Best Lights For New Shop?

[fall]

We just purchased a new property on the lake which will eventually be our retirement home. The property has a newer 1200 sq.ft. pole barn with 10ft ceilings that I am currently insulating and starting to ruff in for electrical. I am trying to get the barn ready this winter as the house will need a lot of work and we plan on starting that in the spring. My current shop has 4ft florescent fixtures. (T-12’s/ old school). What is every one using these days for their shops? I am looking for something that is energy efficient but still is cost effective.

Thanks

[RonB1957]

I started off replacing all my T12 lights, a couple at a time, with T5 lights as they were a lot brighter, but very expensive. Replacement bulb is $10.00. Then the borg stopped carrying the ones I was buying. 
  Sooooo, I am now just getting T8s. Cost a lot less anyway. I have also been impressed with the LED type though.

[Steve N]

I am sure to be at odds with many saying get the super high output XXYYZZZ bulbs with the super goo that makes them 42 x brighter during a hurricane as compared to all other bulbs. They might cost just 89.99




My thought on electric light is the more the merrier, go for saturation so you have no shadows, and the LUMENS mean less. My reasoning for this is they are cheaply manufactured electrical components, which have very short warranties if any at all, and about 1/2 of them fail the day after the warranty expires. Therefore I would rather spend 9 bux a light, but fill the room with them. I have 18 4' fixtures in 32 x 24 ' of the working portion of my shop, with an assortment throughout the reminder of the 32 x 48 space. Back in the shop area I see no shadows, and have very good light available.

Ohhhh T8 over T12 every day, the very old T12 technology has the bulbs that stutter and are VERY dull in cold weather. I have an unheated shop that is well insulated, and on 10* days I have the same light as on Summer nights. Less then 10* and I'm staying in the house so I have no idea what happens to the lights..

[A Squared]

Ohhhh T8 over T12 every day, the very old T12 technology has the bulbs that stutter and are VERY dull in cold weather. I have an unheated shop that is well insulated, and on 10* days I have the same light as on Summer nights. Less then 10* and I'm staying in the house so I have no idea what happens to the lights..

Yeah, t-8 over t-12, I'm not even sure you can get t-12 fixtures any more. With you on the "lots of lights approach" although I'm not sure about the cheap part. I used a bunch of cheap t-8 fixtures in my shop and spent a lot of time replacing ballasts. Not sure if paying more gets you more reliable lights though. If I were lighting a shop today, I'd at least consider the LED fixtures for the energy efficiency.

[MikeBob]

48" LEDs, new no retro fits, look at the Lumen equivalent, mine are 4200 Lumens, bright as all get out. get the warm light spectrum for over your finishing area, so dye/stained wood looks the same as in natural light.

[Sawdustd]

I replaced all 8 of my florescent lights with LED lights.   https://www.amazon.com/America-Shoplight...shop+light   Its like the difference between nite and day.

[fredhargis]

I'm going through the same thing at this moment. My new shop building is 1600 sq. ft (10' ceiling), of which 900 will be the shop area, but it will all be well lit. I really, really want LED lighting....but I'm finding it so expensive I may have to reconsider. I'm fed up with ballasts, but I may have to stay fluorescent lights. So, I've tried a couple of the expensive T5 lights, these are high bay units. Nice, but I'm not sure they are worth the money, they really don't seem any brighter than the T8s I had in the last 2 shops. At the moment, I'm considering buying some used T8 fixtures, gutting them and try the replacement LED bulbs (T8 size) to see how well they work. That is the current plan (subject to change).

[MichaelS]

LED's, the home depot $40/ea units (can't recall the maker) can be connected up to 9 on a single circuit and chain together, so you only need the 1 switched outlet for each (something like 27,000 lumens per set O.o)

My plan is to install 2 banks of 8 in my garagshop all off the original circuit that had 2 fixed 2 tube T12's on the ceiling originally.

The daylight color spectrum, no cold weather reaction issue (slow to turn on), and watt efficiency are huge benefits. But probably the most exciting part is that there will be no more bulb changes... ever. Unless a bit of electronics fail - LEDS last upwards of 20,000++ hours continuous. I'll probably be buried before I log that many hours in the shop


Michael

[AHill]

Another vote for T8's.  Decide on the color you want.  The °K rating on the bulbs makes a difference.  I use daylight (6500°K).  The color makes a difference if you plan on doing any finishing in your shop.  If you use something different than the lighting of the intended location of your project, the color of the finish will be different.  I installed upgraded fixtures in my shop.  Not the $19 el-cheapo Home Depot kind.  More like $59 per fixture.  Commercial grade starts around $99 per fixture.  Mine are instant-on, no matter how cold, and zero failures in over 10 years.  You should not scrimp on lighting.  You may scrimp on the fixtures, but not on how much light you get.  To get an idea of how much you need, go look at an office or commercial shop setup.  In my office, you see 4-light fixtures separated 4 feet between ends and every 6 feet between the sides.

[meackerman]

I put T8's in my new shop.  been totally unimpressed with bulb life.