Can lights and Ceiling Fans in a New pole barn?

[jwstewar]

Heard of 1 fellow who swears by CFL's in trouble lites, saves on arm burns when working in close proximity and do not pop as easy if get wet.

After blowing four bulbs in a day when I was working on our Honda a year or ago, I switched my trouble light over to CFL. Haven't blown a bulb since. Before everytime I bumped it, the bulb would blow and I would burn my arm on the hot metal cage. Not anymore. The CFL has already paid for itself because of not having to keep buying bulbs.

 

[schmism]

compact florescent is the way to go.

espeically if you go commercial type bulb. how about a 40W Quad Tube CFL that provides 2400 Lumens of light, equivalent to a 200W incandescent bulb

 

[EddieWalker]

I think that recessed lights in a shop or barn would be a huge mistake. They just don't give off very much light. In the homes that have them, there is usually another source of light if you need to realy see what you are doing.

In the shop, florecent lights are the best choice dollar wise. I have 8 footers, but if you want lots of lights all over the place, you can go with 4 footers.

There are other options, but it's gonna be real hard to find something better, and when you do, it's gonna be allot more money.

Eddie

 

[QRTRHRS]

I did not used to like flourecents either but their are bulbs out now that are much better to live with. After speaking with a lighting consultant, I used them in the 40x120 horse barn I had put up at my last property. The barn was basically three long bays, the outer ones being twelve foot deep stalls and the center a sixteen foot aisle.

Rather than trusses, the barn was built with rafters and collar ties so there were headers running the length of the barn on both sides of the center aisle. There were ten bays (12x10 = 120 feet). I hung five eight foot double bulb fixtures from the header on one side staggered over every other bay. For the other side, I used four eight footers then a four footer at the end just to make sure that that corner had adequate lighting.

I used Simkar OV850'swhich are sealed for use in industrial or wet environments. Great for taking the hose to blast off the dirt. The bulbs and ballasts were low temp rated. They never blinked but would be a bit dim when the temp was cold. During the five PA winters we had that barn, it never got down to 20 below so I cannot say they would start at that temp.

It was like daylight in that barn with all of those lights lit up!

Tek Supply good source for reasonably priced ceiling fans.

 

[Mike058]

There are several brands of the CFL's available. I went out and bought one of each that were common around here. I tried them all out and came up with a favorite. They differ in how fast they come up to full power and color of the light. Some actually have a rather warm tone that is closer to incandescent than traditional fluorescent.

 

[dmccarty]

In our house we only have the can lights and the lights on the ceiling fans. We have zero, zip, no lamps in the house. Can't stand the things. Even before kids the lamp shades would always fall to pieces. Have no idea why but they would. We have no problem with the amount of light from the cans.

My eyes are getting older and my night/dark vision is getting worse. Used to be pretty danged good but not anymore. Our ceiling fans have remotes. From the remote you can turn on the light as well as the fan. Very nice. The light from the ceiling fan is enough for me to read by in bed. Its not nearly as bright as the four cans in the room but its enough for me to read by without too much problem.

By accident the electrician took a bunch of CFI bulbs and put them into the flood lights. I figured what the heck lets see how they work. These bulbs are three years old at this point and they are the older technology. They don't come on as fast as the newer bulbs and they are slower when its cold outside but they do light up. They really should be proper flood lights with higher wattage but they do work. We seldom get down into the teen though.

Whether it is CHEAPER to put in canned lights vs large tube lights is a different question. But we have no problem at all with the light produced with R30/40 bulbs in the cans.

Later,
Dan

 

[ray66v]

The cheep can lights are not rated for insulation contact. This means each one is a heat loss. Each is a small hole in the ceiling directing your heat out. And when not on, allowing small amounts of cold air in.

They can also allow some moisture to escape into you attic, with the heat, lowering your R values.

If you insulate over them anyway, the thermal cut off could, at best turn them off all the time, and at worst, not work, and start a fire.

Weather or not CFL bulbs would allow them to be insulated without problems, is a guess you would have to make.

 

[goodoleboy]

Thanks for the advice everyone..The concensus looks like flourecent is the way to go..I did not really consider the Heating factor the convential bulbs would make..

If I did go with the Can lights I would put each row on a seperate switch only to illuminate the area I am working in..
Home Repo had the remodel type, Insulation contact, with airtight cans on clerance from $68 to $30 for 6 lights (Halo brand).

I may just go with 2 rows of 10 for a total of 20 lights for the workbench areas..Then a high quality florescent for the middle row of the building..



Here is a sample of the way I am thinking of doing it.


Can is a can light
Flor is a florecent light


Rear Garage Door
-------------
Can Flor Can
Can --- Can
Can Flor Can
Can --- Can
Can Flor Can
Can --- Can
Can Flor Can
Can --- Can
Can --- Can
Can Flor Can
-------------
Front Garage Door

 

[EddieWalker]

I think you have a thing for can lighting. While they are fine for certain aplications, this isn't one of them. Just say no to can lighting in your shop.

Eddie

 

[QRTRHRS]

One advantage long flourecents have is that it is very easy to hang them temporarily until you have the right amount of lighting then make them permanent.