The F32T8 is a four-foot powerhouse that provides daylight-quality light to the dinkiest of spaces. But 32 watts on a single bulb can give you quite the energy bill, especially when you’re using several of them.

LEDs are a better alternative to fluorescents. While they cost a little more upfront, they cost a lot less in the long term because they typically require half as much energy as a fluorescent and can last up to eight times as long. This alone makes them more than worth the upfront cost.

Can you replace the F32T8 with an LED?

Yes. You can replace any fluorescent lamp with an LED. You just need to find an LED lamp that fits into your existing fixtures and voila!

What is the LED equivalent of a 32-watt T8?

The F32T8 has many LED alternatives. Some of the best are shown below.

F32T8 LED Alternatives

Feit Electric T4815/850/AB/LED/10

Like many LEDs from Feit Electric, the T4815/850/AB/LED/10 is a ballast-compatible plug and play lamp. No rewiring required. It comes with a five-year warranty that Feit honors and is rated to last for 50,000 hours.

It saves half off your lighting bill and shines nearly as brightly as the fluorescent it replaces.

Howard Lighting F32T8/835/LED/14W 

The Howard Lighting F32T8/835/LED/14W is another plug-and-play LED lamp, built to work with both electronic and magnetic ballasts. You don’t need to reconfigure your fixtures. Just take out the fluorescent, plug in the Howard Lighting F32T8/835/LED/14W and you’re good to go. It puts out a respectable 1800 lumens while only using up 14 watts.

Philips UniversalFit LED

Philips has been making light bulbs since 1891. The company spun off its lighting division in 2016 to focus on its medical device business. Philips Lighting was renamed Signify in 2018 but it still produces many of its lamps under the Philips brand, one of which is the Philips UniversalFit.

The UniversalFit is part of a Philips series of LEDs aimed at replacing fluorescent and incandescent lamps. The entire UniversalFit line is plug-and-play with no ballast bypass necessary.

But despite its rich history in the lighting business, Philips is underperforming smaller light makers, with its UniversalFit line having a rated lifespan of only 36,000 while others go for 50,000+. 

GE Daylight LED 32W Replacement Light Bulb T8

General Electric is another legacy bulb maker struggling to beat upstarts in the LED scene.  While their 15-watt LED replacement for the 32-watt F32T8 is nothing to scoff at, it’s clearly not the best product based on the numbers alone. For a company founded by Thomas Edison himself, that’s a real disappointment. But it’s plug-and-play so I suppose that’s something GE has gotten right.

Luxrite LR34192

Putting out 1900 lumens of light and requiring only 13 watts of power, the Luxrite LR34192 is the best LED F32T8 replacement on this list. Luxrite lacks the brand recognition of GE and Philips but it makes up for that with this pretty good LED lamp.

The Luxrite LR34192 is plug-and-play and comes rated to last for 50,000 hours. At least. The  Luxrite LR34192 comes with a 5-year warranty just in case but that is standard for all LED lamps at this point. 

Is it worth converting fluorescent to LED?

Yes. Converting your fluorescents to LEDs is one of the best things you can do. From a purely cost perspective, LEDs are the best option. They use half as much energy, and sometimes only a third as much. So from the onset, you’re knocking at least 50% off your energy bill. 

Then there are replacement savings. A typical LED lasts anywhere from twice to as much as eight times longer than a fluorescent. You will need to replace a fluorescent lamp at least twice before you need to replace an LED lamp.

LEDs are also better for the environment because they’re made of nontoxic materials, unlike fluorescents, which use mercury vapor to produce light.

LEDs are also not as fragile as fluorescents, so you can drop one without it shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. 

What happens if you put LED bulbs in a fluorescent fixture?

You get bright white light.