Lighting Insights Blog | Expertise and Education in Commercial Lighting

What to do if your T12 magnetic ballast goes bad

Posted by Francine Pitassi on Jul 19, 2019 10:00:00 AM

This article has been updated with new information and new products. It was originally published in 2017.

If you still have T12s in your building and they run on magnetic ballasts, you may soon face a problem: what do you do when your ballasts die?

Well, like T12s themselves, magnetic ballasts are becoming harder and harder to find these days. They're really no longer in production in the U.S., so most people today are running T12 fluorescents on electronic ballasts. What is a ballast? Read more.

Before we get into troubleshooting options, let's briefly determine how to tell if a ballast is bad.

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Topics: LED, Parking Garage Lighting, T12, Ballast, Fluorescent light, Commercial office lighting

Does bypassing the ballast with an LED tube void the UL rating on a fixture?

Posted by Tad Mehringer on Jul 17, 2019 3:00:00 PM

Unlike fluorescents, some linear LEDs do not need a ballast to power up and produce light. So, a lot of our customers have been asking us about the safety of just bypassing the ballast and direct-wiring their LED tubes.

Several years ago, we saw a lot of problems with this. People were using the wrong sockets. Fires were starting because of mistakes during install. Fluorescent tubes were accidentally post-installed instead of LED tubes, and they were failing immediately when they came into contact with the line voltage running to the sockets.

Back then, we were adamant with our warnings against ballast-bypass linear LED solutions. There were just too many safety hazards for us to recommend this, and the technology wasn't quite there.

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Topics: Ballast, LED retrofit, Commercial office lighting

Common light bulbs and LED upgrades for parking garages

Posted by Caitlin Ferrell on Nov 26, 2018 1:47:00 PM

Proper lighting is key in providing a positive tenant, guest, or shopper experience in any parking garage. In many respects, it's a first impression for the people visiting your facility and shouldn't be overlooked.

This lighting typically remains on 24/7, so it’s important to have long-life bulbs to avoid burnouts at the wrong time. Additionally, these 24/7 burn-time light fixtures present a quick payback on energy-efficient LED upgrades.

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Topics: Parking Garage Lighting, HID, Hospital lighting, Fluorescent light, LED retrofit, Commercial office lighting

Common light bulbs and LED upgrades for commercial offices

Posted by Caitlin Ferrell on Nov 14, 2018 1:37:00 PM

Whether your commercial office building is new, dated, large, or small, proper lighting is a vital component of a functional and efficient workplace. It’s no secret that dim lighting puts strain on the eyes and lowers productivity, and harsh lighting can trigger serious migraines. Aside from employee benefit, some light fixtures also serve as decoration or accent lighting to make your facility more attractive to tenants.

Finding the perfect replacement products for these fixtures can be a hassle –– and determining how to retrofit these fixtures can be confusing.

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Topics: Energy efficiency, Parking Garage Lighting, Commercial office lighting

Answering your questions on energy savings [Ask the expert series]

Posted by Bo Klune on Apr 3, 2018 11:48:00 AM

Bo Klune is our Regional Lighting Specialist Manager who oversees the Dallas and Atlanta regions. Bo has many years of experience in the lighting industry –– finding the most efficient energy savings for his customers. Every day we answer countless questions surrounding the topic of energy savings so he's here to help answer some of the most common. Here's Bo with more:

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Topics: Savings, Payback, & ROI, Restaurant Lighting, Energy efficiency, Retail Lighting, Parking Garage Lighting, Hospital lighting, Hotel lighting, Warehouse lighting, Education facility, Multifamily lighting, Commercial office lighting

Plug-and-play LED bulb vs. LED fixture: Pros and cons to consider for your next project

Posted by Francine Pitassi on Dec 14, 2017 2:35:00 PM

The impact of LED lighting on the seeming endless sea of options is greater than just a few new — significantly more efficient — options for a table lamp or track fixture. LED technology has brought plenty of new replacement products, but it has also introduced a whole new category of options: LED fixtures.

This is a question we commonly address: “I’d like to go with LED lighting, but how do I know if I should go with a screw-in replacement product or a new LED fixture?”

Of course, whether you're switching to an LED screw-in or a brand new LED fixture, you're probably well-acquainted with the lighting technology's many advantages. One important one to highlight here: the lumen output, or brightness, doesn't depreciate with LED like it does with fluorescent or HID technology. The lumen output will remain the same over the life of the product whether you go with a replacement lamp or fixture.

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Topics: Product Comparison, LED, Lighting maintenance, Retail Lighting, Hotel lighting, Education facility, Multifamily lighting, Commercial office lighting

5 ways to sell a lighting retrofit to your boss

Posted by Jules Tompkins on Dec 7, 2017 8:55:00 AM

There are a lot of big numbers that get thrown around in lighting retrofit discussions. The savings –– from the cost of energy to the lessened maintenance workload –– can be eye-popping.

Yet, oftentimes, the only number that is really eye-popping to your boss is that of upfront cost.

The reality is, no matter how common sense a retrofit may seem, big expenditures rarely get passed swiftly. (And sometimes, the sheer size of the number on the price tag can delay a quick-ROI, "common sense" project for years.)

If you're like so many of our lighting-savvy customers who have had trouble getting budgetary approval for an energy-saving lighting conversion, maybe one of the ideas below can help you to get something pushed through and start saving your company money with a refreshed look.

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Topics: LED, Savings, Payback, & ROI, Restaurant Lighting, Movie theater lighting, Retail Lighting, Parking Garage Lighting, Hospital lighting, Hotel lighting, Warehouse lighting, Education facility, Multifamily lighting, Commercial office lighting

Here are some lumen per watt (LPW) targets for common LEDs

Posted by Charles Koekemoer on Oct 23, 2017 2:15:00 PM

Around this time last year, Philips Lighting and the City of Dubai jointly announced the development of "the world's most efficient light bulb," touting a new LED filament bulb that can reportedly produce up to 200 lumens per watt.

Solid State Lighting Design explained more about the lamps:

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Topics: LED, Savings, Payback, & ROI, Restaurant Lighting, Energy efficiency, Parking Garage Lighting, Hotel lighting, Multifamily lighting, Commercial office lighting

Where are the best places for LED tubes in commercial offices?

Posted by Mike Zeccardi on Sep 6, 2017 10:30:00 AM

Replacement LED tubes for T12/T8/T5 bulbs have come a long way over the last couple of years. Between questions on plug-and-play versus bypass ballast to figuring out when it’s the right time to retrofit, it’s clear that linear LEDs are here to stay.

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Topics: LED, Fluorescent light, LED retrofit, Commercial office lighting

What is the average lead time for a lighting order?

Posted by Shannon Eaker on Aug 23, 2017 12:25:00 PM

When making the decision to purchase a certain lighting product, are there any questions that matter more than price, availability, and timeline?

Perhaps that's the case with anything you order –– how much does it cost, is it in stock, and when am I going to get it?

But the stakes can be pretty high when you're ordering lighting to get your building or store into shape before an executive visits or ahead of the holidays or when you're knee-deep in a national rollout schedule.

So, if you call Regency right now and purchase lighting, how long will it take to get your order?

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Topics: Restaurant Lighting, Movie theater lighting, Parking Garage Lighting, Project Management, Hotel lighting, Multifamily lighting, Commercial office lighting

Practical advice on commercial lighting from LED retrofits to lighting design.

What to do if your T12 magnetic ballast goes bad

Does bypassing the ballast with an LED tube void the UL rating on a fixture?

Common light bulbs and LED upgrades for parking garages

Common light bulbs and LED upgrades for commercial offices

Answering your questions on energy savings [Ask the expert series]

Plug-and-play LED bulb vs. LED fixture: Pros and cons to consider for your next project

5 ways to sell a lighting retrofit to your boss

Here are some lumen per watt (LPW) targets for common LEDs

Where are the best places for LED tubes in commercial offices?

What is the average lead time for a lighting order?

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