You just replace the lamp like you would on any fixture. The driver for the LED is in the tube. Not sure about Lowes but I can get the tubes the same place as the fixture, from my supply house.
Does it have a brand name? I don't know how they know how to wire it. There's no standard for integral-ballast double-capped bi-pin linear lamps or retrofit lamps. Every designer or assembler have their own philosophy for the way their product is wired. Some are wired to two pins to make it only necessary to touch only one socket per lamp to retrofit. Some are wired end-to-end, and some do funky diagonal or weird funky jumper to detect insertion.
Things can be UL listed to be used for designing into a factory made product but not be appropriate as a general purpose product. Think of unpolarized appliance cord. There are permissible applications but it's up to the appliance manufacturer to ensure the proper application. Some LED fixtures are made with an off-the-shelf light engine. The fixture manufacture mounts this on a fixture and threads the wire out the through the stem and complete it with a bezel. It's on the fixture manufacturer to ensure the complete fixture is UL listed.These inexpensive and poor light quality (no electrolytic capacitor means a ton of flicker) fixtures have exposed LED elements once the glass opel is removed and UL listing is dependent on not removing it.
Direct wired double-ended bi-pin fixtures are dangerous.
OSI SubstiTube meant for use with instant start ballast have the two pins on each end shunted. This is more accommodating for IMPROPERLY installed T8 fixtures with using a rapid start socket w/o a jumper, but when this lamp. When this lamp or normal fluoro lamp is dropped into a "direct wire" fixture, you have a short across the line which will knock out the whole circuit at best or have more serious consequences.
There are shop-lites using this style of lamps, but the lamp module is soldered, shrouded, or otherwise anchored to make it clear it is not meant for user replacement.
Thanks for the info above.
Update to my update: The Lithonia fixture I mentioned is produced over seas. It has a 5 year warranty but the parts are not available (I infer from the reps response) so the entire fixture would have to be replaced.
Thinking out loud:
For new installations I would think either:
1. Remove ballast and install LED tube with integral driver.
or
2. Remove ballast and install driver and LED tube.
I would not think installing a fixture with (fluorescent) ballast and LED replacement tube on day 1 is a good idea.
I'm trying to think what is best for long term maintenance.
I know the local university uses fluorescent fixtures with LED tubes because of maintenance because the decision maker is the head maintenance supervisor.
Why? The Philips dedicated InstantFit LED ballast and standard instant start ballast fits into the same mounting and wires up the same. The only difference is a tiny amount of efficiency and the ballast being dedicated for use with the InstantFit LED lamp module. The only thing it accomplishes is that if the lamp module fails, it wouldn't power a fluoro lamp. The most likely application failure of linear LED tubes come from using them in fixtures that require the upper portion to light up to work properly, like direct/indirect stemmed fixtures.
I think the only purpose of existence of that proprietary LED ballast is so the same existing lamp products can be used to compete in "type C" category, which is for LEDs that requires purpose-specific LED ballast, while "type A" is to work with existing fluoro ballast. OSI's type C system require differnt SKUs of ballast + lamp module. You can assume that components are not interchangeable between different brands for "type C". You can't run other brand's LED module in InstantFit LED ballast. Make sense?
Instantfit LED tube = use with either electronic T8 fluoro ballast or InstantFit brand electronic LED ballast which makes no practical performance difference.
InstantFit LED ballast + other LED module = NO
OSI Type C lamp is for use with OSI Type C ballast. Since the lamp is purpose made, its a DC output ballast and I believe all the circuits are in the remote ballast.
The biggest limitations are optical and LED element cooling. The white finish on a T8 lamp is a phosphor. It's an essential component of functionality. The white finish on LED tubes is just a diffuser, which steals some lumens. So when you put it inside a fixture, you end up with two layers of diffusers.
The reason to use 48" T8 lamps designed for T8 electronic ballast is immunity from market volatility. You should pair the two so they're mutually approved for warranty purposes initially but the approval isn't needed for functionality which means standard T8 ballast, or LED lamp for T8 ballast can be used to repair the system down the road at the expense of not having the cutting edge lm/W or wide range continuous dimming.
Also, fluorescent drop-in T8 lamps are often unsuitable for high ballast factor systems, such as T8 high-bay. The durability is rated on common, 0.87 BF ballasts. They may allow the use, but durability of LED increase in their suck factor more severely than T8 lamps. The standard lm/W specs and life rating is not valid on 1.2BF system. They may have a separate rating available upon request, or they might not have enough data and can only tell you an estimate that it will suck worse than usual and the warranty is reduced.
