LED Shop Lighting

[tom p.]

4 Ft LED Ready Double Strip Light

No ballast (so the wattage is greatly reduced) and the above bulbs are "plug and play".

Dan, thanks for those references. When you say "no ballast and the wattage is greatly reduced", is that good or bad??

[dschribs]

Dan, thanks for those references. When you say "no ballast and the wattage is greatly reduced", is that good or bad??

Good.

- The fixtures in the link I sent are basically a metal "shell" w two wires in them. They don`t have a ballast to go bad on you. You don`t need one w LED bulbs.
- No ballast means no issues w cold start up of fluorescent bulbs or buzzing noises from the ballast.
- Reduced wattage is always good. You`re using less energy to power LED bulbs. The LED`s are much brighter than the fluorescents and use less watts (electricity) per bulb. A "win win"!

One thing I neglected to mention is that LED`s last WAY longer than fluorescent bulbs. Another benefit to going that route.

[tom p.]

OK, now I understand. Thanks again. When you say "wattage greatly reduced", you just mean the power consumption is much lower. I was thinking in terms of light output.

Are the bulbs e-z to find? Can I just walk into any Lowes or Home Depot, for example?

[dschribs]

I`m sure standard LED bulbs (bulbs that work in LED fixtures) are available at HD or Lowes but the one`s I bought are compatible w Fluorescent fixtures and I only found those on the particular web site I referenced.

[RaskyR1]

OK, now I understand. Thanks again. When you say "wattage greatly reduced", you just mean the power consumption is much lower. I was thinking in terms of light output.

Are the bulbs e-z to find? Can I just walk into any Lowes or Home Depot, for example?

You can find them at HD/Lowes but I`m not sure they will be as good/bright as the ones online. The link I provided in post #10 is like the "garage lighting bible" and has a spreadsheet in it that breaks down the best "bang for the buck" in terms of the amount of light, life of bulb, and cost.

I ordered 26 fixtures from Bees Lighting along with 5000k frosted lens bulbs. They are super easy to wire up and install. I wired mine with some 3 way switches and 2 circuits. One runs 20 fixtures and the other runs the 6 fixtures going in the other direction.

A lot brighter then the picture makes them appear.

[tom p.]

Rasky, thanks!

I checked my old unit this morning and I suspect the ballast is fried...I`m not going to fool around with it and Home Depot no longer sells the bulb I use. I ordered a 4-bulb T5 unit from Amazon that people really seem to like. I also ordered a 6-pk of 56W HO bulbs. We`ll start there and see how it works. I still have two more old units that can be replaced when I decide. Everything in my setting is hard-wired. The swap should be easy, I hope

[dschribs]

Rasky, thanks!

I checked my old unit this morning and I suspect the ballast is fried...I`m not going to fool around with it and Home Depot no longer sells the bulb I use. I ordered a 4-bulb T5 unit from Amazon that people really seem to like. I also ordered a 6-pk of 56W LED bulbs. We`ll start there and see how it works. I still have two more old units that can be replaced when I decide. Everything in my setting is hard-wired. The swap should be easy, I hope

I`m certainly not an electrician but if the T5 fixture is a fluorescent fixture I`m not sure you will not be able to use "standard" LED bulbs without bypassing (removing) the ballast.

Changing Fluorescent Tubes to LEDs | Home Power Magazine

[tom p.]

Dan, that`s my error. The bulbs I bought are not LED, just T5 HO. My mistake and much confusion with the terminology.

[ShakingHorizons]

Tom P. - be careful with T5 HO. They lose their lumen output considerably within the first 3 months (average) of use and run VERY hot.

[tom p.]

Thanks, I`ll keep an eye on it.

[Ancient_1]

You`re not supposed to paint your walls with auto paint then clear coat it cause then you`ll only buff and polish it then follow that up with Wolfgang coating


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Well I didn`t use auto paint like I did on my front door but it should be washable but won`t be able to polish.

[dschribs]

Dan, that`s my error. The bulbs I bought are not LED, just T5 HO. My mistake and much confusion with the terminology.

Tom

I honestly would think about going w the bulbs and fixtures I sent in the links. They may cost a bit more up front but will last MUCH longer, don`t generate any heat and save on energy costs in the long run. I can`t tell you how happy I am I went that route. The light output is amazing.

[tom p.]

Dan, thanks. I`m going to try the stuff I ordered. I`ve got to order two more complete sets for the other bays. This is sort of a trial run and I`m not into it for crazy money.

[tom p.]

We got this light installed yesterday. It`s not terribly heavy and the job wasn`t too bad. I think my ceilings are 14` high.

So the main lighting is 2 2-bulb strips with 8` T12 HO bulbs. These units are now 18 years old. Light output is pretty good. This new unit is 4 bulb with 54W T5 lamps. They`re called HO and I think they`re 6500K, non-LED. The light output is intense. It takes a couple minutes for them to brighten up to full intensity. Might be because of the cold weather.





The reflector in this new light is mirror-like. I`ll take some pictures tomorrow when I have a few minutes.

I`m impressed with the output of the light. I`m into it for ~ $120 including 6 bulbs.

The instructions suggest the ballast can be bypassed, if desired. I gather that`s for LED operation. The new light has some very odd connectors which I`m not familiar with. I tried looking for the mating part at a couple of stores but no one would admit to knowing what they were, let alone sell them.

[dschribs]

Tom,
Yeah, its the cold that takes them awhile to get up and running. Not an issue with LED.

And yes, you`d remove the ballast for an LED bulb. Would save some electricity. LEDs don`t need a ballast to start up.

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