GE Type C LumenChoice LED T8 System Arrives

The arrival of GE’s LumenChoice system in Q1 2019 continues a recent trend in LED tubes and LED lighting in general. This trend involves giving the end user more control over their products and in turn simplifying the ordering process.

Prior to the GE LumenChoice system, those who opted for a Type C LED T8 retrofit had to decide on an LED lamp and driver with various options. 4′ LED T8 options from GE included 12W, 15W, 18W and 21W lamps and color temps ranging from 3000K up to 6500K. The lamps also came in shatterproof plastic or glass construction. Complicating things further, there were dedicated drivers for 12W, 15W, 18W and 21W tubes, so if you ever decided to get a different wattage/lumen package, you had to change the driver as well for the system to run as intended.

GE did what many had been thinking, which is create the LumenChoice Type C LED T8 tube and allow any of their Type C LED drivers to power it. This means that a GE LumenChoice LED T8 can be powered by an LED12T8/DR/4L with a 12W 1600 lumen output. That same lamp can also be powered by an LED21T8/DR/4L driver to the tune of 21W 2700 lumens.

Taking this a step further, GE created the LumenChoice Driver. When paired with the LumenChoice lamp, this provides the ultimate in flexibility as you can alter the switches on this driver to determine how the lamp is powered. As seen from the diagram above, the end user can set up the driver to power the lamp at 18W 2050 lumens, or switch it to 25W 3050 lumens if they determine they need more light. In other instances, the user would have had to set up a return to get different products; now a simple switch will configure the system to where it needs to be without the hassle.

GE’s LumenChoice LED T8 lamps come with a 7 year warranty and are rated for 70,000 hours; more than twice the lifespan of a standard fluorescent and 20,000 more hours than most commercial-grade LED T8 lamps. They can also be dimmed when used with 0-10V dimmers for more energy savings and control. Assembled in the USA LumenChoice lamps are also available.

All told, the LumenChoice system creates a seamless interface for customers looking to retrofit their fluorescent system to LED T8. It also drastically reduces the amount of products that distributors, contractors, and end users need to keep on hand for retrofits. Expect lighting controls like this to grow in the days ahead as it is a win for everyone involved.