On 08/04/2021 18:36, ARW wrote:
On 08/04/2021 18:11, T i m wrote:

snip

3) The fluorescent became equally bright as the LED after a few
seconds. AS the LED is advertised as 3000 lumens and the fluorescent
as 6300, shouldn't the fluorescent have been much brighter?


No, you have half the lumens of the florescent aiming upwards. Although
may I suggest you get a Lux meter app for your smart phone and try it
around various place such as at the floor between both types of lights.

I have compared the app on my phone to the pro stuff we use at work and
the app work quite well.

4) The LED was whiter, even when the fluorescent was at full
brightness.

Different colour tubes and probably the fluorescents are a little aged.

I replaced a number of 6ft tubes and I did feel that the LED tubes were
brighter and gave a far better spectrum.

I do take your point about taking readings from the floor, but even
taking into account the florries with double the lumens and up to 1/2
the light wasted by going upwards (which should cancel), the LED tubes
were still noticeably brighter.

The old tubes were very old where half had failed and the other half
probably near or at their end of their life.

Now, even if walking to through the kitchen at a reasonable pace,
the Home Automation has the kitchen lights on before I even get there,
versus half way along the kitchen. ;-)

Now I've been playing with them I'm not 'annoyed' by the mains hum
coming from the ballast(s) so I'm thinking I might bypass them but
leave them in place a) in the unlikely case I wasn't to go back to
fluorescent and b) they might as well stay there as anywhere else.

The question though is should I retain the 'starter' as it now says
'Fuse' on it, potentially protecting the automation switch from any
overload, should either tube go bad in the future, or bypass it
completely as well (relying on the MCB in the CU)?


If you are bypassing the ballasts the "starter" has no purpose and the
MCB will do its job (unless the instructions say you must used it)

I shorted out the ballasts and fitted the LED starter. It5 just made the
wiring easier.

Cheers, T i m

p.s. Online they are advertised as '30W (70W)' so does that mean they
are 30W consumption with the equivalent light output of a 70W
fluorescent, in the same way a '6W' LED lamp might (is supposed to)
give the same light as a 60W incandescent?


Yes.

HTH