Fluorescent lamps to be phased out – make a smooth transition to LED technology with Airam

The shift to LED technology propelled by the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive means significant reductions in energy use and savings in maintenance and installation costs to consumers and property owners as a result of the longer service lives of luminaires and lamps. Airam offers energy-efficient options for almost any space, whether you are just changing the light sources or replacing your entire lighting system with new luminaires that use LED lamps.

Fluorescent lamps to be phased out

The deadline for the transition is almost here, and it is likely that the need to update lighting systems by the end of the summer will take many by surprise. This year, lighting designers and electrical contractors will be kept busy with lighting projects for older housing companies, public premises, offices and industrial facilities. Fluorescent lamps are still in use in many residential kitchens, utility rooms, bathrooms and storage spaces.

Whether the lighting project covers just the upgrade of light sources or the replacement of the lighting system in its entirety, it offers a good opportunity to make sure that the premises have sufficient and suitable lighting. 

While retailers that sell electrical equipment are permitted to sell all their existing fluorescent lamp stock, there is no sense in hoarding the products, because the switch to LED technology is inevitable anyway as fluorescent lamps can no longer be imported to the EU after August.
 
According to the LightingEurope organisation, LED lamps will account for 81% of light sources in the EU area by 2030. We believe that this target can be reached even sooner in the Nordic region. At the moment, the number of both private and public properties and buildings that rely on the old technology is still high in Finland. 

Replacing fluorescent lamps with an LED tube

Did you know that replacing fluorescent lamps with LED tubes can cut lighting bills by 60–70%? What’s more, Airam’s LED tubes also offer better lighting quality and efficacy. Therefore, replacing the old lamps will quickly pay off.

In industrial facilities, warehouses and parking facilities, most of the existing fluorescent tubes are T8 lamps, which can be swapped for Airam Pro LED tubes when the old ignitor is replaced with an LED ignitor delivered with the lamp. 

In luminaires with a magnetic ballast, the lamps can be replaced with LD lamps and ignitors delivered with the lamp. Short (59 cm and 43.8 cm) LED tubes are not suitable for connecting two lamps with a single magnetic ballast. If the luminaire is equipped with a compensation capacitor, removing it improves the power factor (Pf). 

We recommend hiring a professional electrician to replace the lamps, as then you can have your old luminaires inspected to make sure that they are still in good condition and that their ballasts are compatible with LED tubes.
 

LED plug-in lamps save energy

Modern long-life LED plug-in tubes are designed as a replacement for fluorescent plug-in tubess that are based on the old technology. Luminaires with plug-in tubes are typically used in spaces where lights may be switched on for long periods, such as offices, hotels, shopping centres and corridors in other public buildings. The new LED plug-in tubes reach their full brightness immediately, and they also perform very well in cold conditions without flickering.

Integrated LED lamp solutions

In refurbishment projects, the old lighting system is often replaced with integrated LED lamp solutions. Energy use is not the only consideration here. Luminaires’ luminous flux and operating hours also affect the investment's payback period. Replacing luminaires also offers an excellent opportunity to consider lighting control. 

Cost-efficient modular luminaires are suitable for mounting on suspended ceilings, suspension mounting, or mounting on walls or ceilings with a separate mounting frame. In offices, the prevention of uncomfortable glare is a main criterion in the selection of the luminaire, with indirect lighting and anti-glare optics offering a suitable solution. 

Sustainable luminaire production

With regard to its products and operations, Airam invests in efficient and safe recycling. We reduced the amount of waste generated at our plant in Kerava by almost half between 2020 and 2022.

Energy efficiency and climate measures play an important role in our environmental sustainability policy, encompassing both our operations and products. Such measures include improving the energy efficiency of our properties, updating our vehicle policy and switching to green energy, which helped us reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by 54% between 2020 and 2021.

In addition to investing in environmental sustainability, we take measures to ensure that our operations are also financially and socially sustainable. Our own production plant in Lahti has enabled the in-house manufacture of luminaires that were previously produced by subcontractors, which manifests as a shorter and more sustainable production chain. In 2021, the City of Kerava granted Airam an environmental prize in recognition of our exemplary work in the area of environmental, social and financial sustainability.