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+-- Thread: Sheet of LED lights? (/showthread.php?tid=7147566)
Sheet of LED lights? - JDuke - 11-19-2015
I currently have 8ft fourescent bulbs in my shop.
I would like to transition to LEDs as I like the light quality better.
Rather than the expense of buying something that gets retrofit into the fluorescent fixture, is there a reasonably priced flat sheet of LEDs either 2x2 or 2x4' preferably with a rigid backing so you could easily mount to a wood ceiling?
Duke
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - BloomingtonMike - 11-19-2015
They sell led shoplights at Costco and Sams. You looked at those?
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - JR1 - 11-19-2015
Amazon has several choices and some have been on deal of the day.
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - Splinter Puller - 11-19-2015
8' LED tube replacements are now down to $27 a tube.
2x4 LED panel lights are still around $125
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - Woodenfish - 11-19-2015
JDuke said:
I currently have 8ft fourescent bulbs in my shop.
I would like to transition to LEDs as I like the light quality better.
Rather than the expense of buying something that gets retrofit into the fluorescent fixture...
This is a very simple to do task. There are many videos on YouTube that walk you through fluorescent to LED conversion. You can save a considerable amount of money on material and labor by saving your old reflectors and mounting the new LED bulbs into your existing fixtures.
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - meackerman - 11-19-2015
$34 for a 4' LED shop light fixture (with bulbs) at the local Costco.
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - AHill - 11-19-2015
Before you switch to LEDs, consider what kind of light they are producing. I have daylight (6500° K temp) lights in my shop. LED shop lights are more in the range of 4000° K temp. That could make a difference when trying to match finishes or colors compared to what you see in natural lighting. If it's not a big deal, LEDs will last a LONG time and draw less power. I've had high quality flourescents in my shop (15 fixtures) and never had to replace a bulb in 8 years.
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - meackerman - 11-19-2015
the 4' T12s in my barn I'm wouldn't be surprised if they're original to the barn from the early 80s.
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - JR1 - 11-19-2015
One thing to look at when buying lights for the shop is the CRI¹. To color correct or match finishes it needs to be 90+. Untill recently to get that you needed to buy something like the Litepannels or Switronix TorchLED . The color temp is irrelevant, but you should not mix daylight (6500K) and tungsten (3200K) as that can be misleading.
¹ Color Rendering Index is how evenly all colors are produced across the visible light spectrum. Most common flos have a lot of green and very little blue, but some are very unbalanced with lots of green and blue but essentially no violet and little red.
Re: Sheet of LED lights? - dspeer - 11-20-2015
Don't go with cheap LEDs from China. I though I was saving money, the opposite is true.