ok,ok,ok. I'll ditch the cfl idea. $2 per 1600 lumens (fixture and bulb) sounded very attractive!
At the end of the day, the operating costs will prove to be the overwhelming factor.
Take any of those F32T8 tubes I pointed to earlier (BTW, I just noticed that the link I posted earlier got screwed up; I'll try again:
{BAD LINK DELETED}) [EDIT: Nope. That didn't work. You'll have to start at
http://www.1000bulbs.com/category/light-bulbs/, then select "F32T8" under "Bulb Type".] Anyway... Typical rated life is anywhere from 20,000 to 36,000 hours. Using even the worst-case figure, that's approximately 640,000 watt-hours over the life of the tube. At $0.12 per kW-Hour, that comes out to more than $75 in power costs to operate the tube over its full lifetime. That rather swamps any worries about the cost of the tubes themselves (or even the cost of the fixtures, as long as you don't go completely crazy on that front).
Even thought of double up the fixtures per location (to make it 3200 for $4) to brighten it up a bit or getting 4 way splitters.
That would just make a bad situation (spotty, uneven lighting) that much worse.
The brighter any one light source is, the fewer such sources you need to maintain the same
average illumination level. So by "doubling up" the CFLs (and/or simply using more powerful ones), you will naturally be tempted to use fewer fixtures, spaced further apart.
BUT... the
correct spacing for any given application is determined (mostly) by the mounting height; and the lower the fixtures are mounted, the closer they MUST be to each other to maintain even illumination at working height. Conversely, brighter sources need to be mounted higher, so that their output can spread out sufficiently over a wider area by the time you get down to working height. But your maximum mounting height is already fixed by your ceiling height. So your only REAL choices would then become either still-spottier and more uneven light, or more overall brightness than you want or need.
What do you think about the $10 walmart T8 fixtures? They are half the price of the direct wire.
No experience with that particular brand. But based on the general type (and a few clues from what's printed on the box in your photo), I'm not optimistic...
First, they are plug-in "shop lights"; which means, by code, the outlets they plug into would need to be GFCI-protected. That not only adds cost, it makes operational reliability a very "iffy" proposition -- fluorescent lights and GFCIs often do NOT "play nicely" with each other.
Second, the mention of "HANGING CHAIN KIT (Included)" implies that these are NOT rated for direct ceiling contact (presumably for heat reasons). That means your maximum mounting height is lower still -- which, with only 12 feet to start with, is the last thing you need.
Finally, the built-in sheet-metal reflectors may or may not be desirable, depending mostly on how your ceiling is finished. With a reasonably reflective flat ceiling, reflectors on the fixtures themselves are counterproductive, as they limit the ability of the light to spread out over a wider area -- which again brings us back to needing still more fixtures than would otherwise be required, in order to maintain even, well-distributed illumination at working height. Now,
IF your ceilings are open rafters/trusses, then on-fixture reflectors are something of a necessary evil. But even so, I suspect that the ones on those $10 fixtures are simply white-painted sheet metal, which is not very efficient (as such things go).
Walmart's bulbs are higher though.
So don't buy your tubes at WalMart.
I've been hemorrhaging money and need to keep costs down if practical.
I understand. But you also need to look at the REAL long-term costs, and not just at what is initially cheapest. That's the fundamental difference between "price" and "value".
