Chalmor launches easy T5 retrofit for T8 lamps

The new EasiFit T5 kit from Chalmor provides a fast and cost effective way to upgrade existing light fittings equipped with T8 lamps to longer-lasting, more efficient, higher output T5 lamps.

Taking less than five minutes to install, even by non-specialist staff, the EasiFit T5 kit is suitable for retrofitting to T8 fittings that use both conventional and electronic ballasts. It includes a T5 lamp, connectors with integral electronic control gear and a bridge that replaces the starter and bypasses the old gear. For enhanced light distribution, an optional, clip-on reflector optimised for use with T5 lamps is also available.

Already widely used in continental Europe, the EasiFit T5 has been shown to reduce upgrade costs by 70%, compared to installing new T5 fittings, while providing all of the benefits of T5 lighting. These include significant energy and maintenance savings, leading to a payback of less than 1 year.

For example, a 58W T8 lamp with conventional ballast will consume 77W of electricity because of 19W of ballast losses. The same light output can be achieved with a 35W T5 lamp, with just 1.2W ballast losses, saving over 40W per light fitting. Even when replacing T8 lamps and electronic control gear, with 8W ballast losses, the savings per fitting amount to nearly 30W per fitting.

In addition, the EasiFit T5 kit features double-sided pre-heating of the lamp, which extends lamp life to 24,000 hours, compared to 8,000 for T8 lamps with conventional ballasts. Consequently, re-lamping schedules can be extended considerably, thus reducing maintenance costs.

The EasiFit T5 is the only fully certified electronic ballast adapter system to guarantee double-sided pre-heating of the lamp.

Once installed, further energy savings can be achieved by dimming the lamps manually or via a photocell and daylight linking system, which would not be possible with a T8 lamp and conventional control gear. In this way, simple and inexpensive controls can also be retrofitted to the system to achieve maximum energy savings.