Any Recommendations For LED Shop Lighting
- Thread starter walterjay
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Have a 4ft 40 watt led over the work bench which is also in front of a window. This is significent as the light is so much like daylight that I`m contstntly leaving it on.
5000k is great. I had 8-foot long (2x4) T8 fixtures but got the generic "utilitech" LEDs from Lowes. Kept the ballasts wired up out of laziness.
Everything I want... cheap to run, start immediately in the cold.
How you lay the light out is as important as what you get. An "E" shape is good for a 2-car garage with the legs of the E going down the walls (about a foot or two in) and the middle leg going between the bays.
You don't want light on the roofs of your cars! It's nearly useless as you try to, say, remove a tire.
Consider also the effects of opening garage doors and whether that blocks light or not.
Everything I want... cheap to run, start immediately in the cold.
How you lay the light out is as important as what you get. An "E" shape is good for a 2-car garage with the legs of the E going down the walls (about a foot or two in) and the middle leg going between the bays.
You don't want light on the roofs of your cars! It's nearly useless as you try to, say, remove a tire.
Consider also the effects of opening garage doors and whether that blocks light or not.
I have been looking at them too. I have a garage and a small shop and currently use florescent shop lights. I have been through most of the kelvin bulbs and the 5000K are the best. The 6400 cast a really dark shadow and the the 3200 are too yellow for my older eyes. I have 5 4' in the shop and 3 4' in the 2 car garage and I get a nice even light. The only down side I have heard about with the LED's is that they are more directional so you dont get the same coverage and need to have more of them. Since I need so many I have been waiting for more testing and reviews particularly for winter, I already had to change the fluorescents to electronic starters so they would work when the temps fell to freezing.
I have 5000K lights in my garage. They are 4' LED units that I purchased from Rural King. They claim 5500 lumens per unit and I have 12 of them in a 20x40 area of my garage where I primarily work on stuff. They are 13' above the floor and light up the area very well.
I much prefer 4000K.
Furthermore, it's a lot easier to have a bulb with a good CRI (color rendition index) when it's 4000K vs 5000K.
Furthermore, it's a lot easier to have a bulb with a good CRI (color rendition index) when it's 4000K vs 5000K.
Originally Posted by Cujet
I much prefer 4000K.
Concur. The 5000k looks blue, 4000k is a good in between.
I like these silly things from Amazon, sold under numerous "brands". Cheap, bright, easy to install, no nonsense with having to rewire fixtures. FWIW anything that leaves the old flourescent ballast in is ridiculous, those things use a lot of energy so it sorta defeats the purpose. If you get these things be sure to pick up some screws from a hardware store for the mounts, the ones they provide are the softest Chinesium and are a PITA.
jeff
I much prefer 4000K.
Concur. The 5000k looks blue, 4000k is a good in between.
I like these silly things from Amazon, sold under numerous "brands". Cheap, bright, easy to install, no nonsense with having to rewire fixtures. FWIW anything that leaves the old flourescent ballast in is ridiculous, those things use a lot of energy so it sorta defeats the purpose. If you get these things be sure to pick up some screws from a hardware store for the mounts, the ones they provide are the softest Chinesium and are a PITA.
jeff
I bought these and am incredibly happy with them far.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07LGTJQ2S/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2020/06/full-83582-45280-c9aeb2b4_7056_47ce_90a3_b4b9e35ddf7d.jpeg "[Linked Image]")
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07LGTJQ2S/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4K all the way. I have 6 4-bulb panels in my 20X30 shop. I removed the ballasts and went with single sided LED tubes. If I were to do it all over I'd go with the double ended ones.(single end = both wires into one side of the bulb, dual sided = one wire into each end), as they seem more available. So far had them for about a year with only one that has a section unlit, but not noticeable enough to change it. Nice, bright, natural light.
I'm wanting to add something like this to my pole barn. The workshop area has decent fluorescents, but the rest is just incandescent bulbs. Pretty dark everywhere else.
I would need most new fixtures. Will likely just replace the existing fluorescents too.
I would need most new fixtures. Will likely just replace the existing fluorescents too.
For me I would prefer the 3500k
Eyes are most sensitive (able to see) with more warm yellow/green so naturally the 3500k ish lighting will be more efficient instead of being a more cold blue 5000K
AS you go up the spectrum to 5000 and 5500k your seeing less yellow and more blue which starts to add an "overcast" to the lighting, though true, technically it maybe more color accurate, you need more of it to see what you are doing as you are wasting energy at the extreme blue end of the spectrum to be more color accurate but your eyes are not as sensitive so things will actually look a bit more dark.
Eyes are most sensitive (able to see) with more warm yellow/green so naturally the 3500k ish lighting will be more efficient instead of being a more cold blue 5000K
AS you go up the spectrum to 5000 and 5500k your seeing less yellow and more blue which starts to add an "overcast" to the lighting, though true, technically it maybe more color accurate, you need more of it to see what you are doing as you are wasting energy at the extreme blue end of the spectrum to be more color accurate but your eyes are not as sensitive so things will actually look a bit more dark.
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Originally Posted by eljefino
How you lay the light out is as important as what you get. An "E" shape is good for a 2-car garage with the legs of the E going down the walls (about a foot or two in) and the middle leg going between the bays.
You don't want light on the roofs of your cars! It's nearly useless as you try to, say, remove a tire.
Consider also the effects of opening garage doors and whether that blocks light or not.
Plus 1 on the E pattern. It's what I have.
How you lay the light out is as important as what you get. An "E" shape is good for a 2-car garage with the legs of the E going down the walls (about a foot or two in) and the middle leg going between the bays.
You don't want light on the roofs of your cars! It's nearly useless as you try to, say, remove a tire.
Consider also the effects of opening garage doors and whether that blocks light or not.
Plus 1 on the E pattern. It's what I have.
These were a quick and easy conversion from the floro screw ins, much more light and you can aim each panel. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BQV1CMY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You can also get a screw in outlet and run the plug in 4 ft LED assemblies if you wanted
You can also get a screw in outlet and run the plug in 4 ft LED assemblies if you wanted
My garage is full of 8" fluorescent's but there were also 5 regular incandescent fixtures the house was built with. I recently replaced the 60w equivalent LED bulbs with these and man they are great!. If doing it again I would just install these at the density you need. Skip the tube fixtures altogether.
https://www.amazon.com/Garage-Defor...&qid=1591544637&s=hi&sr=1-26
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2020/06/full-79196-45291-20200607_095109_resized_1.jpg "[Linked Image]")
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2020/06/full-79196-45292-20200607_095105_resized_1.jpg "[Linked Image]")
https://www.amazon.com/Garage-Defor...&qid=1591544637&s=hi&sr=1-26
Is the lighting going to hang from rafters? How high up?
Wish I could give you a specific recommendation. In my opinion all consumer grade fixtures are total junk these days. You might have some fail in 6 months, or they might last forever. You never know. Are the UL rated fixtures better quality? Maybe.
As eljefino suggested above, layout and positioning of the lighting is important.
I'm sure you know this, but the lower the "K" rating, the more yellow the lighting. Seems like default is around the 3300-3700K range these days unless you step up to "daylight" 4000K and up like alarmguy mentioned. To me, the intensity of the LEDs (lumens) and the way the light is reflected (design of reflectors) makes or breaks the look and feel of the lighting more so than the kelvin rating.
Wish I could give you a specific recommendation. In my opinion all consumer grade fixtures are total junk these days. You might have some fail in 6 months, or they might last forever. You never know. Are the UL rated fixtures better quality? Maybe.
As eljefino suggested above, layout and positioning of the lighting is important.
I'm sure you know this, but the lower the "K" rating, the more yellow the lighting. Seems like default is around the 3300-3700K range these days unless you step up to "daylight" 4000K and up like alarmguy mentioned. To me, the intensity of the LEDs (lumens) and the way the light is reflected (design of reflectors) makes or breaks the look and feel of the lighting more so than the kelvin rating.
Thanks for all the replies. I am definately going to use the E pattern for the lighting. I just need to determine the Kelvin rating. I think that 4K may be more natural but I am still not settled on that. I have a 5K in my basement and am happy with it. I may buy one 4K fixture and see how all that looks.
Check out Garage Journal, lots of lighting discussion over there.
4K 5K any K you want OK. I have between my garage and the shop 4 8ft LEDs and about 24 4ft direct wire fixtures. Definitely do direct wire-you don't want to keep the energy hog ballasts.
Ebay cruise to get the best price but I can usually pay about $4 or less a bulb.
Ebay cruise to get the best price but I can usually pay about $4 or less a bulb.
I bought a 60W garage light to replace my old light. It has 6000 lumens and 6500K daylight.
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