quoting:
I recommend the "T8" (1 inch diameter) 17 watt and 32 watt types.
Those, and especially the ballasts for them, tend to be more efficient
than the longer-established sizes. If you get T12 (1.5 inch diameter), be
sure you are getting "commercial grade" ballasts, and it is recommended to
get the fixtures from an electrical/lighting supply shop of the kind that
contractors go to.


That could not be said any better. There's a lot of cheap garbage out there,
as I found out with Home-Cheapo. I went to an electrical supply house and
oerdered some 2x17 watt troffer fixtures for my newly finished basement. I
made sure I got commercial grade ballasts, and something that was more than
the basic model. I sure payed some extra $$$ for them, but they are great.
I installed 3000k tubes, they look good. The ballasts don't seem to hammer
the tube electrodes, don't dim the tubes, and are not noisy as a lot of
garbage ballasts do. I chose the 17w because they don't look so huge in a
residential setting, ans espesially because of the fairly low ceiling.