The Best Way to Upgrade Office Lights to LED:
Retrofit or New Fixtures?

If your office is still running old, inefficient fluorescent tubes, it’s time to upgrade your drop ceiling with LED lights. Making the switch can easily save you 50% or more in lighting energy overhead! Even if you are running LED lights, but they are over 5 years old, it may be worthwhile to swap them out for updated LED lamps or fixtures (learn more about when to upgrade LED lights). But what is the best upgrade to make – LED retrofits or all-new fixtures?

Comparison: LED Retrofit vs. Fixture Replacement

Retrofitting drop ceiling lights typically consists of converting existing fluorescent troffers from running fluorescent tubes to instead running 4ft LED tube lights or magnetic LED strip lights. If your existing ceiling fixtures are in good shape and you’re happy with their placement, LED retrofits could be a good option for you.

LED Retrofit Options for Drop Ceiling Fixtures:

4ft LED Tube Lights

4ft LED tube lighting is a great, low cost upgrade for existing fluorescent troffers. Since they look like fluorescent tubes, LED tube lights allow for an upgrade that is visually similar to what you already have. With fluorescent to LED tube replacements, you will choose either ballast-bypass or ballast-compatible lamps. Ballast-bypass tube lights will provide higher efficiency and lower maintenance while ballast-compatible tube will have a quicker, plug-and-play installation.

• Average Cost: $6 - $12 per 4ft LED tube light
• Main Benefits: Traditional Look and Affordability

Magnetic LED Strip Lights

We offer magnetic LED strip lights that are easy to install in office fixtures. Our fluorescent to LED retrofit kits do require bypassing your fixture’s ballast, but installation goes more quickly than with replacement tubes because only the driver needs to be wired (not individual tombstones). Magnetic LED light strips also allow for more flexibility of adding more or fewer strips as desired per fixture. They also have the additional benefit of an external driver for easy maintenance.

• Average Cost: $40 - $60 per kit
• Main Benefits: Easy to Upkeep and Lots of Flexibility

LED Fixture Replacement Options for Drop Ceiling Fixtures:

Depending on your style preference, you will choose between LED Panels and LED Troffers for your fixture upgrade. These come standard in 2x4, 2x2, and 1x4 sizes, as well as a variety of special-order dimensions.

Installing brand-new LED suspended ceiling lights provides an opportunity to rethink the overall performance of your lighting and change the placement, size, and number of fixtures to meet your current needs. New LED fixtures are often brighter than old fluorescent fixtures while using a fraction of the energy. This could mean you won’t need as many fixtures as you had previously, saving you on upfront, labor, and energy costs!

Also, it may sound counter-intuitive, but fully replacing a fluorescent fixture with a new LED fixture is as easy as—or often easier than—retrofitting one. This is because there’s actually more wiring involved when doing a retrofit project. When retrofitting a fixture, the ballast has to be bypassed and the sockets rewired. With a total replacement, you just take out the old fixture and wire the new one in.

Get Started with Your LED Retrofit or New Fixture Project!

Now that you know the pros and cons of retrofitting versus replacing old fixtures, let us lend a hand. We have helped upgrade the lighting in offices, gyms, hospitals, and many other commercial locations with drop ceilings across the USA. If your business is looking for an efficiency upgrade, we’re ready to provide high-quality LED lighting solutions supported by top-notch customer service! Get help with your office lighting upgrade, or reach out today at the contact info below.