LED Shop "Nightlight"

[woodlandfarms]

I know there is lots of talk about LED lighting, and I thought I would share something I did a few years ago with LEDS

my shop and my shed are pitch black on the inside (especially at night) so I installed a 12 watt (equiv to 25 watt) hanging bulb that burns 24/7. Not totally environmentally friendly but it sure makes a heck of a difference walking into a dim shop and not a black shop. We also have one under our carport so that we can see if we have anything going on under it... at 2 watts seems to be a reasonable use. So far they have been burning for 3 years more or less non stop without any issue.

This is not the bulbs we got, but it does give you an idea of what we are looking at.

Amazon.com : Sun Bright LED Soft White 3 Watt (25 Watt Equivalent) Light Bulb 2-pack : Compact Fluorescent Bulbs : Home Improvement

 

[Raspy]

I had one lit for years at my other house. They make very good night lights.
A strand of white Christmas LED lights, up on a light shelf, work well too.

 

[robbyr]

How exactly can 3 watts be equivalent to 25 watts?

 

[Pete Judd]

I have led motion lights all around, Solar powered, in the shop I have a couple of 6 watt CFL lamps on 24/7 as they make the shop look like someone might be in it. I figure that the 6 watt cfl's are less than 2 old school xmas lights, it makes no diff in the light bill each month.

 

[woodlandfarms]

How exactly can 3 watts be equivalent to 25 watts?

welcome to LED / CFL ****. we need to escape the concept of watts and embrace lumens. that said, a 3 watt led puts off as much light as a 25 watt led...

 

[Raspy]

No, as much as a 25 watt incandescent. You knew that.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Too much Christmas sugar... Thanks for the catch

 

[HeLa]

I installed a 12 watt (equiv to 25 watt) hanging bulb that burns 24/7. Not totally environmentally friendly but it sure makes a heck of a difference walking into a dim shop and not a black shop.[/url]

i don't know how long it would take to reclaim the purchase cost through energy savings, and lifetime on these bulbs is amazing, but we use something like this to keep ours from burning during the day:
PHOTO CELL SOCKET - Amazon.com

one of our CFL's has been burning for ~7 years in an outdoor fixture, on at dusk off at dawn with a photocell.

 

[robbyr]

Dang I put a yard lamp in our yard with photocell this past March and have probably already replaced bulbs ten times. Need to check into these other kind.

 

[3930dave]

Dang I put a yard lamp in our yard with photocell this past March and have probably already replaced bulbs ten times. Need to check into these other kind.

If you are trying to use CFL or LED bulbs in a totally enclosed fixture, many/most are not designed for that application. What happens is the tiny bit of heat they throw off builds up inside the fixture, and fries the electronics. I might get away with doing that outside, up here in Winter, but you won't in Texas.

You need to either find a CFL/LED designed for Enclosed Fixtures (try Philips, Sylvania......), or go back to incandescent if your problem is what I described.

I just bought some PAR30 LED flood bulbs at Costco, that are rated for Wet Locations. If you are running an open fixture, check the water rating on the non-incandescents that you are using.

Last/not least - with photocell use, you may have better luck with CFL or LED that are designed to be Dimmable. The electronic switching action of the photocell may be frying a CFL/LED that is not designed for dimming.

Incandescents waste heat energy, but they are a lot less finicky about their surroundings and comfort level.

Rgds, D.