Your guide to a better future

Citing overheating dangers, the North Carolina-based lighting manufacturer is recalling 700,000 LED fixtures designed to replace fluorescent tube lighting. External Led Strip Lights

Cree has issued a voluntary recall of its tube-shaped T8 LED , a light designed to replace fluorescent bulbs in common commercial and office fixtures. The company estimates that roughly 700,000 units are affected, citing a potential fire hazard as the cause of concern.

According to the North Carolina-based manufacturer, the problem stems from electrical resistance between the spring contact and the printed circuit board. This resistance can lead to electrical arcing, which can, in turn, cause the light to overheat. At that point, the lamp could begin to melt, posing fire and burn hazards.

The T8 LEDs are sold through distributors to commercial lighting customers, and exclusively at Home Depot for residential usage. Nine SKUs in total are affected by the defect, and sales of all nine were halted on April 30th, 2015. Owners of those bulbs should disconnect them and contact Cree for a free replacement or a refund.

A Cree representative provided the following comment: "While known incidents are very small in relation to the number of products shipped, any potential safety issue is unacceptable. Cree is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Health Canada and Profeco in Mexico to provide information to Cree T8 LED replacement lamp owners."

The representative goes on to emphasize that the issue is isolated to select models from the T8 LED line, and that it does not affect other product lines, including Cree's lineup of residential LED light bulbs, or the recently introduced WaveMax line of LED office fixtures .

2x4 Led Flat Panel Light More information is available at www.cree.com/recall.