LED retrofit for fluorescent ceiling fixtures?

Ivylog wrote:
Not trying to be picky but mine take two 18" bulbs which are cool white with a temp of 6-7000... in LEDs that's called bright white.

Thanks for your input and links. I definitely want light that is equivalent in color to "cool white" fluorescent. But I assure you, I have purchased enough replacement bulbs for my ceiling fixture and had it apart enough times to be sure they are 12" bulbs. The wood frame is only 15".

Here it is after turning it on....




And after 3 "bumps" with my fist on the wooden frame... :R

OP, since we both have 04 Monaco's I'm pretty sure we both have the same fixture. Not trying to be picky but mine take two 18" bulbs which are cool white with a temp of 6-7000... in LEDs that's called bright white.
Here is a post on how I replaced with LED panels. I like the warm white (3000 temp) or natural white and I would suggest putting in five panels/fixture ($17.50) plus drilling the holes so you can select how many fixtures you can use without taking the cover off. I do not see that much difference in the amount of light with it on or off.
These new cree panels look interesting and the cree chips are the future of LEDs, but they need to come down in price a lot before I'll try them ion the MH. I only buy cree LEDs for my home because the older style loose a lot of light output over time. I have 6-7 that I never turn off (cheaper than a divorce) and their output is 60-70% of new after several years of 24/7 use.

Yes to all your questions.

The lamps you chose are not the color temperature I would desire for cooking or reading. Your choice. The light would be a lot more yellow than the fluorescent lighting you had.

These lights I have sitting in front of me are for a Mexican solar home. It has fluorescent lighting. Sames issues, same decision to go LED. In order to get things right we are going to dry-run the lighting. Try with one panel per fixture then add one-by-one until the owner is satisfied. "Enough Lighting" is a totally subjective decision. But 12 panels, kidding aside would provide emergency operating room intense lighting. It would hurt your eyes. We are thinking 4 panels per fixture for overall 4X4 meter room size at a ceiling height of around 2.5 meters. Augmentation will come from spot specific LED lamps. The newer breed of LEDs are far brighter than the old dome lens 3.5 mm LEDs. We did not go with voltage regulated modules because they like to listen to ranchera music at night at wish no static. When the lights get noticeably dim its time for them to charge the batteries :)

MexicoWanderer, thanks for the response, but I am having trouble understanding what your message is.

It sounds like you might be saying:

1. Save yourself some money, buy the individual LED panels and wire them up yourself
2. Understand that the diffuser panels that are covering the fluorescent fixtures will degrade the LED output
3. If there are 3 fixtures over the stove, 4 LED panels per fixture may be excessive.
4. All that said, this is a good solution

Is that accurate or is your meaning something different???

1. I have 32 of these panels sitting in front of me. They cost me $4.88 each

2. A diffuser panel simply KILLS the light output of an led panel.

3. The adhesive is suitable for a postage stamp not for a light panel. Use GOOP.

4. The lighting is DIRECTIONAL, far less so than a fluorescent tube fixture.

5. Directional lighting is wonderful for over a stove.

6. When I am cooking, I like to see rendered in sunlight grade color temperature. 3,500K yellow is wonderful to hide stains on the furniture, awful to cook with (IMHO)

7. With a single fixture over the stove I would like to have 3-4 panels lit in the fixture. With multiple fixtures of course fewer per fixture but equal in total count. Four total.

Some people function well under high pressure sodium grade amber lighting. I do not. When doing nothing at all but daydreaming or sipping cocktails 3,500K is excellent. But it helps to remember small fluorescent fixtures emit light in the 5,000K range.