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Cree aims to make fluorescent tubes obsolete with LED T8 series

By David Szondy
May 06, 2014
Cree aims to make fluorescent tubes obsolete with LED T8 series
The Cree T8 is an LED tube designed to replace conventional fluorescent tubes
The Cree T8 is an LED tube designed to replace conventional fluorescent tubes
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The Cree T8 uses 21 watts of power
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The Cree T8 uses 21 watts of power
The Cree T8 has improved light quality
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The Cree T8 has improved light quality
The Cree T8 produces 2,100 lumens per tube
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The Cree T8 produces 2,100 lumens per tube
The Cree T8 is an LED tube designed to replace conventional fluorescent tubes
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The Cree T8 is an LED tube designed to replace conventional fluorescent tubes
The Cree T8 is compatible with most tube fittings
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The Cree T8 is compatible with most tube fittings
The Cree T8 is 30 percent more efficient than conventional tubes
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The Cree T8 is 30 percent more efficient than conventional tubes
View gallery - 6 images

Fluorescent lights aren't on the top of many people’s favorites list. Ever since they were introduced at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, they've been notorious for their cold, bluish light that is the definition of “uncomplimentary” and accompanied by flickering and a telltale buzz. Cree, Inc. is aiming to relegate fluorescent tubes to the pages of history with its new T8 series of LED tubes that promise LED-level energy savings and greatly improved light quality.

LEDs have proven a useful alternatives to both incandescents and fluorescents when it comes to bulbs with their durability, economy, and promise of better light, but when it comes to tubes, LEDs haven’t quite made the grade. It’s easy enough to shape an LED to match a fluorescent tube, but the color leaves much to be desired and they aren’t as bright as they need to be.

The Cree T8 is a new series of tubes designed to replace conventional fluorescents. According to Cree, the T8 is capable of putting out 2,100 lumens per tube for 21 watts of power, or 3,800 lumens for a two-tube fixture. In part, this is due to the oval shape of the tubes which is designed to avoid wasting light illuminating the inside of the fixture.

The Cree T8 is 30 percent more efficient than conventional tubes
The Cree T8 is 30 percent more efficient than conventional tubes

With a 30 percent energy savings, Cree says that the tubes will pay for themselves within three years. It has a near-universal driver compatibility and the company claims that the T8 has the industry’s best color quality, capable of covering both the 3,500 K and 4,000 K color temperature ranges.

Cree is claiming a 50,000-hour lifetime for the T8, which is also dimmable and compatible with over 90 percent of electronic ballasts (that is, the circuitry used to regulate fluorescent tubes), including instant start, programmed start, and rapid start ballasts.

The Cree T8 produces 2,100 lumens per tube
The Cree T8 produces 2,100 lumens per tube

“Similar to what we've achieved with the Cree LED Bulb in the residential market, the Cree LED T8 Series is revolutionizing the commercial lighting market with a product that saves energy, delivers superior light quality and is universally compatible with nearly all existing fluorescent T8 ballasts," says Chuck Swoboda, Cree Chairman and CEO. "There’s no reason to install another linear fluorescent tube again."

The Cree T8 is available in the US and Canada for a suggested retail price of US$30.

The video below introduces the T8 series of LED tubes.

Source; Cree via Gizmodo

Cree LED T8 Series Product Video

View gallery - 6 images

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15 comments
David Szondy
David Szondy
David Szondy is a playwright, author and journalist based in Seattle, Washington. A retired field archaeologist and university lecturer, he has a background in the history of science, technology, and medicine with a particular emphasis on aerospace, military, and cybernetic subjects. In addition, he is the author of four award-winning plays, a novel, reviews, and a plethora of scholarly works ranging from industrial archaeology to law. David has worked as a feature writer for many international magazines and has been a feature writer for New Atlas since 2011.

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15 comments
BigGoofyGuy
I think the LED lights are better than floriscent lights since they don't have mercury in them. I believe the LED lights will last longer too. I think LED and OLED lights will (should) replace floriscent lights since they are safer and longer lasting.
I liked the Cree Sam that they were going to make (not sure if they made it or not). It was a three wheel electric car with a 'plastic' looking body. I thought it was really neat. I liked how the doors open. The passenger sits behind the driver.
Robert in Vancouver
I don't believe the claim these LED lights will last 50,000 hours.
All of the other high priced energy saving light bulbs make similar claims yet they last about the same amount of time as standard (and very low cost) incandescent light bulbs.
flylowguy
They might overtake standard fluorescent tubes in general lighting uses, but maybe never replace them entirely as long as there is a medical need for specific nanometer wavelength bulbs that are dependable and reliably within emission tolerances. Kelvin temp is one thing, specific wavelength is another.
mebaddad
Nothing new. I have been getting LED fluoro tubes from China for some time now. They good, but only a little more efficient then fluoro. A lot more expensive, it is a new technology. To reply to robo comments: theoretically LED should last for ever, but I had many failures of their power supply modules, poor soldering, poor components, etc. Industry may need to develop a concept of 'fluoro starter' mean separate LED lights from its power supply.
Ruzzolo
@Robo
It depends - they are generally more sensitive to heat and quality of power. I have purchase my fluorescent lights when I moved into my new house about 18 years ago - I was quite an early adopter. Got some General Electric branded, 9w.
I have replaced only 3 bulbs 4 years ago; they burned up all together because my kid was playing with the light switch (like clickclickclickclickclickclick ... poof) ... at least in my case, they was really a good investment.
I'm going to replace my neon tubes as soon as CREE will publish the full light spectrum, I need something that is suitable for plants and animals.
Ed
"the tubes will pay for themselves within three years" *IF* they last that long! As someone who has attempted to use LED lamps in a daily routine, I find that most LEDs will fail within 2 years. Especially if the mains are not consistent. You see, LEDS, like most electronics are sensitive to spikes and surges in the electric line. Some of the chinese knock-offs will fail just by your laser printer cycling on and off...More expensive LEDs will fail during brown-outs. So yeah...I want to put these things at $30 a pop ($120 per fixture) and have them fail whenever I get a power surge...not likely. Until these things come with a minimum of a 3 year replacement warranty, it's too much of a risk to invest in these things!
HerrDrPantagruel
3 year payback? I can't see how they claim this, unless you run your lights about 48 hrs per day ;) This is not nearly like going from notoriously inefficent incandescent to LED (600% more efficient.) The existing fluorescent T8 bulbs can be extremely efficient, inexpensive, bright, long lasting. I have some that are 89 lumens/watt. So this is only about 20 to 25% more efficient, though they cost 12x more. You can get a 30 pack of Philips f32t8 about $2.35 per tube. It would cost me about $360 just to outfit my two 6-tube high bay shop lights with these LEDs. And the light output would be about 30% dimmer which would be a problem. But these only cost me about $90 per year to run. At 25% savings that would be $23 per yr saved, taking about 15 years for payback.
It's true that the color temp of the really efficient fl. tubes tends to be cooler. LED color temp has been much improved lately. Cree is making some great stuff, yet I still think they will need to get a lot closer to the cost per tube of fl. to be competitive, and please stop with the specious cost savings claims.
steveraxx
Fantastic. As a designer I have always loathed fluorescent bulbs. They are the hideous bane of the interior designer. As well, studies have shown that they make people fidget and incapable of focus. What a great combination of traits for people who attend school!
moreover
Many fluorescents come with older magnetic ballasts which often emit an annoying sound. They can also affect recording sound from wireless microphones and their color cast can make white balancing a video recording next to impossible. These problems all disappear with LED/Cree.
Also, the 'compatibility with electronic ballasts' the article speaks of may be another way of saying that the ballasts must be bypassed and are not needed. Bypassing would mean you can't just insert these into the fittings and be done. That would be a major hassle on a ladder.
Gregg Eshelman
One place LED tube replacements make plenty of sense is in lighting grocery store coolers and freezers.
They save electricity two ways, through reduced power to produce the light and they give off very little heat, which means the refrigeration compressors need to run less.
Want to cheaply boost the light output of a fluorescent tube fixture? Get a roll of aluminum flue tape and apply it to the white painted "reflector" to drastically increase the amount of light bounced downward.
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