[Doug in NJ]

I saw some of those LED retrofit "fluorescent" tubes at Home Depot. The light looked nice, but I noticed that the lumen rating was about 30% less than the T8 bulbs that they replaced. So do a bit of research before dropping a lot of money on replacements.

My garage has a pair of 8-foot fixtures each with two T12HO bulbs. These are pretty bright, and a couple of years ago I did a very worthwhile upgrade: I replaced the original magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts (GE brand from HD, very reasonably priced). Now the lights start instantly even in the coldest weather, and there is no humming or flickering, and the ballasts do not get as warm as the old ones, so they are definitely more efficient.

One more thing on LED bulbs: If you house has those ceiling "can" lights, you really ought to install the Cree brand LED fixtures (sold by HD) in them. I've installed at least 30 of those around my house, and in two years I have had ZERO failures. They are easy to install, have good light, and are pretty inexpensive. They totally blow away the annoying CF bulbs that the fixtures used to have.

Doug