Not mentioned in the article are the LED replacements for full-size fluorescent tubes (i.e. 48in tubes). I got a bunch for my basement. The LED tubes really are a million times better than the fluorescents. For one, they aren't enormous fragile glass tubes filled with toxic mercury vapor, and two, they give off good light (for a basement work area) with very little power.
Can you place those bulbs in the regular fluorescent "socket"? I bought a house and have a few burned out fluorescent looking long bulbs and I don't want to replace them with toxic bulbs.
Yes, but check the bulb. Some are compatible with the fluorescent ballast, but some expect you to use a fixture that has had the ballast removed. The trend is towards the latter, because they are more efficient.
A CFL ballast can be modified with a bypass by snipping a couple of wires and tying them to other wires. It takes 10 minutes and it’s reversible. I did it myself after watching a YouTube video. The LED t8 replacement was cheaper and brighter and used less electricity.
Interesting. I have some of those fluorescents in a storage room and I hadn't even thought about there being an LED replacement option. Thanks for posting that.
