Flos IC Floor Lamp, IC Lights S2, Steel Chandeliers, and the Type B LED Tube Question

I've been specifying lighting for commercial interiors for eight years. Before that, I was the person who made the mistakes that I'm now called in to fix. The worst one was a $3,200 order that ended up in the trash because I checked the wrong section of a spec sheet. Since then we've placed forty-one Flos orders. Maybe thirty-eight, I'd have to check. Either way, I've learned where the real pitfalls are.

If you're searching for what is Type B LED tube, or trying to choose between a Flos IC floor lamp and a Flos IC Lights S2, I can't give you a universal answer. The right choice depends on the ceiling height, the furniture plan, the deadline, and how much risk you're willing to carry. That's not a disclaimer. That's the reality of lighting.

So this article is structured by scenario. I'll cover the IC floor lamp choice, the steel chandelier decision, and the LED tube question. Then I'll share a project spotlight from a restaurant job that changed how I think about speed and certainty.

Scenario 1: Flos IC Floor Lamp or Flos IC Lights S2?

The IC collection from Flos has a deceptively simple look: a glowing glass sphere, a thin metal structure, a solid base. But the version you choose changes the whole room.

When the Flos IC floor lamp works

If the space is a lounge, a reading corner, or a plan that will probably be rearranged, choose the floor lamp. It provides a warm pool of light at human scale, and can be moved when the furniture moves. Put another way: the floor lamp is the one you can fix after installation. If you're wrong about its position, you move it.

When the Flos IC Lights S2 works better

If you have a fixed focal point—a dining table, a reception desk, a reading table—the S2 can do something the floor lamp can't. It creates a centered layer of light without taking up floor space. This is the version I'd choose for a room where the layout is not going to shift.

Here's the counterintuitive part: I now recommend the floor lamp for most open-plan rooms, even when the ceiling is tall enough for a pendant. Clients usually ask for the pendant because it feels more 'designed'. But if there's no permanent table underneath, a pendant is just a floating object you have to walk around. The floor lamp behaves better.

What I mean is that the “right” fixture isn't about how elegant it looks in the catalog—it's about where the light sits relative to your eye level, whether the fixture can move when the furniture changes, and whether the person installing it will actually know how to handle the wiring.

I learned this the hard way. In an office project, we put an IC Lights S2 over what was supposed to be a collaboration table. The client removed the table after a month and replaced it with loose lounge seating. The S2 ended up hanging over a pile of cushions. Not ideal, but workable. The real issue was that the fixture's glare hit people's eyes whenever they stood up. Worse than expected.

Had a day to finalize the lighting schedule before rough-in. Normally I'd mock up both fixtures. There was no time. I went with the floor lamp based on photos alone. In hindsight, I should have pushed back on the timeline, but the project was already late. I got lucky; it worked. But luck is not a process.

Scenario 2: A Steel Chandelier Is a Finish Risk

A steel chandelier can be the defining piece of a dining room, entry hall, or hotel lobby. Clients ask for it when they want the chandelier silhouette without the polished brass finish. But a steel chandelier introduces a finish-matching risk that doesn't show up in a product photo.

Two conditions need to be true before I'll recommend one. First, there has to be enough ceiling height for the fixture to be seen, not just walked under. Second, someone has to approve a physical finish sample under the actual room lighting.

Never expected this to be such an issue. Turns out the same brushed steel finish looks different under 2700K, 3000K, and daylight. A sample viewed under a dealer's showroom lights looks nothing like the fixture on site.

Project Spotlight: The steel chandelier job that went wrong

I once specified a steel chandelier for a restaurant opening. The vendor's sample looked perfect. The actual fixture arrived polished too bright. Under the room's 3000K track lighting, it looked like stainless steel equipment, not a chandelier. We caught the issue at delivery. The replacement cost $1,700 plus an expedite fee, and the client's confidence in me dropped.

That mistake created my current rule: when a steel chandelier is part of a deadline-driven job, I budget for certainty. In March 2024, we paid $450 extra for a guaranteed production slot on a similar fixture. The alternative was a maybe-shipping-date that could have pushed past the event. The $450 didn't buy speed exactly. It bought a fixed commitment. That fixed commitment was worth more than the money.

One of my biggest regrets is not building this into the budget earlier. If I'd had it in writing that the finish had to match the sample, the vendor would have either flagged the risk or corrected it before the first shipment.

Scenario 3: What Is Type B LED Tube? And Which Retrofit Route Do You Take?

Less glamorous, but this is the question that can wreck a schedule.

LED tube retrofits are usually grouped into three types:

• Type A: the tube works on the existing fluorescent ballast. Fastest, but the ballast remains a failure point.
• Type B: the tube is wired directly to line voltage. No ballast.
• Type C: the tube is powered by an external LED driver, often used for larger or more uniform systems.

So, what is Type B LED tube? It's a direct-wire LED tube. It means removing or bypassing the existing ballast and connecting the lamp holders directly to the electrical supply. It's not a plug-and-play swap.

When does Type B make sense? If the ballast is old, if you want to get rid of future ballast failures, and if you can hire a qualified electrician to do the rewiring, Type B is often the better long-term call.

When does it not make sense? If the existing fixture is temporary, or if the ballast is under warranty and you won't own the space long enough to benefit, Type A can get you through. You're trading a lower upfront headache for a potential future failure.

One more Type B detail: the socket type matters. Some Type B tubes require shunted lampholders, some require non-shunted. If you mix them, you can cause a short and trip a breaker. That's exactly the kind of surprise that turns a one-day retrofit into a three-day one.

This is another place where I've paid the price. I still kick myself for accepting a Type A “ballast-compatible” tube without checking the ballast model. Four months later, fifteen out of thirty tubes flickered. The labor to relamp cost more than the tubes.

Per FTC guidelines (ftc.gov), “energy-saving” claims need to be substantiated. If a supplier can't show you the photometric data or a listing from a qualified testing lab, treat the claim as marketing, not engineering.

How to Tell Which Scenario You're In

Ask yourself these four questions:

1. Is there a permanent focal point beneath the main fixture? If yes, a pendant light like the Flos IC Lights S2 has a reason to be there. If no, a Flos IC floor lamp gives you flexibility.
2. Are you choosing a steel chandelier? If yes, stop ordering from photos. Get a physical finish sample and compare it under the project's actual light.
3. Is the existing fixture's ballast still good, and will you still be managing the space in a few years? If both are true, Type A can be a bridge. If not, Type B is the more certain route, as long as you have an electrician who knows the socket types.
4. Does this job have a hard move-in or event date? If yes, budget for guaranteed delivery. The expensive option is the one that “should probably arrive” in time.

The common thread is certainty. The most expensive phrase in lighting specification is “should work.”