Our workplaces have changed dramatically since then but there is still a need for a basic luminaire for undemanding lighting applications. This is reflected in that LED battens are still usually sold as being 4ft, 5ft, 6ft rather than 1.2m, 1.5m, 1.8m.

Some early battens consisted purely of a bare fluorescent tube on a folded white steel spine to which you could add accessories such as a reflector. Nowadays, all LED battens have some kind of integral diffuser and so the luminaires tend to be either IP rated or have a slightly more attractive cover for office and commercial applications.

If you are retrofitting on a one for one basis, decide whether you want a similar or greater illumination level. If you want the same amount of light, you can save energy by using a lower wattage LED version. Remember to compare like with like. A dusty fluorescent luminaire with an old tube might only emit half the light it did when it was new. Don’t compare it with an LED fitting straight out the box.
If, on the other hand, you want greater illumination, you may well be able to achieve it without increasing your energy consumption.

Even with something as simple as a batten, it is worth considering the light distribution. Light isn’t only required on the worktop or desk. Typically, an LED batten emits light over 120 degrees downwards whereas a bare fluorescent lamp would be more like 240 degrees.  or maybe 180 with a diffuser. A wide-angle beam gives you better illumination on people’s faces, shelving and noticeboards – and also more reflections in computer screens!

Some upward light can be desirable to lighten the ceiling and “lift” the appearance of the space. A bare fluorescent lamp gave you all this by default (at the expense of a reduction in horizontal illuminance) but some LED luminaires can have a quite narrow downward distribution which leads to dark walls.

Extrusion aluminum alloy with white spraying color, polycarbonate diffuser which gives it a wide light distribution which is comfortable and easy to look at. It looks just like a fluorescent batten except that it lasts three times as long (a claimed 50,000 hour life L70/B50). The 1.2m version can be 28W/3360 lumens or 38W/4560 lumens. It is nicely put together with fine joins between the various components. A nice touch is that the paint on the metal and plastic parts match – many budget luminaires have end caps that aren’t the same shade of white as the body. There is a range of motion sensor, DALI and emergency versions.