G24q LED PLD Bulb 6W 835lm Non-Dimmable - Cool White 4000K

This is a 6W LED PLD lamp on a G24q four pin base, made to go straight into the fittings that have taken 18W compact fluorescent PL tubes for years. It gives 835 lumens at 4000K, a clean cool white, and the retail pack rates it as a replacement for an 18W compact fluorescent. The twin tube body and the four pins in two rows at the base are the familiar PLD shape, so it drops into the same lampholder without any change to the fitting itself. Energy rating is D, and the pack prints a 30 year lifespan.

PLD lamps rarely sit in table lamps. They live in commercial and communal fittings: recessed downlights, ceiling and wall bulkheads, stairwell and corridor lights, and the closed fittings used in offices, workshops, garages and utility rooms. 4000K is the neutral working white most of those spaces already run, whiter and crisper than the 2700K to 3000K of a living room without tipping into the blue of a 6500K daylight lamp. If you are relamping a run of fittings, keeping every one at 4000K matters more than the exact wattage, because one warmer lamp in a line of cool white ones is what people notice.

One point decides whether this lamp suits your job. It will not run on an electronic ballast: the pack is explicit that the ballast must be removed and the holder wired direct to mains, and that the work is for a qualified electrician under BS7671. Where that rewire is not possible, order something else. It is not dimmable, so leave it on a plain switch or a presence detector rather than a dimmer. Each unit is one lamp, and the minimum order is 10, sold in multiples of 10. It sits alongside our wider range of LED PL lamps in 2G11 and 2G7 fittings, also in cool white 4000K.

Will this fit my existing four pin PL fitting?

Mechanically yes, where the old lamp is a four pin G24q PLD type, because the base and pin layout are the same. The wiring is the part that needs checking first.

Do I really have to remove the ballast?

Yes. The pack says the lamp is not compatible with an electronic ballast, that the ballast must be removed and the holder wired direct to mains, and that a qualified electrician should carry out the work to BS7671.

How does 835 lumens compare with the fluorescent lamp it replaces?

The pack rates it as an 18W replacement at 835 lumens. LED lamps also reach full output the moment you switch them on, so there is none of the slow brightening a compact fluorescent shows when cold.

Can I put it on a dimmer?

No. Both the specification and the pack mark it non-dimmable, so it should run from a plain switch, a timer or a presence detector rather than any dimming control.

What does 4000K cool white actually look like?

It is a neutral working white: cleaner and slightly cooler than the warm white used in living rooms, but well short of the blue cast of a 6500K daylight lamp.

Is an IP rating given for this lamp?

The manufacturer does not state one, so we do not list an IP figure. Treat it as an ordinary indoor lamp and let the fitting it goes into carry the protection rating.