SATCO Lighting S11970 13W T8 U-Bend LED, 50000 Hours, Medium bi-pin Base, 1900 Lumens, 3000K, Type A/B, Ballast Dependent or Ballast Bypass

Either way works. The S11970 is a Type A/B lamp: it will operate on a compatible existing electronic ballast (Type A) or you can bypass the ballast and wire line voltage direct to the sockets (Type B). On a ballast it draws .15A; bypassed it drops to .12A. That gives you the option of a quick drop-in now and a bypass retrofit later when the ballast fails.

The lamp measures 22.5 inches long in a T8 U-bend shape with medium bi-pin bases, which is the standard geometry for 2-foot U-bend troffers. Check the leg spacing of the sockets in your fixture, since U-bend tubes are built around a fixed leg spacing and the lamp has to seat in both tombstones.

Enclosed fixtures are fine, the 13W U-bend is an enclosed rated lamp, so a wraparound or gasketed lens will not void it on heat. Location rating is damp, which covers covered walkways, garages and bathrooms. It is not rated for wet locations with direct water exposure.

Yes. The U-bend LED is rated 120V to 277V at 50/60Hz, so it covers both 120V tenant circuits and 277V commercial branch circuits on the same part number. That matters most in Type B bypass mode, where line voltage lands directly on the lamp.

The S11970 puts out 1900 lumens on 13 watts with an 83 CRI and a 160 degree beam spread, so it fills a troffer the way a fluorescent U-bend does rather than throwing a narrow beam. Satco rates it as a 50W incandescent equivalent. For a building retrofit, the number that matters is watts per lamp: 13W against the 17W to 32W fluorescent U-bends typically being pulled out.

The S11970 is fixed at 3000K warm white and is not CCT selectable, so you cannot field-adjust it to 3500K or 4000K. If your other troffers are running cooler neutral white, this lamp will read visibly warmer next to them. For a mixed fleet, standardize on one color temperature across a space rather than mixing.

Rated average life is 50,000 hours. On a 12 hour per day schedule that is over 11 years of service, which is the main argument for the retrofit in a facility where relamping labor costs more than the lamp. Each lamp weighs 0.77 lb, so handling and shipping a full building quantity is light work.

The lamp is listed as dimmable. In Type A operation the dimming performance depends on the ballast it is running on, so if dimming is a requirement, plan the install around a known dimmable driver or ballast rather than assuming the existing one will track smoothly.

Burning position is universal, so the U-bend can run base up, base down, or horizontal without derating. That covers recessed troffers, surface wraps and wall-mounted fixtures.

Frosted. The lens is frosted polystyrene over a white plastic housing with a plastic base, which diffuses the diodes so you do not see hot spots through an open troffer or a clear lens fixture.