LED's/ T5's -- my eyes!

[yeldogt]

I understand everything is moving to LED's, and I have to admit they are getting very good in the medium base size bulb ... I still prefer my old school high watt incandescent bulbs for reading and dimming .... my office desk tasks lights are full spectrum Luxo FL bulbs ... also very good.

With my new build I'm really torn on what to use in my studio/ wood shop ... Every shop or industrial building I am in with the T5's: way too bright even if the ceilings are very tall. I'm getting the same feeling with the LED shop type bulbs that mimic Fl tubes ... my eyes hurt. They are just too bright .. same with many stores.

My current set up uses the 8' T12 standard -- not HO ... as the general lighting so I don"t kill myself entering the shop. I have task lights (incandescent) sprinkled around when I need more light on a specific task. Some are track lights -- others are old school garage lights hanging form the ceiling.

Can I assume the T5's will be obsolete soon? The T8's are sill around but less so -- they are kinder to my eyes vs the T5's

This can't be just me ?

 

[tfi racing]

T8 fixtures and lamps will be here for decades,not going any where anytime soon.There are currently billions of them in use in North America alone, the technology for replacement lamps and ballasts will continue to evolve in both fluorescent and LED choices,no need to worry about being stuck with an obsolete fixture.

 

[Showkey]

Do not think T5 or T8 are going obsolete anytime soon. Yes the market is quickly moving to LED in all shapes and forms but T bulbs will be available for years to come. Today, T12 are still for sale at many big box stores and they have out of favor for years.

Glare can be a problem and might be why "can lights" have an appeal in some applications.
The most obvious annoying light source is a huge high lumen bare bulb.

 

[TheOtherChris]

In my previous garage the ceiling height was only 8' and I had 8' double tube T12s, Big box 4' T8s and a 4 tube T5 over the work bench.

As the garage was NOT heated and often experienced sub zero temps inside the T12s were nearly worthless in winter. The T8s were only marginally better at start up but did eventually warm enough to provide adequate light. The T5 was the only one I could depend on to give the light I wanted when I wanted it.

My barn/shop now only has 9½' ceilings but half LED shop lights and half medium base LED bulbs. It is not yet heated but the lights come on instantly when I hit the switch.
They have no HUM, don't attract the yellow jackets and use a lot less juice. However I need to look into attaching some kind of diffuser lens to them as they are unpleasant if you look up to the naked LED "tubes".

 

[justsam]

You may want to experiment with using a warmer bulb, (lower color temperature). I too find some t5's to be harsh, but suspect it is more to do with color temperature than it is absolute brightness.

There are real experts on here that can explain it far better than I.

 

[yeldogt]

Both current and new are heated --

The current building is 24W X 32. I have two rows of lights (8' T12) 8' apart down the middle. The old style single pin long bulb. Each row requires 4 fixtures w/2 bulbs each - 8 bulbs total per row. So the building has 16 bulbs. Two switches -- one for the four middle fixtures and one for the outside four. I'm normally working in the middle so that's what I have on the most.

The long T12's have a nice glow without blinding -- they are not efficient relative to the new stuff. I was picking up my car the other day and the shop had installed either T5's or LED multi bulb fixtures -- I think each had 6 4' bulbs ... I'm not sure ... it was blinding.

I like the lower output over the whole space vs have a few sun spots.


EDIT: I see they make the T8 bulbs in the 8' length .. that may be the ticket. I guess I need to see what the output vs the old T12's

 

[Norcal]

I would avoid the T8 8 foot lamps, a PITA to deal with compared to 4' lamps, I have 8'T12 HO fixtures in my shop, & it's costing me $7.00 a fixture + 7.50% tax & my time to convert to T8 but would rather they be 8' tandem (4 lamps) but was just too good a deal.

 

[yeldogt]

I would avoid the T8 8 foot lamps, a PITA to deal with compared to 4' lamps, I have 8'T12 HO fixtures in my shop, & it's costing me $7.00 a fixture + 7.50% tax & my time to convert to T8 but would rather they be 8' tandem (4 lamps) but was just too good a deal.

How are you doing that? I actually don't mind the big bulbs -- I buy them in a case and they sit in the closet ... At least in the T12 they give very even light

 

[BillK]

yel,
I agree with you on the light from the T-5's I am trying to decide what to use to upgrade the lighting at my business and the guy next door has T-5's and I just do not like the light. Cant explain it and it may be the color temp bulbs he used but it is uncomfortable to me.

I just bought a 6 tube 4ft T-8 fixture I am going to try to hang temporarily this week to see how it does. That is probably what I will end up using, just need to figure out how many of them and the spacing.

 

[yeldogt]

yel,
I agree with you on the light from the T-5's I am trying to decide what to use to upgrade the lighting at my business and the guy next door has T-5's and I just do not like the light. Cant explain it and it may be the color temp bulbs he used but it is uncomfortable to me.

I just bought a 6 tube 4ft T-8 fixture I am going to try to hang temporarily this week to see how it does. That is probably what I will end up using, just need to figure out how many of them and the spacing.

If you don't mind .. report back. I'm staying away from the T5's

 

[cybrdyke]

I understand everything is moving to LED's, and I have to admit they are getting very good in the medium base size bulb ... I still prefer my old school high watt incandescent bulbs for reading and dimming .... my office desk tasks lights are full spectrum Luxo FL bulbs ... also very good.

With my new build I'm really torn on what to use in my studio/ wood shop ... Every shop or industrial building I am in with the T5's: way too bright even if the ceilings are very tall. I'm getting the same feeling with the LED shop type bulbs that mimic Fl tubes ... my eyes hurt. They are just too bright .. same with many stores.

My current set up uses the 8' T12 standard -- not HO ... as the general lighting so I don"t kill myself entering the shop. I have task lights (incandescent) sprinkled around when I need more light on a specific task. Some are track lights -- others are old school garage lights hanging form the ceiling.

Can I assume the T5's will be obsolete soon? The T8's are sill around but less so -- they are kinder to my eyes vs the T5's

This can't be just me ?

Yeldogt, everyone sees differently, so you should get what YOU like. T5 and T5HO can be harsh, especially in 5000k and higher. When T5 is used in office areas with lower ceilings, there is almost always a shield installed so that the tubes are not visible.
Lighting is a mystery to most folks. You'll see that on this forum alot, where people shoot for a lighting level that 2 or 3 times the recommended amount, just because "you can never have enough light".
The common practice for professional lighting is to achieve an acceptable level for general illumination and then fill in with task lighting where needed. It's cheaper to install and cheaper to operate this way. And it wont hurt your eyes.
Here's a few tips for you...
To change an 2 lamp 8' fixture into a 4 lamp 4' fixture, you will need a "tandem kit" that includes a new fluorescent ballast and sockets. Alternatively, you can get a tandem kit with no ballast and use LED bypass tubes instead of fluorescent tubes. Or, you could just get an 8' LED tube.
There are plenty of ways to skin a cat.
Exposed T5HO tubes that are mounted low enough that they are in your line of sight can be harsh and glarey. Some folks dont mind this. Most people do.
LED tubes with clear lenses, where you can see the diode "dots" are even more glarey and harsh. Avoid these at all costs, opting for frosted lenses.
Alot of shops use 5000k lamps. But as I said, if you dont like them, try the 4000k version, they'll seem less harsh. There's no rule that says that you have to use a certain color. I've seen 3000k used in plenty of spaces. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.
T5, T5HO and T8 lamps and ballasts will be around for a long time for maintenance use. There is no money being spent at this time on improving them. All of those R&D dollars are going into LED products.
Good luck,
CD

 

[ForceFed70]

I've got to point out - light is light guys. It doesn't matter if it's T5 or T8 or T12, it's not a "different light".

As mentioned in the post above - color temperature is the biggest factor. Find the color temp you like, not the technology you like.

Flickering, cold temps, buzzing, etc - not a problem with a decent modern T8 ballast and lamp.

If you really are interested in light quality, CRI is probably the best indicator for a layman. You'll notice that modern florescent has decent CRI, often as good or better than the LED alternatives. Tho incandescent is still better than both.

 

[DC73]

More circuits.
Turn off what you don't need, turn them all on when you need them.
12 lights? Put them on four circuits that engage every other light unit.

This is what I did and I agree with this recommendation. I put 18 T8s in my shop and spread them out on 4 circuits like this:

1 2 1
2 1 2
1 2 1
3 4 3
4 3 4
3 4 3

I only occasionally need all 18 on at once and often I can get by with just 4 lights. One of the best decisions I made when building the shop.

DC

 

[ez-duzit]

In my shop I have the overhead lights plugged into 4 easy to reach power strips so I can illuminate only the area in which I'm working. This is mainly to save on power.