I wonder how "green" LED bulbs are by comparison.

In reply to a post by PaulKirby:

WoW, it will cost me £100 for one tube LOL.

Do you really have a 57-inch tube in your kitchen?

Actually, electronic ones use high-frequency to start the tubes, like the cold-cathode effect. The gas is heated by heating elements at the ends.

In reply to a post by MHC:

Oh yes they do.

The Aurora LED tubes with a G5 base require a 24v constant voltage driver and are NOT suitable for connection to a conventional ballast.


and T8s require the fitting to be completely modified.

Not true! I replaced my flourescent two weeks ago with this. Only alteration was to replace the standard starter with a shorted starter. (Provided in the price)

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Actually, electronic ones use high-frequency to start the tubes, like the cold-cathode effect. The gas is heated by heating elements at the ends.

The full electronic kits do, yes, but not the electronic starters that simply replace the glow-type and still retain the choke/ballast.

In reference to www.tabelek.co.uk/product-um2-multipulse-electronic-fluorescent-tub...:

The patented Soft Start LEL Multipulse system produces timed heating followed by high energy, high voltage ignition to give very reliable starting even under conditions of low temperatures.

They simply replace the (somewhat erratic) bimetal switch in a glow starter with a better controlled electronic one.

The "heating elements" at the ends of the tube are oxide-coated cathodes and need heating to produce electrons, they don't heat any significant fraction of the gas.

RF noise is possible from LED driver units, so they are not an automatic improvement.

Evening Kasg

Found this and it seems a reasonable comparison chart; but with "Durability", I think it should have also covered "Hazard".

http://www.designrecycleinc.com/led%20comp%20chart.html

Taking the "broken glass" case, whilst the Tungsten Incandescent Bulb glass can break and frequently breaks, it normally does not present a hazard beyond cuts - and yes, these may be serious in some cases.

My experience of CFLs is that generally the glass tubing is more and surprisingly robust.

If it does break, then any resulting cuts have to be treated much more seriously, due to the Mercury and/or the Rare Earth compounds coating the inner wall, just like conventional Fluorescent Tubes.

There disposal whether broken or not, is thus a much more serious consideration.

I can't comment on the LEDs, having little experience of them in this regard.

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I once broke about ten Fluorescent Tubes, tripping over one as I tried to enter a lift/elevator.

Fortunately, I stayed outside, whilst about 90% of the fragments were trapped inside, by the closing doors of the lift.

Many years later, I saw such tubes being broken (deliberately) against bright sunshine, which showed the myriad of shards, powder etc that arises in a surprisingly large "cloud".

Fortunately there was a double-glazed window between me and them - but not the persons doing the breaking.

Keep well clear.