LED lights for garage

[buckeyefarmer]

I know they make 4' LED tubes that fit in existing fixtures, have not seen 8'.
We are getting LED fixtures put in at work. Everyone complaining they are too bright.

 

[EddieWalker]

I bought a pair of LED security lights from Brinks at Lowes about a month ago, and they both died fairly quickly. One lasted a week, the other lasted about twice that long. Might be the Brinks brand, but last year I bought a LED motion sensor from Home Depot that lasted a month before dying. I think LED is the future, but either their is a problem with them, or they all have really lousy sensors that are supposed to turn them on.

I have CFL lights right now and they have performed flawlessly for the last couple of weeks.

Eddie

 

[Scooby074]

I find LED quality to be directly related to price.

I wont buy anything other than Phillips LEDs now for replacements. Not the cheapest by far, but have been lasting very well.

 

[downsizingnow48]

In the garage I have a bunch of the usual double 4 ft fluorescent fixtures, augmented with LEDs. The LEDs are mounted in those cheap tin fixtures with a spring clamp that the big box stores sell and aimed at work areas - bench, grinder, drill press, etc. The combination of fluorescents for general lighting and LED for spot lighting gives the best working environment I've ever had. I don't remember the brand of LEDs but they were mid range price.

 

[dragoneggs]

I think using LED's anywhere is a great idea. I have been using them indoors/outdoors, reef aquarium lighting, etc. for years. Now that the price is coming down it makes economical sense. They are efficient as there is little power loss to heat. But as already mentioned, they won't melt off snow and ice but if you have that problem in your garage, you got bigger problems. :laughing:

 

[Oaktree]

I find LED quality to be directly related to price.

As with anything else, you get what you pay for. From what I've read, it's not the LEDs themselves that fail, but the internal power supply. Either way it's toast.

I have low-temp fluorescent fixtures in my garage/workshop. They weren't much more than standard 4' ones, got 'em at HD or Lowe's. They seem to work in cold temps, though they are a bit dim if it's below 20ｰ or so. Then again, it's not like I'm gonna be doing much work out there when it's that cold.

 

[Country Geek]

As with anything else, you get what you pay for. From what I've read, it's not the LEDs themselves that fail, but the internal power supply. Either way it's toast.

Yes it's true that LEDs themselves practically last forever compared to incandescent filament bulbs, but friends of mine who do electronics engineering have told me that the LED is no good if the circuit board it's attached to isn't also high quality. And lots of the LEDs they've looked at have very cheap controller and power supply boards that are the failure point. also the life testing they do involves just leaving them on, not switching them on and off constantly which makes a strain on the electronics.

That said I only buy CREE LED bulbs. CREE is a local company to me, their bulbs come with a 10 year warrarnty, and I work literally a block from the address they give as the warranty return address. For every bulb I buy I keep the register receipt and proof of purchase in a drawer and plan to cash in the warranty if they fail. So far none have, and I have them in places where incandescents only last a few weeks.

 

[ray66v]

You can't beat Giant CFL's in a garage, for the money

Don't get me wrong, I hate CFL's. These are the ONLY CFL bulbs, I would hit a dog in the arse with. 68 watts in, 300 watt equivalence to an incandescent out. -20F starting, no wob wob noise when it's cold, no hum, made to be used base up. $25 per light including standard porcelain bulb holder, if you don't already have one.

The only drawback to them is, they hang down 10 inches, so you have to mind them, when carrying things, if you have low ceiling height.

Two of these make an average garage look like daylight in there.

I have 10 in my 30x30, with 2 on a switch, so I can have as little or as much light as I want.

There are 400 watt versions now too.

Until LED shop lights get to where they are affordable, these are a good alternative.

 

[Fossil Farm]

Many stoplights are now LED, so yes they do work in the cold. As mentioned, one problem is that they do not get hot enough to melt snow like incandescents, so the signal color is sometimes covered by snow. Be sure they are UL listed. Many are not and they do not last like Country Geek mentioned.

 

[Pixguy]

The only LED issue is with snow/ice, they don't get warm enough to melt it off. [my headlights are LED]

I have an LED Spotlight that's shines on my flag and even with about 20" of snow this season, the light has melted off all of the snow. It must get warm enough.