T4 vs T5 kitchen cupboard fluorescents

[The Other Mike]

TLC supply two types of under cupboard fluorescents

These using T5's

and these using T4's

The T4's listing saying they have electronic ballasts and are supplied with

4000k triphosphor tubes rather than 3500k halophosphate tubes on the T5's, presumably the T5 lamp units also use electronic ballasts, anyone know for sure?

Any opinion on any differences between the tube technology (having only ever used T8's and T12's before) First thoughts are T5 tubes look to be more widely available from a lot of manufacturers, with a choice of phosphors, the T4's maybe being a bit of an oddball?

Big difference in price, too, any sound reason to pay 3x more for a similar length lamp unit, although it looks like the T5 units are a bit more solidly built.

[polygonum]

We have got some of the link lights - within limits, they are pretty good. We have also got some very inexpensive strips of LEDs. I would not now buy any of the fluorescents.

Reasons include slightly lower power usage, almost instant full brightness, better colour (though the fluorescents we have are not bad, they do change over time), less heat, easier to hide because they are much smaller, cheaper, easier to clean, ...

[Andrew Gabriel]

Only the 6W, 8W, and 13W are T5. The others are T8.

Those are old T5's. They don't have to be run on electronic ballasts, unlike the new T5 tubes. A starter is visible in the picture.

Neither is a particularly good choice. T4's are non-standard (different manufacturers' tubes may not be same lengths). The T5's you've found here are the old halophosphate ones. The shorter ones are particularly inefficient. The newer efficient T5's range from

14W to 35W, and can only run from electronic control gear.

[meow2222]

answers some

NT

[bert]

In message , [e-mail] writes

Yes

I have an illuminated mirror with a pair of T5's When I needed a new electronic ballast I only found one supplier (Control Kings) and only one model for twin T5s. (The original was Chinese crap - well SWMBO did buy the mirror from B&Q. I got the impression that T5s were old hat BICBW