Switch the circuit off, take out the ballast and the starter, and put 230 volts straight onto one end of the socket. The other end only holds the tube in place. After that an LED tube fits, and the fixture runs without losses.
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First this: the fixture will no longer be the same product
The moment you remove the ballast and reroute the wiring, the fixture is no longer a factory product. The original CE marking lapses and liability shifts to whoever converted it. For your own shed you carry that risk yourself; for a commercial or rented building it is a reason to call an electrician. The background is in Can you replace a fluorescent tube with an LED tube?
What is inside an old fixture
A classic fluorescent fixture has three parts that an LED tube needs none of.
- The ballast. A coil or electronic block that limits the gas discharge. A conventional one burns about 10 watts of its own.
- The starter. The round twist cap that gets the tube going.
- The capacitor. Fitted in conventional fixtures to correct the power factor.
All three can come out. What stays are the two socket holders and the wiring between them.
The conversion, step by step
Switch the circuit off at the consumer unit and check with a voltage tester that there is no voltage left. Flicking the switch is not enough, because voltage can still be present on the neutral.
Take out the tube and the starter. Then release the cover or lid the ballast sits behind.
Disconnect the ballast. Note down or photograph how the wires run before you disconnect anything. That saves puzzling later.
Reroute the wiring. The live and the neutral go to the two pins at the same end of the fixture. The socket at the other end becomes dead and only holds the tube.
Fit the tube with the powered end in the right place. One end of the tube is marked with L and N. That end belongs in the socket you put the 230 volts on. The other way round it will not light.
Switch the circuit back on and test. If it does not light, the tube is usually simply the wrong way round.
What you often read and should not do
A shorter route does the rounds: leave the ballast in place and only swap the starter for an LED starter. That works only with tubes made for it, and the ballast losses keep costing you electricity.
With our tubes that route is not available. Every product page states it outright: the ballast of an old fixture has to come out. That is not advice but an installation condition.
A second reason to actually remove the ballast
Our supplier warns of another effect: with more than ten tubes on one circuit, keeping the ballast in place with an LED starter is advised against. The safe route is to remove the ballast and run the tube directly on 230 volts.
That is also practical. The 150 cm tube with adjustable wattage works on 85 to 265 volts, so nobody needs to worry about mains voltage.
When converting is not worth the effort
A fixture with yellowed plastic, hardened wiring or a broken socket is not worth the work. If there is water ingress or dust in it as well, a new fixture buys you back a valid IP rating and a valid CE marking.
The trade-off between converting and replacing is set out more fully on fluorescent to LED. The tubes themselves are at LED tubes.
Does the ballast have to come out for an LED tube?
With the tubes we sell, yes. They take 230 volts straight onto one end of the socket. Tubes that run on the existing ballast do exist, but those are a different type.
Which end of the LED tube goes in which socket?
The end marked L and N belongs in the socket you connected the 230 volts to. The other end is dead and only holds the tube. If it does not light, turn it round.
May I convert a fluorescent fixture myself?
Technically you can, but the moment you remove the ballast the fixture's CE marking lapses and liability shifts to you. In a commercial or rented building a qualified electrician is the sensible choice.