genuine LEDVANCE and OSRAM stock, held at our own warehouse rather than drop-shipped. What you order is what is on the shelf, and batch and shelf life are confirmed on request.

Trade and volume

Volume pricing above trade quantities for workshops, fleets, facilities contractors and car wash operators. Send the whole list rather than one line and we will price the package instead of the item.