LED vs Fluorescent Lighting Comparison
Efficacy, lifespan, CRI and TCO compared.
Fluorescent tubes still light plenty of warehouses, but the arithmetic has moved: LED reaches 100-180 lm/W against 60-100 lm/W, lasts five to six times longer and contains no mercury. For most projects this is an ROI question rather than a performance one.
| Comparison | Option A | Option B | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efficacy | 100-180 lm/W | 60-100 lm/W | LED |
| Lifespan | 50,000-100,000h | 8,000-15,000h | LED |
| CRI | 80-95+ | 50-90 | LED |
| Mercury | None | Yes | LED |
| TCO 10yr | Lower | Higher | LED |
Conclusion
Choose LED wherever the fixture runs more than four hours a day: the higher first cost is repaid by electricity and relamping savings within one to three years. Fluorescent only stays attractive where no certified LED replacement exists for the existing ballast.
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Post a sourcing brief → Compare more products📋 Authoritative Standards Reference
IEC 60529 · CIE 13.3 · ANSI C78.377 · IES LM-79 / LM-80 · UL 1598 / UL 8750 — data verified by the CompareDeals team.