What happens if you use an LED with ballast?

Unlike fluorescent tubes, LEDs don’t require a ballast to regulate current. When using direct fit LEDs, the ballast is still using energy and eating into your possible energy savings. With a ballast bypass, you are only paying for the energy the LED lights use, which is up to 70\% less than traditional bulbs!

Can you put LED bulbs in fluorescent ballast?

Many LED tubes are “plug and play”, meaning you can just install them like you would a fluorescent bulb. For this to be true, look for bulbs that are “ballast-compatible” meaning that they can use the ballast already installed in your fluorescent fixture to power the LEDs.

How do I know if a ballast is compatible with LED?

You can determine whether you have a compatible fixture in seconds. Simply turn the light on, then take a photo of the fixture using your smartphone or digital camera. If there are no dark bands on the resulting image, you have an electronic ballast that will work with direct drop-in LED tubes.

Should I bypass ballast for LED lights?

Since LED lights work on low DC voltage, they need a driver. Most T8 LED tubes do not need a ballast. So, if you are going to install a T8 LED tube light, it will require a ballast bypass unless you choose a ballast compatible T8 LED tube.

Can you use LED and fluorescent bulbs in the same fixture?

Retrofit LED Tubes “Retrofit” tubes work with all fluorescent fixtures as well as ballast-free LED fixtures. To use them with your existing fluorescent fixtures, you’ll need to take just a few minutes to rewire the fixture to bypass the balast. This is a pretty simple task.

Can you replace regular light bulbs with LED?

If everything fits and is the correct voltage, yes, you can easily swap all your halogen and incandescent bulbs in your fixtures with LED replacements. When you’re buying the replacement bulbs for your traditional fixtures, remember that the wattage of the LED bulbs does not have to be the same as the older bulbs.