LED Lighting can be a very expensive thing to budget for – whether you are purchasing lighting for your home or the place where you work, such as with office lighting. Energy-efficiency is a huge concern for most people nowadays, both with commercial properties and domestic properties in mind.
Most people are looking for a suitable replacement for the less efficient fluorescent lights you may have in your property or workplace.
If you currently have fluorescent 8 foot lights in your garage, warehouse or office area and want to buy 8 foot LED shop lights replacements then you’re in luck, there are a plethora of options out there.
As well as being free from mercury, which is usually present in the fluorescent shop lights, 8 foot LED lights are more environmentally safe, they are also more enegry efficient.
That makes it all relatively simple – buy new 8 ft T8 lamps or LED tube lights to replace those older inefficient ones.
In the following article we will not only highlight the 5 best T8 LED bulbs available to buy online, but we will also discuss what you should look out for when trying to choose.
And as a bonus, here’s an extensive guide on replacing fluorescent tubes with LED to ensure you buy the right lights!.
Table of Contents
Top 5 Best 8 Foot LED Shop Light Replacements
In the following post we will not only highlight the 5 best T8 LED bulbs available to buy online.
As a bonus, here’s an extensive guide on replacing fluorescent tubes with LED to ensure you buy the right lights!
1. Hyperikon T8/T10/T12 8ft LED Tube Lights
| Packs Available | 1, 4, 12 & 24 Packs |
| Bases Available | G13 BiPin / FA8 Single |
| Power Style | Ballast Bypass |
| Color Temps | 4000k, 5000k & 6000k |
| Warranty Length | Unlimited 5 Year |
| Life Expectancy | 45,000+ Hours |
| Customer Reviews | Read reviews |
Available in these base types (click to head to Amazon.com)
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These Hyperikon T8 LED shop lighting tubes are DLC-qualified and UL-listed so they are of the highest quality and incredibly safe. They also boast incredible energy efficiency.
Thanks to their connector design, they can be easily retrofitted to replace T8, T10 and T12 fluorescent varieties of lighting using a simple ballast bypass and are available with standard G13 or FA8 base connectors.
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Coming in packs of 1 to 24 and provide you with over 45,000 hours lifespan which translates to 20 years worth of lighting time, they are perfect for commercial use or even home LED workshop lights. They have a very bright color rating of 3000-5000K and 4200 lumens.
These Hyperikon bulbs have an incredibly easy installation process as they are dual-end powered and only require a direct wire (ballast bypass) installation into the existing power source. With a full unlimited 5 year’s warranty, Hyperikon company has really put their money where their mouth is.
It’s not the first time Hyperikon has been featured in our reviews, they also recently made it into the top 5 for our 4 foot LED shop light reviews and also into our top 5 picks for industrial warehouse lighting.
2. Jomitop 8ft LED Shop Light Tube with Clear Cover
| Packs Available | 1, 4, 12, 20, 25 & 50 Packs |
| Bases Available | FA8 Single Pin & R17D |
| Power Style | Ballast Bypass |
| Color Temps | 6000k |
| Warranty Length | 12 Months |
| Life Expectancy | 50,000+ Hours |
| Customer Reviews | Read reviews |
Next on our list is the clear cover Jomitop 8′ shop lights which are suitable replacements for any T8, T10 or T12 flourescent tube. Bases available are the standard FA8 Single pin fitting or the less common R17D fitting.
One of the biggest advantages this model has over the above and other frosted style coverings is that more light is allowed to emit from these lamps.
With a lifespan of around 50,000 hours, depending on the frequency of use, these T8 bulbs are great value for money.
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Each T8 bulb produces an incredibly bright color rating of 6000K and 4500 lumens. Like many of the T8 bulbs listed on this page, these lamps are very easy to install into existing fluorescent fixtures with a simple ballast bypass.
3. Jomitop 8 Foot LED Bulbs with Frosted Covers (Single Pin)
| Packs Available | 4, 12, 16, 25 & 50 Packs |
| Bases Available | FA8 Single pin |
| Power Style | Ballast Bypass |
| Color Temps | 6000k |
| Warranty Length | 12 Months |
| Life Expectancy | 50,000+ Hours |
| Customer Reviews | Read reviews |
The second Jomitop product on our list is very much the same product as the above replacement tubes, apart from the fact these tube lights feature a frosted covering, you may prefer to the clear cover option.
With the same 50,000 hours life expectancy, color temperature rating of 6000K and 4500 lumens, they are energy efficient and an excellent price, they’re worth investing in.
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Also, these are just as easy as the clear cover counterparts to install, as they feature the same connectors and come in a variety of different pack sizes.
4. Luminosum 8 Foot Shop Light Tubes with Clear Covers (20 Pack)
| Packs Available | Packs of 20 |
| Bases Available | FA8 Single Pin |
| Power Style | Ballast Bypass |
| Color Temps | 6000k |
| Warranty Length | 12 Months |
| Life Expectancy | 50,000+ Hours |
| Customer Reviews | Read reviews |
If you need to replace a larger number of old fluorescent lights in one easy go, it may be worth considering these Luminosum T8 tube lights as an investment.
Not only do they have a color temperature rating of cool white between 5500 and 6500 K and are capable of producing 4000 lumens; they are available to buy in packs of 20 with a standard FA8 single pin base.
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Similarly to the other products listed on this page and in fact most modern T8 tube lights, they are very easy to install and compatible for retrofitting into old T8, T10 and T12 fluorescent shop light fixtures. With an incredibly long lifespan of over 50,000 hours they provide you with excellent value for money and help reduce that pesky electricity bill.
5. Barrina T8/T10/T12 Pre-Frosted LED Tube Replacements
| Packs Available | 4 or 12 Packs |
| Bases Available | FA8 Single Pin |
| Power Style | Ballast Bypass |
| Color Temps | 6500k |
| Warranty Length | 12 Months |
| Life Expectancy | 50,000+ Hours |
| Customer Reviews | Read reviews |
The Barrina pre-frosted shop lights, like all others on this list, are also 8ft long and suitable for retrofitting easily into old T8, T10, and T12 tube lighting fixtures. These tube lights are available in packs of 4 or 12, but unfortunately, are only available in an FA8 single pin base type.
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These bulbs have a color temperature rating of 6500K and produce 3800 lumens for a bright, though not overpowering or blinding lighting option.
They offer the industry standard of 50,000 hours of use, depending on their application and a frosted cover as standard for more diffused light.
6. Barrina 8FT T8 T10 T12 LED Light Tube
| Packs Available | Packs of 4 & 12 |
| Bases Available | FA8 Single Pin Base |
| Power Style | Ballast Bypass |
| Color Temps | 6500k |
| Warranty Length | 12 Month |
| Life Expectancy | 50,000+ Hours |
| Customer Reviews | Read reviews |
From Barrina we have the 8FT LED tube. This model benefits from the use of high-grade SMD chips and high-quality components to provide a bright and reliable lighting solution.
It has been designed to replace any traditional T8, T10 and T12 fluorescent light tube and produces 6500K of super bright white light with a brightness level of 4500 lumens. This ensures wherever it is used will have enhanced lighting with a very bright and fresh feel to it all.
Its frosted cover, as expected, helps to reduce the amount of glare it produces which in turn helps protect the eyes of people working in environments with this lighting in place.
Barrina have equipped this LED light tube with great safety features such as a low thermal output and low power consumption, it also benefits from the robust steel housing that ensures its durability as well as ability to cool.
Easy to install, you just need to either bypass the ballast and starter or remove it from the fluorescent light fixtures. On average, based on normal use, this fixture could last a very generous 50,000 hours.
If you are looking for a few light tubes for your business, then you should consider this product as it comes in both 4 packs and 12 packs. More than enough.
As well as benefiting from no IR or UV radiation, you also don’t have to worry about hazardous materials, including mercury. This is a perfectly smooth and silent running light that does not flicker.
8. YKUNLED T8, T10, T12 LED Light Tube
| Packs Available | Packs of 12 & 20 |
| Bases Available | R17D Rotating Base |
| Power Style | Ballast Bypass |
| Color Temps | 6000k |
| Warranty Length | 3 Years |
| Life Expectancy | 50,000+ Hours |
| Customer Reviews | Read reviews |
Now, we are considering the YKUNLED 8ft LED light tube, which is another great LED replacement for different fluorescent lighting. Lighting fixtures such as T8 LED fixture, T10 and T12 and has the unique connection base of the rotatable R17D. Now, YKUNLED is not likely a brand name you’ve heard a lot about.
However, you can’t argue with good reviews and you can’t argue with the durability and robustness of this versatile lighting solution.
Capable of producing light with a color temperature of 6000K and a brightness of 4800 lumens, this is perfect for all manner of uses including supermarkets, schools, terminal buildings, subways, hotels, hospitals, plazas, offices and garages. There is simply no end to the applications you can utilize this light for.
With a frosted covering to prevent eye problems from the glare, this is another light fixture that’s extremely easy to install without the help from a professional. You can do it either by bypassing or completely removing the ballast and starter. No need to call out that electrician.
It also benefits from end caps that you can adjust to position the light in various positions through a full 180-degrees until you have found the optimum lighting direction.
Along with the money saving packs of 4, 12 and 20 and the brilliant illumination you can get with relative ease.
All in all, a very good deal.
Important Considerations To Make When Choosing 8 ft LED Bulbs
There are many different 8 foot LED tube lights available on the market.
With so many different manufacturers and product lines in fact, that choosing the best can be hard – especially if you are trying to ensure you make the best investment in terms of how well they work and how long they last.
It’s also important that you make sure you’re buying the correct replacement fluorescent tube sizes, as the T8 fitting is only one for four different tube sizes available.
Further to finding a product that meets your available budget, you also need to consider a number of other important factors, including:
- Light color of the LED T8 bulbs
- Price
- Lumen Output – Brightness Vs Efficiency
- Warranty Offered
- Safety Approval
- Shatterproof
- Luminous Flux
In the guide below we will look at each of these factors in more detail, hopefully helping you to understand their importance.
Light Temperature/Color Output
LED Tubes, as you may or may not be aware, can be designed and manufactured to produce a wide spectrum of different color temperature ratings.
The color temperature rating determines the color of light the LED tube you purchase provides.
For example, take a common color temperature rating of around 2700K (the K stands for Kelvin), this is considered to be a warm white, which is actually an almost yellowy colored light.
Whereas cool white T8 LED replacements are more on the blue-colored end of the light spectrum and the most common of which you will find is known as ice white.
If you are looking for a cool white colored T8 tube, you need to find one with a color temperature rating of around 5000K to 6000K.
For a good middle ground though, it is often a good idea to look for T8 LED bulbs with a color temperature rating of 4000K (what is led color temperature?), also known as daylight white.
The light produced by these kinds of bulbs is incredibly comfortable and versatile. So is equally effective for professional and domestic settings alike.
T8 vs T5 – Which is Better?
Regardless of whether it’s within the home or somewhere like schools, industrial environments, warehouses or even offices – two very popular fluorescent tube sizes are T8 and T5.
Thanks to their tubular design, they are the best option for illuminating large area and rooms.
But what is the difference between T8 vs T5 bulbs? What makes one or the other stand out?
What Does T Mean in T5 & T8 Tube LIghts
You may have wondered, and we have to say that it’s simpler than you probably thought.
T stands for to ‘Tube’ and is used to differentiate this shape and style of lighting fixture from o0thers.
What about the numbers, the 5 and the 8?
The 8 in T8 refers to 8/8-inches diameter, whereas the 5 refers to 5/8-inches diameter.
Easy huh?
How Do They Differ in their Uses?
T8 lights are mostly used for commercial lighting applications, including in buildings such as:
- Hospitals
- Offices
- Warehouses
- Factories
- Schools
Whereas, T5 lights are used for both the above commercial and also residential applications, such as:
- Grow lights for indoor plant growing
- Construction sites
- Living rooms
- Kitchens and under cabinet lighting
Which Provides Brighter Light?
If you are looking for the brighter of the two bulbs, the T8 will always be better.
This averages at around 2,950 lumens, higher than T5. Although it’s only a slight difference, as the average for a T5 is 2,900 lumens, if you do indeed want brighter, you should choose T8.
However, if you need bright illumination, but not too bright, T5 is an ideal and more compact option.
And Which is Most Efficient?
Efficiency needs to be considered, when it comes to lighting, by a few factors. While the lumens level or quality of light is what determines a light’s brightness, the lamp efficiency or quantity of lamp, that is the lumens per watt is what determines the light’s efficiency.
As we discussed directly above this point, the T8 is brighter overall than the T5. When it comes down to efficiency, though, the T5 is better because it has a higher lumen count per watt.
It essentially means the T5 produces greater amounts of light using less energy.
What About Cost – Which is More Expensive?
How often are you going to be using the lighting the T8 or T5 will be used in? If it’s short bursts of time here and there, it may be a better idea to get T8 bulbs, whereas if you are going to use them for many hours at a time, most days, you’re better investing T5 bulbs.
Hopefully, now, you have a better idea of which type of bulb you need to get and why.
Important Note About CRI (Color Rendering Index)
In addition to the color temperature rating, the CRI or color rendering index is also important to consider.
This essentially refers to how well or not a type of lighting, in this case, T8 tube light, can reveal the true colors of objects it is lighting compared to the sun and other natural sources of light.
As a standard, it is worth looking for T8 LED replacement bulbs with a CRI of at least 80, though it is possible to find even higher rated bulbs – if necessary.
Lumen Output – Brightness Vs Efficiency
One thing you need to be aware of is that most LED T8 tube lighting suppliers will either highlight the brightness or the efficiency as being the most important aspect of their products to look for.
However, both are equally as important. Obviously, it makes sense that efficiency should be factored as more often than not this is the main reason you are likely to look to switch to T8 vs T5 tube lights in the first place – to save money and energy.
Importantly though, you should avoid trying to save as much money as possible if it means the light output is reduced. Having the most suitable and appropriate light level for whichever room or area you are looking to light is vital, and very often not just for the comfort of those using a particular room, but for safety reasons too.
Warranty Offered
Generally speaking, if you invest in a high-quality LED, it will be designed to last a long time.
However, one of the issues with a lot of T8 LED bulbs is that they are not just composed of LEDs, but have other components too. One of the most crucial to consider then is the power supply.
As the internal power supply within an LED T8 bulbs is not easy to replace if it stops working, meaning the entire unit is completely useless.
Safety Approval
Whether you are lighting your own home or it is your responsibility to purchase the lighting for a workplace or professional environment, safety is always a concern and ensuring that the choices you make meet with building and workplace safety regulations is paramount.
Beyond ensuring that the T8 LED replacement bulbs you purchase are CE marked, it is also worth looking out for whether they have been approved to meet Underwriters Laboratories (UL), TUV and VDE standards.
Shatterproof LED Tubes
Nowadays, this is not generally an issue, but still something you should always check.
Overall, modern T8 LED bulbs are the most sensible choice when you are looking to replace out those tired and ineffective fluorescent T8 light bulbs you have been using for decades.
By following our guide above and looking at the products we have highlighted, we are sure you will be able to make the best buying decision you possibly can.
Frequently Asked Questions
With so many connectors and other tech specs to take into account, unless you deal with these lights every day it can be quite confusing. Here’s some common questions that crop up, with a quick simple answer.
Can you put LED bulbs in fluorescent fixtures?
You can put LED bulbs in almost all fluorescent fixtures as long as the length, diameter and base type is the same. If you check the base of your fluorescent tubes, you should be able to find the relevant information needed to buy LED bulb replacements.
How do you hook up 8 foot LED lights?
Most LED tube lights use a simple ballast bypass system. This simple involves ‘bypassing’ the existing fluorescent starter completely and wiring directly into the new LED fixture.
