June 15, 2021
The 11 Most Efficient LED Troffers and LED Flat Panels
A listing of highly efficacious LED troffers. High Lumens per Watt.
ESCOs, energy rebates, legislation, advancement in LED chip performance and good ol' competitive leapfrogging are among the factors that contribute to a continuously rising bar of LED troffer performance. As a result of these perpetual improvements, we decided to crunch data and analyze complex spreadsheets in a valiant quest to discover the lighting industry's most efficient LED troffers.
Simply stated, Luminous Efficacy is the ratio of light output and power measured in Lumens per Watt (lm/W).
Efficacy is certainly an important consideration when selecting fixtures of nearly any type. But it should not be the sole consideration. Just like price, aesthetics, installation-ease, quality, warranty, manufacturer reputation and other factors are not typically the sole, individual reason to decide on a fixture, efficacy is simply one measure of many when lighting decision makers evaluate their options. The decision makers determine how much importance and weight to apply to the efficacy factor in comparison to the other important considerations.
It should also be noted that there are often trade-offs to achieving high efficacy. Light distribution, glare, diode image, visual comfort, aesthetics and other factors may be negatively affected in fixtures with ultra-high efficacy. The best manufacturers have found effective ways to maximize efficacy while minimizing the impact of those potentially negative drawbacks.
The Top 11 list is pulled from the current DesignLights Consortium Qualified Products List. Products are 4000K 2x2 and 2x4 troffers. More methodology details below.
VISCOR Visioneering LRTP
158.5 lm/W
Commercial-grade, recessed, lay-in T-Bar troffer featuring a wide curved lens for even light distribution. This fixture offers a modern architectural styling with a high visual comfort.
Listed model: LRTP2X2-LED840K027LXXX
Illumisoft EcoWing V Series
157.7 lm/W
The EcoWing V Series is a premium architectural troffer utilizing our revolutionary optical film technology, and features low glare indirect light. Ideal for new build or remodel of commercial office spaces, schools, hospitals and retail.
Listed model: EW-V-24-48-22W-XX-35L-CT41-D-120-XXXX
Elite Lighting: Oracle
155.6 lm/W
The OSMT-LED is a high-quality yet economical surface-mounted troffer luminaire powered by LED lighting technology. An excellent highly efficient general illumination fixture ideal for office spaces, schools, hospitals, and many other indoor locations. Fixture is designed to flush mount onto drywall/hardpan ceilings.
Listed model: 24-OSMT-LED-5000L-DIM10-MVOLT-40K-85
Metalux Cruze
155.6 lm/W
The Cruze ST LED series combines latch-less design, matte white paint after fabrication and frosted acrylic lens to deliver architectural appeal at unmatched price.
Listed model: 24CZ2-[Blank, A]-45VHE-S-L840
Williams: HET Series Troffer
152.8 Lm/W
Attractive and efficient architectural fixture delivers comfortable, uniform illumination. Frosted acrylic diffusers combined with highly reflective matte white paint provide high optical efficiencies and visual comfort. Power and light levels can be custom set to meet energy and design needs.
Listed model: HETG-S24-L60/840-A-(MX48W)-DIM-UNV
RAB Lighting: SWISH
151.7 lm/W
Frosted polycarbonate lens with proprietary diffusion design provides uniform distribution and reduces glare. Wide distribution pattern allows for wide spacing and uniform lighting on the work plane.
Listed model: SWISH2X2-19N/D10 [blank, /MVS] [ blank, /LC. /LCS] [blank, E2] [blank, /CP]
Metalux GRLED
151.1 lm/W
The GRLED is a ideal balance between leading-edge LED performance and value based lighting. This new competitive LED lensed troffer series is built and designed for general purpose lighting applications.
Listed model: 24GR-[All Door Frames]-LD5-90-A125-[UNV & 347V]-L840
Linmore LED HT1
151.1 lm/W
The HT1 Series are designed for high ceiling applications that require superior lumen output, ultra-long life, high quality of light and beautiful aesthetics. Available in 2x4 and 2x2 form factors.
Listed model: HT10S-A1-18K-24-40-80-FR-LV-GRID-[xxx]-10V
LumenFocus: FFL
150.5 Lm/W
The FFL2R offers an aesthetic, highly efficient LED troffer solution. Part of the FormFocus product line, the FFL2R features two rows of high efficacy LED boards shielded by frosted acrylic diffusers.
Listed model: FFL 2R 24 MD UV FA 840 [Blank, ESXSR] OOO
LED Green Light
150.2 lm/W
High luminance and low power. Super long life and simple installation. 10X longer life than fluorescent tube. 120 Degree Beam Angle. 95 + CRI.
Listed model: GL-2x4-Troffer-20W-4000K-95CRI-3
L.A. Lighting: GSL320
150.0 Lm/W
Hinge and Latch Door Frame Grid Shallow Luminaire. Recessed mounted LED luminaire for inverted T-bar ceilings. High efficiency drivers coupled with long-life LEDs. Service life tested at 50,000-193,000 hours (L70), up to 54,000 hours (L90).
Listed model: GSL320-4HE-4L-[All door frame options]-FFA-[TP,Gasket options]-[Battery Pack, Sensor Options]-1DRDM(XXX)-UNV-2/840
Related Report:
Methodology
There is probably over a dozen different satisfying ways that we could have sliced and diced the data to come up with this list. We chose to keep the list relatively short and decided upon the following methods that we believe provide a useful snapshot for lighting professionals. Since all of the source information is publicly available for download, interested parties who want to do research beyond our list, can do so by visiting the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) website (www.designlights.org).
Source:
Information was downloaded on June 1, 2020 from the DesignLights Consortium Qualified Products List. If you have issues with the specifications that we cite on inside.lighting, please know that we pulled the data directly from the DLC website. The DLC does not test every permutation of every fixture, but they do require testing from independent labs on fixtures that are representative of the manufacturer's fixture family.
Information was gathered using the Reported Efficacy and Reported CCT of each fixture. Initially, we wanted to report only on fixtures that were actually tested by the DLC, but doing so eliminated a large quantity of highly efficient fixtures from many reputable manufacturers.
It's quite possible that fixtures that are not listed with the DLC outperform the fixtures cited above.
Fixtures:
- Fixtures are full, complete LED troffers; not retrofit kits.
- They are also 2' x 2' or 2' x 4' fixtures. We excluded other shapes and sizes.
- The fixtures must also be commercially available. (i.e. We excluded at least one fixture because a specification sheet could not be found on the manufacturer's website.)
Correlated Color Temperature:
The criteria for the Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) is as follows:
4000K Class: Reported CCT is between 3750K and 4250K.
Eligible Manufacturers:
Since inside.lighting primarily serves lighting professionals in the U.S. and Canada, we thought it would be prudent to list manufacturers that meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Manufacturer has a U.S. or Canadian office.
- Manufacturer's website cites U.S. or Canadian lighting agent partners
- Manufacturer's website cites U.S. or Canadian distributors or dealers.
- A Google search for the manufacturer name and "representative" returns results with North American agents that represent the product.
- A Google search for the manufacturer name and "distributor" returns results with North American electrical distributors that sell the product.
Undoubtedly there are high-performing products from off-shore companies that do not meet this eligble manufacturer criteria. North American OEMs likely sell them under different brand names. We tried inquiring with certain off-shore companies asking which manufacturers re-sell their products in North America, but they either (1) did not respond or (2) did not fully understand our line of questioning, presumably due to a language barrier. As a result, some of the following companies had high-performing products that are not included in the list: Shenzhen Mason Technologies, Xiamen Yankon Energetic Lighting Co., Ltd., Guangdong Mason Technologies Co., Ltd., Sunzhou RUNLUX Electric Ltd., Shenzhen Bbier Lighting Co.,ltd, Torshare Ltd., Komka Green Lighting. Cooper Lighting Solutions Metalux HBL fixture was not included because it is marketed as a high bay linear (HBL) fixture and not as a troffer.
