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+-- Thread: Best Lights For New Shop? (/showthread.php?tid=7325862)
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - JerGar - 12-05-2016
I have florescents in my shop,never was satisfied with them.
To often replacing bulbs.
I've recently been in two commercial buildings that switched over to led.
Much brighter than before and they don't break.
You can throw them on the floor and nothing happens to them.
One owner was telling me they noticed a nice savings in the power bill.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - CLETUS - 12-05-2016
In my reloading room I put in 4' LED's, I love the light. I have the screw type fixtures in my shop, I found a great deal on LED bulbs and are replacing the crappy CFL's as they burn out.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - Wild Turkey - 12-05-2016
I've been shopping for LED lights for my soon-to-be-shop.
Can't find what (strip lights) I want at a good price because they aren't making enough yet so I may be stuck with fluorescent-type tubes.
Due to cost I may put up half now and finish in a year or so but I'm not using florescent again between cold starts, burn-outs and busted bulbs and less light per $$$ for the old stuff.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - daddo - 12-05-2016
I'm the odd ball in the bunch. I like the warm glow of regular bulbs and have a lot of them in warm CFL or the old incandescent type. I'll light the area I'm in. I even have a few old antique lamps with shades I use and windows to let some sun in. I always wondered how craftsmen 100 years ago did so well without lights bright enough to perform heart surgery with. The warm glow makes the woodshop more personal and relaxing, and that's why I'm out there.
When I do need it brighter when I need to get serious, I have 3- 4 tube fluorescent lights- I rarely use.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - TDKPE - 12-05-2016
(12-05-2016, 06:16 PM)daddo Wrote: I'm the odd ball in the bunch. I like the warm glow of regular bulbs and have a lot of them in warm CFL or the old incandescent type. I'll light the area I'm in. I even have a few old antique lamps with shades I use and windows to let some sun in. I always wondered how craftsmen 100 years ago did so well without lights bright enough to perform heart surgery with. The warm glow makes the woodshop more personal and relaxing, and that's why I'm out there.
I don't think that's odd. I use all ~3500K 4' and 8' fluorescents, and my walls are T1-11 without finish. It's my wooden man cave.
But you can get LEDs in lower color temps if you look around. Even my LED nightlights are 2700K warm white.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - Billbo - 12-06-2016
I got tired of my 4 foot fluorescents in my basement shop and unfinished basement area going out or "going funny."
I measured the light output from my best old fluorescents then bought 4 different LED tubes (18 watt to 24 watts 1800 to 2400 lumens, and various "K" color/brightness).
I then measured the light output and evaluated the color "K" from the 4 different LED tubes.
I ended up liking the 24 watt, 2400 lumen, 4000K ballast bypass lights from Earth LED (online LED lighting outfit) - they were $12.99 each.
- I put the 3 "also ran" LED lights in the unfinished storage part of my basement.
Yes I had to remove the ballast from each fixture and rewire them, but that was a very easy job.
VERY happy with my new LED lights.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - fixtureman - 12-06-2016
just read on another forum that Costco has 4 foot leds for $19.00 on sale now
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - AHill - 12-06-2016
One other note. T12 vs. T8 vs. T5. The sizes are number of 8ths of an inch. So a T12 is 1-1/2" in diameter, the T8 is 1 inch in diameter, and the T5 is 5/8" diameter. The smaller diameter the bulb is, the more efficient it is. So, a T8 is more efficient (more lumens per watt) than a T12, and a T5 is more efficient than a T8. The cost is also greater for the more efficient bulbs. There's also a Color Rendering Index (CRI) rating for each type of bulb. The higher the number, the better it does at putting out light that is even across the frequency spectrum. The small diameter bulbs do better with CRI than the larger diameter bulbs.
Fluorescent bulb life is affected by the number of on/off cycles and the type of ballast. Instant-on ballast lowers the life. More on/off cycles per hour lowers the life. On the average, you can expect around 20K to 30K hours life out of a fluorescent bulb. The size of bulb does not affect life.
LEDs are very efficient and will have better life than fluorescent bulbs. If a new installation, I'd be inclined to seriously consider LEDs, as long as they aren't prohibitively expensive.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - fall - 12-06-2016
Thanks for all the information. I have a lot to consider and review.
RE: Best Lights For New Shop? - fall - 12-06-2016
fixtureman Do you have the link for the lights at Costco/ 4 foot leds for $19.00 ?
Thanks