The most common commercial fixtures in use in commercial and industrial facilities are fluorescent and HID (High Intensity Discharge). The technology for these products has become so much more efficient over the past several years that nearly every major retailer nationwide has updated their facilities with the new technology. With such a high rate of return on investment, these projects compare favorably to any other available investments for businesses, and should be considered a facility priority. Typical return on investment is 50% or better per year, making this a truly easy decision.

The basic replacement components of the fixtures are the lamp and ballast, sockets, wiring, reflectors, mounting hardware and lenses. We retrofit T12 Fluorescent fixtures with T8 and T5 digital technology, updating to T8 and T5 color corrected lamps and replace magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts using special kits and Energy Star rated aluminum reflectors to increase light levels. Our kits are specially designed by industry experts to avoid the need to replace entire fixtures, making the projects make financial sense.

What does “T8” mean?
The “T” designation in fluorescent lamp nomenclature stands for tubular; the shape of the lamp. The number immediately following the T gives the diameter of the lamp in eighths of an inch. A T12 lamp is therefore twelve-eighths of an inch, or one-and-one-half inches in diameter. A T8 lamp is eight-eighths of an inch, or one inch in diameter. A T5 lamp is five-eighths of an inch in diameter.

What are the color characteristics of T8 and T5 lamps?
T8 and T5 lamps achieve both improved color rendering and high efficacy by employing rare-earth phosphors. The correlated color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI) of the lamps is controlled by varying the selection of phosphors. The CRI of T8 and T5 lamps can be specified from 70 to as high as the mid-90’s. Every lamp manufacturer has a product coding system denoting CRI, which may require a catalog to decipher. For great lighting quality, specify a CRI of at least 80.

Do T8 lamps require a special ballast or fixture?
T8 lamps require an electronic ballast specifically designed to operate lamps at a lower current than T12 lamps. Whenever T12 lamps are replaced with T8 lamps, the ballast must also be replaced. When you install an electronic ballast for optimum light quality and efficiency; electronic ballasts don’t flicker or hum, and they use less power! T12, T10, and T8 lamps can all use the medium bi-pin base, which allows T8, and T10 lamps to fit into the same luminaires as T12 lamps of the same length. T5 lamps have a different base, and are shorter than T8s, so new lumenaires are needed.

Electronic ballasts operate fluorescent lamps at much higher frequencies (20KHz and up) than the standard 60 Hz at which magnetic ballasts operate lamps. Because of the common .88 ballast factor, many electronic ballasts provide a slight reduction in light output while using significantly less power compared to magnetic ballasts, which generally have a ballast factor of .94. Electronic ballasts with higher ballast factors (as high as 1.2) produce more light. Electronic ballasts offer lots of advantages, such as no flicker, less heat, much less noise, and the ability to operate as many as four lamps on a single ballast; some offer dimming, soft start, and better power quality characteristics as well.

How long do T8 lamps last?
T8 lamps have the same 20,000-hour + rated lamp life as standard T12 lamps. Frequent on/off cycles can reduce fluorescent lamp life. Using programmed start or dimming ballasts can increase lamp life to as much as 30,000 hours. T8 lamps also exhibit a slower decline in light output over time, relative to T12 lamps. At 40 percent of their rated life, standard T12 lamps only produce about 80 percent of their initial rated light output, compared to about 90 percent for T8 lamps.

What are the savings from using T8 lamps?
T8 lamps used with electronic ballasts will typically use about 32% less energy than the same lumenaires with T12 and magnetic ballasts. Additional savings are possible if a lighting re-design indicates the use of reflectors and delamping, or fewer lumenaires. Longer lamp life and less lumen depreciation mean lower maintenance costs. Worker productivity increases with light quality improvements.

System
Lamps

System
Ballasts

Input Watts

Ballast factor

Light Output vs. T12

Savings vs. T12

Net System Lumens/Watt*

(4) 30W T8

(1) High-efficiency electronic

100

.87

118%

31%

95.7

(2) 30W

(1) High efficiency electronic

.87

118%

62%

95.7

For HID applications, there are several solutions to consider based on height and needed foot-candles. Sample differentiations are listed below on several products.

Improved Lighting Environment

Customers tend to judge their vendors based on the appearance of their facilities and merchandise. High Bay lighting systems can have a tremendous impact on customers’ perception and employee productivity.

Improved Color Rendering
The color rendering of a light source describes that source's ability to accurately render the colors of illuminated objects. As a general rule, the higher a light source's Color Rendering Index (CRI), the better the lamp will make objects appear. The graph below displays the CRI advantage High Five fluorescent technology provides.

286% Improvement compared to
High Pressure Sodium

21-31% Improvement compared to
Metal Halide

Vision research indicates that white light from the blue end of the spectrum enables higher visual acuity than light from the red-yellow end of the visible spectrum. As a result, High Five lighting provides for a safer and more productive work environment.
The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America reports that fluorescent luminaries with a CRI of 85 provide similar brightness impressions using 25% less lumens than lamps with a CRI of 60.

Color Shift
Especially critical to retail environments, HID lighting introduces color variation to a lighting design. High Five fluorescent technology is not effected by color shift and provides a consistent color temperature from fixture to fixture.

Desired color temperature varies from lamp to lamp due to temperature differences in the arc tube.

Ultraviolet Light (UV)
UV light emissions cause fading and damage to plastics and fabrics. It can also discolor and crack the fixture’s lens, reducing light output and compromising the resistance of the plastic. High Bay fluorescent technology dramatically reduces UV exposure compared to HID at no extra cost.

Reduced Glare
High Bay luminaires significantly decrease levels of visual disability and discomfort when compared to HID fixtures.

Energy Retrofitters, Inc. fixtures provide appropriate lighting for any environment with the least amount of energy consumption possible.

Our latest products, High Bay lighting fixtures, were designed specifically to replace or substitute inefficient HID lighting fixtures in both new construction and retrofit applications. High Bay fixtures will outperform metal halide, high-pressure sodium and pulse start metal halide HID fixtures while consuming up to 52% less energy.

Simplified Maintenance

High Bay fluorescent systems offer far more consistent lumen output over the entire lamp life compared to HID.

Lumen maintenance percentages are used to predict the anticipated lumen output loss of a light source in relation to the initial rated output of the lamp. Notice, High Bay fluorescent systems are up to 105% better than HID light sources in terms of lumen maintenance.

Metal Halide lamps

The cause of lumen depreciation is a direct result of how metal halide HID lamps function. When they burn, tungsten metal deposits attach to the inside wall, causing blackening of the bulb. Along with electrode damage, this significantly reduces the efficiency of the lamp over time.

*Refer to hours per start for exact lamp life.

High Bay fluorescent lighting systems offer equal rated & economic life. HID rated life does not account for the lumen depreciation, color shifting, and loss in efficiency that always occurs as lamps age. “Economic life" refers to the hours of operation a metal halide lamp is designed to provide in terms of optimum light output, aesthetic quality, and economic energy consumption. The economic life of Metal Halide lamps is generally defined as 60-75% of the lamp's rated life.

Compare the cost of energy consumption between relamp cycles. As you can see, all maintenance costs could be reimbursed through energy savings alone.