LED Garage Lights

[newbury]

I started a thread about <lots of good info snipped>
I hope you find this as informative as I did.
90cummins

Do you have any measurement of light before and after?
for example:

<snip>
In my shops in Mississippi:
With one of the Feit lights about a foot below my 12' ceiling I measured 450 Lux at waist level.
With one of my old 8 foot tube dual 60 watt bulb fluorescent fixtures about 6 inches below the ceiling I measured 230 Lux at waist level.
With one of the tubes in my "deballasted" fixture about 6 inches below the ceiling I measured 420 Lux at waist level.
With TWO of the tubes in my "deballasted" fixture about 6 inches below the ceiling I measured 700 Lux at waist level.
<snip>

There are several measuring apps for smartphones.

 

[k0ua]

I started a thread about my Led shop lights and discovered this one so I'm copying it here to add to the info.
I've been replacing the CFL's in my home with LED's since summer and it's now time to upgrade my shop lights.
My shop is 40x60 with 12x12 doors and is poorly lighted.
The main lighting consists of (6) 8ft (2x60w) T12 fixtures approximately 10 off the floor.
Around my lift I have four 8ft fixtures with three T8 32w 6500k (Daylight) lamps each.
The T8's are new and provide quality light and are not going to be changed out yet.
The main is lighting is not performing and one the reasons is that they are turned on & off frequently and are started cold because the shop is heated only when I use it.
I replaced the T12's with 48w 6500k 6000 lumen LED's.
The LED's are direct wired for 120v so I just disconnected the ballast and rewired them leaving the ballast in place.
The improvement was huge! The new lights are much brighter and allow me see detail much better.
The previously dark corners of the shop are now nicely illuminated.
I have a Killawatt meter so I measured the power consumption of the oil & new lights which I found very interesting.

The old F96T12 60w lamp data; VA 143 W92 A1.16 PF.65 X's 12 lights = 13.92A
Total power consumed = 1.716kw x 8hr = 13.72kw per day.

New LED 48w 6500K 6000Lumen; VA 96 W92 A.79 PF.96 X's 12 lights = 9.48A
Total power consumed = 1.152kw x 8hr = 9.216kw per day.

Yesterday I bought two Phillips 4 direct fit T8 5000k LED's at Home Depot for $10 and installed them for comparison against 2 F32T8 Daylight lamps.
These LEDs are direct fit and use the original ballast for power and are surprisingly less efficient than the T8's.
F32 T8 LAMPS VA 82 W63 A.68 PF.76 x12 LIGHTS = 8.16A
LED VA 96 W93 A.79 PF.95 X12 LIGHTS = 9.48A
Researching my lights it appears (to me) that UL listed lights are direct replacements for the CFL tube lights and use the existing ballast.
My lights are not UL listed and require removal of the ballast before installation. I chose non UL listed because I wanted to minimize electrical consumption.
If my assumption's are wrong please correct me.
I hope you find this as informative as I did.
90cummins

Let me sum up what I think you said, and please correct me if I made some wrong assumptions in your presentation.

I think you are saying that changing out the old 8 fluorescent tubes with your new LED replacement tubes AND wiring around the ballasts is well worth doing from a money saved and light intensity gained prospective. BUT replacing your 4 foot T8 tubes with the phillips direct replacement LED tubes and re-using the old existing ballast is a money loser, but you didn't mention if these were brighter or not than the original T8 tubes.

Am I correct?

 

[newbury]

Just a note for those following this thread - Costco is putting the 2 pack of 4' LED lights out w/ a $10 coupon, bringing the price down to $50 for 2 units.
4? LED Shop Light with Pull Chain, 2-pack

 

[newbury]

Just a note for those following this thread - Costco is putting the 2 pack of 4' LED lights out w/ a $10 coupon, bringing the price down to $50 for 2 units.
4? LED Shop Light with Pull Chain, 2-pack

 

[txdon]

I replaced my Mom's 4 - 4' florescent kitchen lights with Costco's 4' LED. They work great!!!

 

[Gunny]

Just a note for those following this thread - Costco is putting the 2 pack of 4' LED lights out w/ a $10 coupon, bringing the price down to $50 for 2 units.
4? LED Shop Light with Pull Chain, 2-pack

Wished that had been going when I ordered mine about two weeks ago!

 

[JRobyn]

Costco customer service is usually terrific about crediting you back for recent purchases that have had a subsequent promotion/sale.

 

[lostcreekranch]

This is a really good price but, I think that the 4100 K color temperature will be a bit too "yellow" for shop lights?

Any feedback from someone who installed some of them?



Light on left is Sam's Club which is 5000K and light on left is 3000K.

Big difference?

 

[dragoneggs]

This is a really good price but, I think that the 4100 K color temperature will be a bit too "yellow" for shop lights?

Any feedback from someone who installed some of them?

View attachment 455223

Light on left is Sam's Club which is 5000K and light on left is 3000K.

Big difference?

Nope! I put Costco 6 qty of 4ft fixtures (2 bulbs each) with 4100K in my garage/shop and they are a nice clean white. Not yellow at all.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Nope! I put Costco 6 qty of 4ft fixtures (2 bulbs each) with 4100K in my garage/shop and they are a nice clean white. Not yellow at all.

Pictures?

 

[lostcreekranch]

Nope! I put Costco 6 qty of 4ft fixtures (2 bulbs each) with 4100K in my garage/shop and they are a nice clean white. Not yellow at all.

How about a comparison picture?

 

[dragoneggs]

How about a comparison picture?

I already posted earlier in this or another LED thread. But here you go! No question, much brighter visually and I measured and posted the lumen output and big difference also.

 

[90cummins]

Let me sum up what I think you said, and please correct me if I made some wrong assumptions in your presentation.

I think you are saying that changing out the old 8 fluorescent tubes with your new LED replacement tubes AND wiring around the ballasts is well worth doing from a money saved and light intensity gained prospective. BUT replacing your 4 foot T8 tubes with the phillips direct replacement LED tubes and re-using the old existing ballast is a money loser, but you didn't mention if these were brighter or not than the original T8 tubes.

Am I correct?

Yes; Installing the new LEDs and bypassing the ballast reduced consumption and the increased light output was very significant.
Also correct in that the direct fit LEDs from Phillip's used more power and the light output was no better than the CFL's.
90cummins

 

[k0ua]

Let me sum up what I think you said, and please correct me if I made some wrong assumptions in your presentation.

I think you are saying that changing out the old 8 fluorescent tubes with your new LED replacement tubes AND wiring around the ballasts is well worth doing from a money saved and light intensity gained prospective. BUT replacing your 4 foot T8 tubes with the phillips direct replacement LED tubes and re-using the old existing ballast is a money loser, but you didn't mention if these were brighter or not than the original T8 tubes.

Am I correct?

Yes; Installing the new LEDs and bypassing the ballast reduced consumption and the increased light output was very significant.
Also correct in that the direct fit LEDs from Phillip's used more power and the light output was no better than the CFL's.
90cummins

Got It :thumbsup: thanks.

 

[BertZegers]

If you have a low ceiling it is better to have lights without reflectors. The lighted ceiling reflects light and looks higher. A low dark ceiling makes you feel like you are in a cave. If you have a high ceiling then you want reflectors. You want all the light reflected on your work, and you don't worry about a ceiling that looks like the night sky.
People in cold climates like "warm" lights to feel warmer. People in hot climates like "cold" light, because it makes them feel cooler.
Compare LEDs with a fluorescent tube that has at least 100 hours, but not needs replacement. Some think a fluorescent tube is still good as long as it lights up.
Over time fluorescent lights lose over 70% of initial light.
In workplaces with bright windows you need more light than in workplaces without windows.

I would look for LEDs to get rid of ballasts. By the way, ballasts do not fail in Europe ( 50 hertz 230 volt systems )

Just my thoughts.

 

[ultrarunner]

I replace 1 or 2 T8 ballasts every week somewhere in the Hospital...

Also have lights that are not switched... on 24/7 with a few that have been on 20 years last December... still enough light to do what needs to be done.

The T8 that don't last are the ones turned on and off 50 times a day... the ones that stay on last a VERY long time.

Also have an assortment of Compact Fluorescents... knock on wood... not a single bad ballast in 20 years.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Today I replaced 4 double tube florescent shop lights with led shop lights IT is definitely much brighter. The whole place felt brighter and cleaner. I bought 6 of these lights and installed one of them in the garage a year and a half ago. Installed 1 in the garage when I first bought them, and the others sat in their box until today. I put the one I didn't use in the back of the shop as a spare in case one of them craps out, but the one I have had in the garage has been used every day and has been fine. They come on almost instantly and are very bright.

 

[dragoneggs]

If you have a low ceiling it is better to have lights without reflectors. The lighted ceiling reflects light and looks higher. A low dark ceiling makes you feel like you are in a cave. If you have a high ceiling then you want reflectors. You want all the light reflected on your work, and you don't worry about a ceiling that looks like the night sky. Some think a fluorescent tube is still good as long as it lights up.
Over time fluorescent lights lose over 70% of initial light.

I would look for LEDs to get rid of ballasts.

I definitely agree... The Costco LEDs do not have reflectors and I mounted them direct on the ceiling. Now I want to tape and mud and paint my ceiling white to improve the reflection after noticing how much more effective in spreading the light. I am also enjoying not hitting the old fluorescents fixtures (I lazily hung by chains) when I am swinging around a 2x4 stud or some other long piece of wood or pipe, etc. :dance1:

I also have noticed the 'fade' of the fluorescents as well as halogens over time... it will be interesting to see how the LEDs do over time and also how LED technology advances in the coming years.

Since the Costco price was the same for LEDs with or without fixtures, I didn't hesitate and hassle with ballast removal. The instant on in the cold weather is wonderful too!

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Also correct in that the direct fit LEDs from Phillip's used more power and the light output was no better than the CFL's.
90cummins

I've gradually been replacing 4' florescent tubes with direct fit LEDs from Costco. Don't know the brand, but one tube is as bright as both of the old florescent tubes put together, and when both LEDs are installed the light is much much brighter. I've not done any measurements to quantify the difference, but it's much easier to see what's going on in the shop with the LEDs.

There's not much difference in price between the direct fit LEDs and the LED fixtures, at least at my local Costco. I rewired my florescent fixtures to a junction box on one end that houses a household electrical outlet, and use lamp cord with a household plug on each end to daisy chain the fixtures together. NO the installation DOESN'T meet code, but it sure makes it easy to move fixtures around when the need arises. That and the fact that installing the direct fit LEDs takes only a few minutes, was enough reason for me to go that route rather than replace the fixtures. I wasn't aware that the LEDs consume more power, but I don't run them all day, every day, and don't expect I'll notice much difference on my electric bill. If I was starting from scratch, though, I'd go with the LED fixtures.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I got a couple of the Costco shop lights today. Just to compare and see for myself whether I should change. They are much brighter than my existing fluorescent shop lights. Huge improvement. I like that they can be mounted directly, rather than use hanging chains.