I installed 100 dual-ended LED 4-foot replacements last year and noticed that my AMZN supplier (Sunco) has replaced the product with a single-ended version. Naturally, I do not want to rewire the 100 units a second time and would like to continue with the dual-ended LEDs to maintain consistency (KISS principle).
QUESTIONS
- Is there advantage to using a single-ended bulb?
- Is there cause to believe that single-ended bulbs will phase out dual-ended?
I ask these questions because if there is a significant advantage to single-ended designs, then maybe I should stock up on whatever dual-ended supplies exist if they are to become extinct.
If the winds are blowing in the direction of single-ended devices, then it may make sense to give up on consistency and replace existing fluorescent devices with single-ended LEDs.
Best Answer
I have purchased hundreds of led tubes. I currently use a T8 that is ballast bypass single or double ended and ballast compatible, I love these lights and just ordered 4 more cases. With my T5 lights I cannot find the same specs yet but I prefer double ended because most of my T5 lamps are 277v and I don't like my 277v 20 amp circuits having the pins that close together because I lose at least 2 fixtures a year when chunks of wood hit the fixtures. In the past, the ballast controlled the max current but with direct wire lamps that are single ended a good hit would, and has in 1 case, burn a large hole in a very expensive fixture because no matter how good the fixture is the tombstones are all cheap so when the $1.20 tall tombstone broke on a single ended retrofit it burned a huge hole in the $380 fixture.
So I go with double ended when possible.