SATCO Lighting S11973 13W T8 U-Bend LED, 50000 Hours, Medium bi-pin Base, 2000 Lumens, 5000K, Type A/B, Ballast Dependent or Ballast Bypass

Either way works. The S11973 is a Type A/B lamp: it will run on an existing compatible fluorescent ballast (Type A) or you can bypass and remove the ballast and wire the sockets direct to line voltage (Type B). It accepts single-ended or double-ended wiring in bypass mode, and runs on 120V through 277V at 50/60Hz. Current draw is .15A on an electronic ballast and .12A in bypass.

It uses a medium bi-pin base, the same base as a standard T8 U-bend fluorescent, so it drops into existing T8 lampholders. Overall length is 22.5 inches and the tube is a T8 diameter. The leg spacing on your fixture still matters, since U-bends come in different leg spacings, so check that the lamp legs line up with your two sockets before committing a large quantity.

2000 lumens at 13 watts, with Satco rating it as a 50W incandescent equivalent. Color is 5000K, a cool daylight white, with 83 CRI and a wide 160 degree beam spread so it fills a 2x2 troffer lens rather than spotting. Color temperature is fixed at 5000K, not field-selectable, so if your other fixtures are 3500K or 4000K this will read noticeably bluer.

Yes on both counts. The S11973 is an enclosed rated lamp, so it is approved for gasketed and lensed fixtures where heat builds up, and it carries a damp location rating. That covers covered walkways, parking garages under cover, and kitchens, but not wet locations with direct water exposure. Burning position is universal, so it can be mounted in any orientation.

The lamp itself is listed as dimmable. In practice that depends on how you wire it: in Type A operation the dimming behavior is governed by the fluorescent ballast in the fixture, and in Type B bypass the lamp is on line voltage from the sockets. Confirm your control scheme matches the mode you plan to install.

Rated at 50,000 average hours. In a 12-hour-a-day office or corridor schedule that is roughly 11 years of service, which is why most property managers relamp a whole 2x2 troffer floor at once rather than piecemeal.

Construction is plastic throughout: a frosted polystyrene lens, a white plastic housing, and a plastic base. That means no glass to break and no mercury to clean up, which is the main reason facilities in schools and food service switch U-bends to LED. Each lamp weighs 0.77 lb.

Yes. Satco lists the S11973 as lawful for sale in California, so it is not restricted under the state's lamp efficiency rules. It is manufactured in China, which matters if you are working a project with domestic sourcing requirements.