Fluorescent to LED

kenmac · Jan 8, 2018

pmsmechanic said:
I am so fed up with having to fix ballasts every few years that I couldn't care less what the price difference is or the possible savings etc. I just want a light that turns on when I flick the switch. I also want the lights to turn on in -20C weather as that's what I live in during the winter.

It's a bonus that they are brighter too. A fluorescent slowly gets dimmer over the years so you are getting less than the initial 1200 lumens out a 4' light. As I'm getting older I need more light to see. Most 4' led's are around 1600 lumens. Gee and they don't get dimmer over time. Looks like a win to me. And yes I'm getting sarcastic!

I get ya. I don't have to worry about -4 deg weather. I'm only going out there when it's 60 deg or above. If I need to do something colder than that. I'll use the attached to the house heated garage.

Wonder if cold weather takes a toll ballast ? I have had ballast go bad ,but the lights had been for a very long time

Sawyer Rob · Jan 8, 2018

kenmac said:
I haven't seen any $15.00 LED's. I have seen people post $20.00 LED's . All I have seen are $40.00 LED's at walmart same place I got the T8's for $12.00 tax included

How about $16 and change, post #18...

Amazon has them a lot cheaper than $40.00...

SR

pmsmechanic · Jan 8, 2018

kenmac said:
I get ya. I don't have to worry about -4 deg weather. I'm only going out there when it's 60 deg or above. If I need to do something colder than that. I'll use the attached to the house heated garage.

Wonder if cold weather takes a toll ballast ? I have had ballast go bad ,but the lights had been for a very long time

For temperature I just did an average. We got to as low as -37C one night this winter. -40 is equal on both scales.

As far as ballast go I had one light where I was replacing it every two years or so. I don't really want to repair another fluorescent again. I just replaced two fluorescents in the kitchen with round fixtures from Costco. They were $26 CAD each. That's cheaper than a 4' fluorescent fixture with diffuser and no fluorescent hum.

forgeblast · Jan 8, 2018

ovrszd said:
No doubt the bill will be cheaper. Question is how long do they have to burn before they offset the purchase cost?

I'm not very bright (pun intended). I can easily comprehend replacing a failed bulb/fixture with LED. What I struggle with is financial justification of simply replacing all bulbs/fixtures, even though they are still functioning. How do you calculate the savings in that?

Our bill lowered by 25$ a month. I have a kiddo and wife who do not like to turn off lights. Plus the lighting is so much better. Each month It pays for 3 bulbs that we replaced. Our electric company also sends out free led kits with bulbs in them. Some of the bulbs are in ceiling fans that are 20' in the air in our great room. Not having to replace them for a while is awesome!

outinthetalgrass · Jan 8, 2018

This week at Menards.

dragoneggs · Jan 8, 2018

The Costco 4ft LEDs state 3700 lumens.

jajiu · Jan 15, 2018

I bit the bullet and bought two twenty packs of 8' bulbs on ebay for $400.00. That's $10.00 per bulb! It'll be nice to see in the barn and not hear the hummm of the ballast in the basement lights. Also, after 25 yrs the lights in the basement are starting to go, black ends and flashing.

kenmac · Jan 15, 2018

Sawyer Rob said:
How about $16 and change, post #18...

Amazon has them a lot cheaper than $40.00...

SR

cheapest I found there are $19.97 ea plus tax, and for me, shipping

quicksandfarmer · Jan 15, 2018

Ford850 said:
I swapped out some of my incandescent and compact florescent bulbs in my barn/shop with splitters (double sockets) and LED bulbs. My plan was to replace the old with 2 new '60 watt equivalent' LED bulbs at each fixture as the old bulbs died. I'll warn you all right now, once you have LED lights in part of your shop, you will upgrade the rest of it immediately like I did. The 'instant on' at 100% brightness puts a smile on my face every time I flip that switch.

It's actually worse than that.

LED's are at the point they are still getting better all the time. Just when I think I'm done replacing all of them I find some new light that is even better and I start thinking about upgrading lights I've already upgraded.

LED's are just better. I'm done with balky, fragile, hard-starting, noisy fluorescents and their ghastly light. I'm done with incandescents and their heat and short lives. The light from LED's is better, they last longer, they're more reliable. And they're getting cheaper every day. They're now cheaper than fluorescents.

I have two outdoor lights on my house that need a ladder to change the bulb. I just put LED's in both, with luck that's the last time I'll ever touch them.