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Led shop lights

Old26

Plastic
Joined
Nov 14, 2018
Any suggestions on led shop lights? Low bay, replacing 4 foot T8 with high cri lamps about 6000 lumens per double bay light. I have receptacles on the ceiling so they can plug in. Daisy chaining isn’t required but I may use them in places if they have this. I currently have 20 lights in 1200 sq ft and need more as my eyes age. Also color temp you prefer and why. Be brand specific if you have experience the choices on Amazon alone are overwhelming and you can’t sort well like You would expect on MSC or McMaster by lumens, price per lumen, price per foot, etc.

TIA
 
I don't know much about manufacturers but I will say be prepared for a large change in your amount of light. It can be overwhelming.
 
Take a look here -> LED Lights, Bulbs & LED Lighting Accessories | superbrightleds.com
I am looking at the same issues, they have pretty good 4ft & 8ft LED T8 replacements
many are ballast bypass type ( remove ballast hook direct ).
example -> 18W T8 LED Tube - 2,070 Lumens - 4ft - Single End Ballast Bypass Type B - 32W Equivalent - 5000K/4000K. These are 6.95 ea with discounts on qty.

plus right now for black friday they are running 15% off
 
I recently bought the mother of all ceiling lights at Home Depot - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerc...00K-Daylight-10-000-Lumens-50232261/307799650
10,000 lumens for $96. I it put up to replace some photofloods in my photo booth and it's way too bright, but perfect color at 5000K. It's dimmable with a 10Vdc secondary circuit, I haven't done that yet, I'm using cardboard to cover the top of the light tent to make it workable at the moment.
 
I’m using 5300k. I’ve had a couple complaints that it’s too blue, but I find the temperature very accurate. It’s very close to daylight in my shop, no noticeable colorshift inside the building versus outside on a bright day.


Jeremy
 
Okay, so... I started transitioning to LED lighting in my house, shop, outbuildings, and yard (in that order, more or less) about 8 years ago.

They were a whole lot more costly when I started, of course... but my placement of LEDs was basically determined by my daughter... she was 7, and had an annoying habit of waking up in the morning, going downstairs, and turning on lights in various places... the same places, and for some odd reason, they were places she didn't have to go... (???) Never figured that out, but one of these areas had four ceiling lights with a quartet of 40w candelabra lamps... so 1600w... and she'd leave them burning all day. It took her a while, and several spankings, to stop that, but she wasn't the only one doing stuff like that, and well... my wife doesn't take kindly to spankings either. (sigh).

Although I could say that the power reduction energy cost was the greatest motivator, it wasn't... it was the COOLING ENERGY cost that was... turning off that 1.6kw heater made a HUGE difference in our summer cooling needs.

Cutting to the chase... I eventually got to The Garage, which is currently home to my primary working machines, as the new building is not yet complete. I had four 48" dual-tube fixtures... that's 8 40w lamps. They worked okay, or at least... I had no real complaints, but when they finally started losing ballasts, I decided to yank them all, and go LED in the garage. At that time, there was no 'choice' of 48" replacement tubes, and frankly, those fixtures left a whole lot of dark areas.

What I did, would probably not suit the aesthetic demands of most, but once my new shop is complete, I'll be emptying the garage, tearing out the suspended ceiling, replacing insulation, knocking out the floor, replacing the drain, adding insulation, and pouring a new slab with hydronic tubing for heat, and installing a new garage door, so that my wife has the entire garage for her car.

But my 'temporary' LED setup is pretty simple- I took a 20ft 2x4, and put 8 plastic lamp fixtures on it at regular intervals, wired them all in parallel, to a plug that connected where my former flourescent fixtures plugged in. I repeated this three more times, for a total of four rows of 8 bulbs each... 32 bulbs.

I used 8w lamps, they're about 750 lumen each, and I used a mixture of cool white (5000+k) and some warm white (~4500k) lamps, I alternated them in the rows, so that any area in the room had BOTH colors shining on it from many angles.

I did this on purpose- My eyesight is sensitive enough to lamp color that, like others above, I find the 'blue factor' to be uncomfortable. The efficiency of an LED comes from the very fact that it's output is narrow-banded... there's no UV, there's no IR... and there's very little spectrum represented in-between... just the color they advertise. By mixing the lamp colors, I get what I feel is a much better color-clarity, than just one lamp color range everywhere.

The design/layout advantage: it's dirt cheap to build, uses ordinary lamps, easy to change (I use a bulb-changer stick), and as different products come around, I try 'em out. Right now, I've got ONE lamp directly above the 10EE that's a PAR-type flood pattern, and it works really well. Now, the cheap/easy is also a bonus, because every once'n'a'while, something in the shop will get ejected, snagged and flung, spit out, or otherwise projected in an uncontrolled direction, and find it's way to an LED lamp. These ordinary bulbs get smashed, it's no big deal, no special-order... just flip the switch, unscrew, and stick a new one in, and go on with life.

Best of all (and the biggest thing that allows it to 'beat' the old FL), is that there's SO MANY locations in the ceiling where light is being generated, that there's basically NO areas that are substantially shadowed by ANYTHING.

I DO recommend experimenting with color mixes... especially if your eyes are sensitive.

BTW... 32 lamps @ 8w = 256w. That's down a bit from the original 8 40w tubes for 320w...
and 32 * 750 came to 24,000 lumen, while the 8 tubes @2500lumen = 20,000 Lumen, that's a 16% advantage for the LEDs.
 
Interesting topic, about a year ago we switched to LED from Hg vapor, I believe. I was glad to read that people where putting so much emphasis on color of the light.
I am not sure what color spectrum ours are supposed to be producing, I say that because after a year or do I noticed a dramatic change in how I was perceiving color under these lights. Color on wires was not as accurate as before, after I determining that I was not having a stroke. I asked the folks in the know if they had noticed a difference, and they had. I know we got cheapies off of flea bay; do not do it, we have already had one fail and the color situation is degrading rapidly. The failure I can understand we have very tall ceilings and now with the heat on it tops 100 Deg. Frankenstein up there
they are mounted ~20' feet up. I have not pulled the light down yet to see what failed, I expect it has to do with the excessive heat at ceiling level.
One the bright side LED lamps are easy to fix, but who the hell wants to fix lights when there are jobs to run and I am not a big fan of heights.
THE TAKE AWAY
Don't cheap out, consult with a "lighting expert" for color and IMHO keep them cool
Anyone have similar issues??.
 
Interesting topic, about a year ago we switched to LED from Hg vapor, I believe. I was glad to read that people where putting so much emphasis on color of the light.
I am not sure what color spectrum ours are supposed to be producing, I say that because after a year or do I noticed a dramatic change in how I was perceiving color under these lights. Color on wires was not as accurate as before, after I determining that I was not having a stroke. I asked the folks in the know if they had noticed a difference, and they had. I know we got cheapies off of flea bay; do not do it, we have already had one fail and the color situation is degrading rapidly. The failure I can understand we have very tall ceilings and now with the heat on it tops 100 Deg. Frankenstein up there
they are mounted ~20' feet up. I have not pulled the light down yet to see what failed, I expect it has to do with the excessive heat at ceiling level.
One the bright side LED lamps are easy to fix, but who the hell wants to fix lights when there are jobs to run and I am not a big fan of heights.
THE TAKE AWAY
Don't cheap out, consult with a "lighting expert" for color and IMHO keep them cool
Anyone have similar issues??.
 
We pt new LED in the entire building last year and are very happy with it,plus I'm saving $200.00 per month on my electric bill. Too many variables to just make a recommendation. My suggestion (worked great for me) is to have a lighting company install a few different fixtures and see which you like the best. We did that in both the office with recessed ceiling, and the shop with two different high bay ceiling heights. Glad we did because its really expensive if you choose wrong.
 
Mud - Any concern using integrated LED's? I know they are supposed to last a long time but (as I understand it) if you have a failure it isn't as simple as replacing an LED tube - you have to replace the entire fixture. With integrated units you have to rely on them still being manufactured in the future should you have one quit on you.
 
Mud - Any concern using integrated LED's? I know they are supposed to last a long time but (as I understand it) if you have a failure it isn't as simple as replacing an LED tube - you have to replace the entire fixture. With integrated units you have to rely on them still being manufactured in the future should you have one quit on you.


Not in this case, it's only one light and it's hanging from chains. When it fails I'll by the next better technology and hang it up. In teh meantime the solid unit is a plus for handling.For a larger scale installation yes I'd want some history to observe
 
There are bulbs that work with a ballast and those that require removing the ballast and rewiring.
Make sure you know which you are buying. Putting the type that requires rewiring into a ballast fixture may kill it. (Don't ask)
I'd try to buy a few color temps and cover types (clear, ruled, frosted) so you know what you like for your setup.
I only use the frosted or milky in most places as the others are rather directional. Even these are not the same type of fill as a tube florescent.
6ks and clear are the cheapest with the most light, these are brutal lamps and in metal working produce much glare unless mounted way, way up in the air and 20 feet is not enough.
On single pin 8 footers you can orient some of the bulbs towards the reflector for better fill and less "harshness", on bi-pin you can twist a little but not much freedom to work with and the reflector becomes unless you put it in upside down and wire that way.
In single pins I do mix in some 6ks pointed sideways which is still comfortable but helps provides the fill of dispersed lighting.

If rewired to 120 volt direct make sure to label the fixture as such and color temp counts.
Often people go to LEDs and they are just so super bright. Then after time maybe too bright and shadows.
Buy a few and experiment is how I made the change. In my old florescents we ran a mix of cool and daylight bulbs which made a big difference on the floor.

They are the cat's ass in output, electric bill and life but so many options.
Bob
 
I recently bought the mother of all ceiling lights at Home Depot - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerc...00K-Daylight-10-000-Lumens-50232261/307799650
10,000 lumens for $96. I it put up to replace some photofloods in my photo booth and it's way too bright, but perfect color at 5000K. It's dimmable with a 10Vdc secondary circuit, I haven't done that yet, I'm using cardboard to cover the top of the light tent to make it workable at the moment.


He's not shittin you,,,this is at this time , the best deal on the planet
 
I recently bought the mother of all ceiling lights at Home Depot - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerc...00K-Daylight-10-000-Lumens-50232261/307799650
10,000 lumens for $96. I it put up to replace some photofloods in my photo booth and it's way too bright, but perfect color at 5000K. It's dimmable with a 10Vdc secondary circuit, I haven't done that yet, I'm using cardboard to cover the top of the light tent to make it workable at the moment.

Not to rain on your parade, but I purchased a 24” very similar to the one you linked for similar money with 20-23k lumens from another such “lumber yard”. Maybe that’s too much output? It is really bright.


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Not to rain on your parade, but I purchased a 24” very similar to the one you linked for similar money with 20-23k lumens from another such “lumber yard”. Maybe that’s too much output? It is really bright.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Can you post a link? Or some more information to help me google it? I'm interested.
 
Let me see if I still have the box. IIRC it is a Patriot light (basically a Menards branded product). I have three of this same size (but not same brand) that are illuminating the same area as 6 6-tube T8 fluorescent fixtures. It may be tomorrow before I get you an answer.


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