Fluorescent Lighting Ban: What You Need to Know
It’s official - fluorescent lamps, or florries as they’re nicknamed, have been banned. While in the EU the ban landed on 25th August 2023, it has now been enforced in the UK since the 1st February 2024, making the production of CFL, T8, and T5 lamps prohibited. Before the panic sets in, it’s worth noting that existing stock can continue to be sold until levels are exhausted – but is this the smart choice? Stockpiling fluorescent lamps may be tempting but from a cost-efficiency perspective, there are better options available.
But Fluorescent Lights Have Been Around for Years! Why Are They Now Being Banned?
Similar to the phasing out of halogen lighting in 2018, now fluorescent lamps are getting the gradual but certain axe. In this case, the ban is on account of a key hazardous component – mercury. The EU directive, Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS), has mercury on its restricted list due to risks posed to human health and the environment.
Fluorescent Lighting Replacement Costs Vs Energy Efficiency Savings
If the environmental and health benefits weren’t a good enough reason for the ban, fluorescent lamps are also quite inefficient compared to modern lighting alternatives. Yes, we are talking about LED lighting.
Did you know: according to gov.uk, the “shift to LED bulbs will cut 1.26 million tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of removing over half a million cars from UK roads”.
Boasting an 80% higher energy efficiency compared to fluorescent lights, switching to LED seems like a no-brainer. The payback period for replacing one fluorescent lamp is just 3 months! Despite the long-term savings, upfront replacement costs can put some people off.
At ROBUS, we have a pain-free solution to this problem.
Fluorescent to LED Retrofit Service with Customised Conversions
Our Customised Conversions Department offer a bespoke retrofit service that is flexible to your particular requirements. By choosing to retrofit, we can replace fluorescent lamps while keeping the fixture intact. Although increased energy efficiency is a very attractive prospect, the benefits of our retrofit service go far beyond this.
Minimising Downtime and Reducing Costs
Our retrofit service has many added benefits that save time and money. For example, you won’t need to repaint or replaster walls as you are not installing a new fitting, instead you’re replacing components of existing fittings. This is a significant advantage to businesses that want to minimise downtime. As far as everyone else is concerned, it’s business as usual!
A Stress-Free Retrofit Service, Tailored to Electrical Contractors’ Needs
We’re all about making retrofitting easy for you, so we will provide alternative solutions as required and we aim to do this without even asking for a sample. Our retrofit kits are designed for easy installation. Firstly, we will create a working sample for you to retrofit and we can always tweak any samples to suit your needs.
Who are Customised Conversions?
Our Customised Conversions Department have been carrying out this service for over 16 years for electrical contractors. We have over 70 years of combined experience in the conversions industry, with most members working here for over 10 years. We specialise in converting pre-existing products and the great news is we will work with any pre-existing product, whether it’s ROBUS, non-ROBUS and/or retrofit.
Retrofit Case Study: Pharmaceutical Company
Recently, we provided an extensive retrofit for a large pharmaceutical company that required the upgrading of 280 fittings. This was achieved with 2,240m of VEGAS COB LED strip. Our Customised Conversions Department provided our Cut-to-Length Service, which involved pre-wiring, pre-soldering, and pre-packaging lengths of LED strips into handy kits. That meant that when the electricians arrived on-site, everything was ready to go.
Get Started with Our Retrofit Service Today
We can help make complying with the fluorescent lighting ban a painless process by upgrading old fluorescent lamps with more cost-efficient LED alternatives. Our LED modules use less energy, have a longer lifespan, provide better light quality, and guarantee significant cost savings. Let’s get started! Contact our Customised Conversions team to have a chat about this service by calling +353 1 709 9000 (option 2) or emailing conversionsrequests@robus.com.
