**Upgrading Fluorescent Lighting to LED: A Step-by-Step Guide**
**Introduction**
In this video, Shannon from Host Improvements shares practical tips on upgrading fluorescent lighting in your home or business to energy-efficient LED lights. This guide will walk you through the process, ensuring a smooth transition that offers both cost savings and improved lighting quality.
**Checking the Ballast Type**
Before starting your project, it's crucial to identify the type of ballast in your fluorescent fixtures. Ensure the fixture has an **electronic ballast**, as opposed to older magnetic ones. This distinction is vital because only electronic ballasts are compatible with LED tubes. Check the label on your fixture; if it doesn't specify "electronic ballast," it might not be suitable for LED replacement.
**Removing the Fixture Cover**
To access the ballast and fluorescent tubes, you'll need to remove the fixture cover. Depending on the fixture, this may involve screws or clips. Shannon's shop uses a snap-on cover, making removal straightforward. Be cautious with wires while handling the cover to avoid damage.
**Replacing Old Fluorescent Tubes**
Once the cover is off, carefully remove the old fluorescent tubes. These are characterized by their two-pin design at each end. Replace these with new LED tubes, ensuring they fit snugly into the sockets. Secure them by twisting gently until they lock in place.
**Noting Light Color Differences**
LED tubes come in various color temperatures measured in Kelvin (K). Shannon compares 5000K and 4100K tubes, noting subtle differences in light hue. While initially noticeable, these distinctions may diminish as you replace more fixtures uniformly.
**Power Safety Precautions**
Always turn off the power supply before working on lighting fixtures to ensure safety. Once the new LED tubes are installed, restore power and test the operation. This step is essential to avoid electrical hazards.
**Additional Tips and Resources**
Shannon's expertise highlights the ease of this project for both T8 and T5 fixtures, with similar processes for each. For further assistance or questions, visit Host Improvements' website forum, where community members can provide valuable insights. Consider supporting their work on Patreon for more helpful content.
**Conclusion**
Upgrading fluorescent lighting to LED is a simple yet impactful home improvement project. By following these steps, you'll enjoy energy savings and improved lighting efficiency. Remember to prioritize safety and consult resources if needed. Happy upgrading!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi I'm Shannon from host improvements comm and today's video is just more or less a tip on some energy savings that you could do to some existing fluorescing light fluorescent lighting that you have in your house or shop or garage we're in a in my shop today and I've got a lot of these fluorescent fixtures on the ceiling right now these are the t8 variety so they're not the real big the t12 I'm I've got the TV t8 and I just want to upgrade some of my lighting save a little bit of money giving me myself a little bit different light as well so we're just going to deal really quickly with this one of the main things to consider when you're doing this to an existing light you already own is the ballast on the fluorescent lighting must be electronic so it has to say right on here electronic ballast as opposed to an older ballast where it may not say anything or it might just say ballast on it okay so that's the first thing to do and to do that obviously you've got to pull this cover off to check that so we've got that all done so I can put the cover back on just be careful you aren't pinching any wires some of these covers might have screws to hold them on might be clips this one they just kind of snap on so our our old fluorescent tubes really were like this these the style to have the two pins in the end and I've taken them out of this section already here's our new LED tubes so they fit in just exactly the same way put them up in the socket give them a twist now this one you've got to make sure you get them the right way cuz most of these are just an LED basically a strip in there so you need to get it up obviously so it's shining down but really easy just throw them in here you can get them lined up we obviously had the power turned off as well so we've got those back in we're gonna hit the power and it's really as easy as that so you can kind of see the difference now it's might not be a fair comparison because these are like 5000k and these are 4100 but that's just the Kelvin that let the light color so these you know are just a little different light but eventually I'll have them all changed rate out so okay so it's really as easy as that it's gonna save you some energy down the road and as long as you've got a t8 fixture or even a t5 fixture this is relatively the same process and as I said make sure you have the electronic ballast in your fixture okay so thanks a lot for watching as always you can go and go to the forum on our website post up any questions you might have about this video or any other project you're working on and those of us at the forum can hopefully help you out with that we've got the website as well and if you want to help us out a little bit to make more great videos like this you can go and check out our patreon page as well thanks for watchinghi I'm Shannon from host improvements comm and today's video is just more or less a tip on some energy savings that you could do to some existing fluorescing light fluorescent lighting that you have in your house or shop or garage we're in a in my shop today and I've got a lot of these fluorescent fixtures on the ceiling right now these are the t8 variety so they're not the real big the t12 I'm I've got the TV t8 and I just want to upgrade some of my lighting save a little bit of money giving me myself a little bit different light as well so we're just going to deal really quickly with this one of the main things to consider when you're doing this to an existing light you already own is the ballast on the fluorescent lighting must be electronic so it has to say right on here electronic ballast as opposed to an older ballast where it may not say anything or it might just say ballast on it okay so that's the first thing to do and to do that obviously you've got to pull this cover off to check that so we've got that all done so I can put the cover back on just be careful you aren't pinching any wires some of these covers might have screws to hold them on might be clips this one they just kind of snap on so our our old fluorescent tubes really were like this these the style to have the two pins in the end and I've taken them out of this section already here's our new LED tubes so they fit in just exactly the same way put them up in the socket give them a twist now this one you've got to make sure you get them the right way cuz most of these are just an LED basically a strip in there so you need to get it up obviously so it's shining down but really easy just throw them in here you can get them lined up we obviously had the power turned off as well so we've got those back in we're gonna hit the power and it's really as easy as that so you can kind of see the difference now it's might not be a fair comparison because these are like 5000k and these are 4100 but that's just the Kelvin that let the light color so these you know are just a little different light but eventually I'll have them all changed rate out so okay so it's really as easy as that it's gonna save you some energy down the road and as long as you've got a t8 fixture or even a t5 fixture this is relatively the same process and as I said make sure you have the electronic ballast in your fixture okay so thanks a lot for watching as always you can go and go to the forum on our website post up any questions you might have about this video or any other project you're working on and those of us at the forum can hopefully help you out with that we've got the website as well and if you want to help us out a little bit to make more great videos like this you can go and check out our patreon page as well thanks for watching\n"
