Retrofit or start over with new LED?

[JSisk]

I've been reading on the subject for 2 weeks and I am about back to square 1. I have a 30x30x10 pole barn style shop that is is insulated with white vinyl backed insulation, said that to say this all the walls and roof are white. It is open truss with no ceiling and the fixtures are mounted under the trusses. I built this shop 15 years ago and installed 6- 8 foot t12 fixtures. I now have 3 that are starting to fail.

I have read everything from 8 foot bypass conversion bulbs to converting the fixtures to 4- 4 foot bulbs. I've talked to others in person that suggest I just switch over to a screw in style bulb and fixture. I have actually been very happy with the light the 8 footers have provided over the years. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I don't want to go so cheap I have to do this again in a few years.

 

[Bill Bowman]

Personally, I would retro-fit. You're going to have plenty of light.

 

[GRB]

Does your post mean the t12 fixtures are hung at 10’ ???

 

[AntonLargiader]

Depends what you want the light for IMO. Your fixture density is approximately what I have in my workshop and I converted some of them to high end 4xT8 with reflectors and those things ROCK. Super crisp light and plenty of it. But it’s $1xx per fixture. If you are just walking around in there it would be wasted.

 

[JSisk]

Guess I left out a couple of details. Yes the current fixtures are at 10'. The shop is used for Automotive work, fabrication, etc. I do not like a dark workspace.

 

[PassnThru]

Post number 10.

LED Retrofit

 

[GRB]

Guess I left out a couple of details. Yes the current fixtures are at 10'. The shop is used for Automotive work, fabrication, etc. I do not like a dark workspace.

So you probably have 8' T-12 bulbs with a single pin at each end. That will make it super easy to convert to 8' LED. Just bypass the ballast and you're ready for bulbs. Make sure to use fronsted lenses and don't go over 36w per bulb. You can use the single pin to rotate the bulbs a bit to help spread the light out a bit. If the lights are positioned well, the narrower light coming out of the LED will be acceptable. I prefer them at 11-12' but you will probably find 10' to be OK.
Insanely good compared to nonsense like screw in bulb setups.
Converting to 4 4' bulbs per fixture gives you more choices in bulbs at a LOT more work.
If you are having the bulbs shipped to you, you may find 8' LED conversions only sold in the case so you will have more than you need. This could be a deal breaker if you don't need some extra lights over work benches of don't have a friend that needs some LED conversion. I would rather have extras than do all the extra work but that is up to you.

 

[tonyciambrone]

I've done over a hundred LED retrofits and I will keep doing them as needed. For 8ft I have bought retrofit kits to 4×4ft T8 tubes. the kits from are like $15 bucks on lightup.com or other places. Decent tubes can be had for $7 each. So in my experience it's about $55 all told with tax and shipping per fixture

 

[AntonLargiader]

Just to be clear, the 4xT8 retrofit I mentioned doing was not LED. They are fluorescents from HX Lighting. I looked at LEDs and didn't like the color (too blue). Note that the big lighting thread starts off stating the assumption that CRI is not considered. Plenty of people are happy with their LEDs but some people just want their light to look a certain way.

If you stick with fluorescents, consider reflectors if you don't already have them. 10' is a bit of the low side for auto work, but you might till get a lot of benefit by keeping the light away from the ceiling.

 

[Platonic Solid]

AntonLargiader - CRI (Color Rendering Index) = a measure of the ability of a light source to reveal colors of objects in comparison with natural light. This is not the same as CCT = color temperature measured in degrees Kelvin. Lower number (2700K, 3000K) = yellow tint, Medium number (4000K, 5000K) = white, High number (6000K, 7000K) = blue tint.

Unless you're doing fine detail paint matching, you won't notice any difference between 5000K 80CRI and 5000K 90CRI.

 

[Platonic Solid]

GRB - 2 types of sockets/lamp bases are available for 8ft T12 = FA8 is the single pin you mentioned which can be rotated. R17d is a recessed double contact that can not be rotated.

 

[GRB]

GRB - 2 types of sockets/lamp bases are available for 8ft T12 = FA8 is the single pin you mentioned which can be rotated. R17d is a recessed double contact that can not be rotated.

Right, but FA8 base & 75w T12 is the most common as HO and VHO fixtures were always expensive.

R17d creates a bit of an issue when converting to LED as most LEDs for that base are just too bright for most, if not all, are made to replace HO and VHO lamps in commercial signs and display fixtures. Typically clear lenses and 44+ watts per bulb. They work well in the HO Fixtures I have at 17'. Otherwise, you can change the tombstones to FA8, which are readily available at about $6 each. Changing to 4x 4' is another option that fits some installations better.

I've spent a bunch of time converting different fixtures in different places in my businesses and it's pretty obvious that one system doesn't work well for all. Most people ignore the likely result of ending up with uneven lighting or being blinded by lights that put out too much light from too small an area.

Your insights on lighting are the best part of this forum.

 

[JSisk]

My fixtures are single pins. I'm leaning towards just going with 8' LEDs after reading your replies. Now the next question is what bulbs. Definitely want 5000k, and frosted, direct LED light is bad about giving me a headache.

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