Fluorescent tubes are being phased out. Here is what that means for your building.
No law makes the fluorescent lighting already in your building illegal, and you do not have to rip it out tomorrow. What changed is supply: most T8 tubes could not be placed on the GB market from 1 September 2023, and T5 and most other fluorescent lamps followed on 1 February 2024, so replacement tubes get harder to find as old stock runs out. The sensible move is to plan the change to LED before a run of failures forces it on you.
What actually changed, and when.
Two sets of rules did the work. The Ecodesign lighting regulations set minimum efficiency standards for light sources, and the common 2ft, 4ft and 5ft T8 tubes failed them from 1 September 2023. Separately, the exemptions that let fluorescent lamps contain mercury were withdrawn, which took T5 tubes, the remaining T8 lengths and pin-based compact fluorescents off the GB market from 1 February 2024. The Lighting Industry Association publishes the full list of lamp types and dates.
Both rules stop new lamps being placed on the market. They do not say anything about the fittings already on your ceiling, and wholesalers were allowed to sell the stock they already held. That is why you can still buy a box of tubes today, and why the price and availability of that box will only get worse.
What it means in a working building.
- Failures you cannot fix like for like. Sooner or later a tube fails and the right one is not on the shelf. Then you are choosing a replacement in a hurry, one fitting at a time, which is the most expensive way to change a lighting installation.
- The control gear goes too. Older fittings run on ballasts and starters that age alongside the tubes. A fitting that has started to flicker or hum is often telling you about the gear, not the lamp.
- A patchwork ceiling. Ad hoc swaps leave a floor with three colour temperatures and four types of lamp, which is harder to maintain than either the old system or a planned new one.
- Emergency fittings hidden in the run. In many offices, warehouses and shops, some of the fluorescent fittings are also the emergency lights, with a battery pack inside. They look like the rest of the row, and they are the ones that get missed.
The three ways to move to LED.
LED tubes in the existing fittings. Some LED tubes are made to work with the fitting's existing ballast, and some need the fitting rewired so the ballast is bypassed. The first is quick and cheap but leaves you relying on old gear. The second removes the ballast but changes the fitting from what its maker designed and tested. Either can be the right answer for a sound fitting in a space you are not otherwise changing.
New LED fittings in the same positions. Usually the better long term answer where the fittings are tired, the ceiling grid is staying and the layout works. Every fitting is new, with its own driver and its own warranty.
A new layout. Where the use of the space has changed, the old grid of fittings may be lighting the wrong things. A redesign is the moment to add presence detection in stores and toilets, and daylight dimming near the windows.
The parts that get missed.
- Emergency lighting. Any fitting that doubles as an emergency light needs an LED replacement with its own emergency function, and the system needs testing once the work is done. Our guide to emergency lighting testing requirements explains the regime it has to meet.
- Lighting levels. Swapping one fitting for another is not the same as checking the space is properly lit. On a production floor or in a warehouse aisle, ask for the levels to be checked against the task, not just matched to what was there.
- The old tubes. Fluorescent lamps contain mercury, which is the reason the exemptions were withdrawn in the first place. They go to a lamp recycling route, not into a skip, so ask who is taking them away.
- The records. Fittings, positions and any emergency luminaires should end up on a drawing and in your electrical records, so the next EICR and the next test are not starting blind.
What the price is made of.
We do not publish prices because no two buildings share an installation. The cost is built from the number and type of fittings, which route you take for each area, ceiling heights and access equipment, how much of the work has to happen out of hours, the emergency fittings in the run, any controls being added, disposal of the old lamps and gear, and testing at the end. For the money coming back the other way, see our guide to the real payback on a commercial LED upgrade.
Where we fit.
We survey and replace commercial lighting in offices, warehouses, schools and shops across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire, phased area by area so the building keeps working. A survey tells you which fittings are worth keeping, which are not, and where the emergency lights are hiding. Send us the address, the type of premises and roughly how many fittings, and we will arrange a visit.
Sources: The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Lighting Products) Regulations 2021; Lighting Industry Association: RoHS update; LIA: lamp types and dates; GOV.UK: end of halogen bulbs and phase out of fluorescent tubes.
Asked about this.
Are fluorescent tubes being banned in the UK?
New tubes are, but your existing lighting is not. The common 2ft, 4ft and 5ft T8 tubes could not be placed on the GB market from 1 September 2023, and T5, the other T8 lengths and pin-based compact fluorescents followed on 1 February 2024. Nothing requires you to remove fluorescent fittings that are already installed.
Can I still buy fluorescent tubes?
For now, from existing stock. The rules stop manufacturers and importers placing new lamps on the market, but stock already in the supply chain can still be sold. Expect it to get scarcer and dearer, which is why it is worth planning the change rather than waiting for failures.
Do I have to replace my fluorescent lights with LED?
Not by law. The practical reason to change is that replacement tubes are running out, older control gear is ageing, and LED uses less energy. Planning the change on your timetable is cheaper and less disruptive than replacing fittings one at a time as they fail.
Can you put LED tubes in a fluorescent fitting?
Yes, with the right tube. Some LED tubes work with the existing ballast and some need the fitting rewired to bypass it. A rewired fitting must never take a fluorescent tube again, so it should be labelled. Where the fittings are old, new LED fittings are often the better long term answer.