I have a pile of faulty Pioled linear light fittings ...again ... at around R350 (inc vat) per 5 ft linear fitting ...it is becoming an expensive exercise replacing complete LED lights.

Before Led lights ... a fitting would cost around R200 + a decent daylight lamp R40 x 2 ...so for around R300 if you bought a lascon light for example (good quality) ... they would last more than 20 years I have them over 25 years in my workshop ... with a lamp and starter replacement every 3-5 years depending, on the usage ... the motivation for LED replacements is simply the running cost (power useage) ...the kwh savings.

A standard 5 ft fitting is a no brainer... once modified to take an LED lamp is not only a saving in power but also labour ... because once the fitting is modified ...anyone can replace the lamps ... an electrician is longer required ... at around R50 per 5 ft lamps ... it makes it worth while.

However a linear 2 - 5 ft fitting is a different story, these things dont seem to last ... an electrician is required to replace them ... and the entire fitting must be replaced ... they do state on the box that the PF is better than 0,9 ... and another issue i am experiencing with them ... the ceiling bows over time and the lights start popping off the ceiling because they are supported by a clip (not screw) ...making you the electrical contractor who installed them look like you did a kak job.

an example ...dont be shocked by the price in the attachment below ... we pay around R350 in vat ... plus the contractor markup ... you pay around R440 ... 10 of these bad boys pop and you in the crapper for over R5000 ... if you lucky and they all pop at the same time ... other wise you add up all the callout fees and labour for each replacement ... R440 per light plus 1 - 1.5 hrs labour ...thats a R1000 per fitting ... you gotta start asking yourslef ...are you really saving money?

https://www.arb.co.za/pioled-4ft-40w...amp-ip33-6000k

I have a pile of them on my workbench at the moment and i am wondering if it wouldnt be worth while to find a youngster who has a bit of electronics knowledge who might want to earn some pocket money repairing them or using the fitting to replace with cheap china mall led strips ... the backing plate is alluminum and it has a frosted cover ... in fact thinking about it ... that might be the solution ...just glue LED strips into the fitting and mount an external LED driver ... it gets faulty ... i just replace the driver or pull the strips off and glue stick on new ones ... way cheaper if you by the LED strip in a roll.