t12 florescent

[John Gregory]

I heard on the radio, an announcement from our power company about replacing T12 fixtures with T8. I guess that I missed earlier information about this.
So I guess the manufacturing of the T12 tubes and ballasts will cease this summer. In our shop we have 6 two tube 96" T12 HO fixtures. 110 Watt each tube, (I think).
They are 10 years old, the tubes are still working fine, they put out plenty of light. I have replaced one ballast recently. I replaced it with an electronic one from Graingers.

Like most home woodworking shops, use is sporadic at best, depending on the current project.
So should I replace the fixtures now while there is a $15 per fixture rebate? Or buy some extra tubes from Lowes while they are available and relatively cheap ($7 each) and buy an extra ballast ($62) just in case?

What are the rest of the Creekers doing that have existing T12 lighting in their shop?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Randy Rose]

Just bought new fixtures using the same bulbs. @ $7.00 e I`ll just stock up on bulbs.
The new regs are based on lumens vs watt and I`m still not sure that H.O.`s will be affected.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi John, I'm replacing my lamps and ballasts with T8 as either the lamps or ballasts fail.

In my case they're all 48" lamps so it's simple to rewire the lamp holders for the new ballasts.

T12 ballasts will continue to be available for residential use, you should check to see if th 96" HO ballasts will still be available in the future.

Regards, Rod.

[Van Huskey]

I would buy some extra bulbs maybe 2 sets and replace the fixture when they are done.

[James A. Wolfe]

I'm in the process of building my new shop/garage/hidey hole and I've opted for T5 lamps in 8' fixtures. I got the 4 tube fixtures with electronic ballasts from Home Depot for $69. They sell a 4' F54T5 HO tube for around $11 but I bought some online for under $6 each including shipping. I calculated the lighting requirements and I need ten of these fixtures to match the light output of 26 4' T8 fixtures. I've noticed that the older I get, the less efficient the lights seem to be in the shop...