To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

40x60x15 Need help choosing a LED shop light

S

Streetglide11

Active member
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
42
Location
Hollywood, MD
Just finished my 40x60x15 Pole building looking for input on choosing a led light fixture and how many with out breaking the bank. The main use for the shop is automtive use I have 100amp service will have a white metal ceiling the OSB walls. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I was looking at the 4' led lights from lowes but they have a lot of bad reviews in cold weather my shop will be heated but maybe not by this winter. I'm located in Maryland if that matters
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
B

bassman2

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 15, 2010
Messages
55
Location
SW Washington
At my previous shop I put in 20 4' led basic lights from Costco @ $20 each. They did the job and brightened everything up. Ceilings were only 13' though...but they did work just fine.

My new shop has 16' ceilings and I went with 12 high bay led lights - more money but they are amazingly bright. I got mine online at green zone LED lights... they were cheaper than amazon. The were $125 each and significantly brighter.
 
P

Paperman

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 19, 2014
Messages
148
Location
On the shore of LK Michigan
Streetglide11 said:
Thanks for the input do you recommend any other lights that are not as expensive?? I want decent lighting but not trying to break the bank. Thanks
Click to expand...


A few things that don't go together to well. 40X60, good light and cheap. If you want good lighting its going to cost a fair amount to do it. I have 9 of those fixtures in a building that size and am happy with it.

This corner is 40' wide and 60' deep from this view. 9 of the alphalights. I will add some 4'ers around the edges over bench's as needed but its good light. View media item 75400
 
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
Streetglide11 said:
Thanks for the input do you recommend any other lights that are not as expensive?? I want decent lighting but not trying to break the bank. Thanks
Click to expand...
If you can find a better deal than proposed, let us all know. $1825 to light that large of a space is a bargain, but don't take my word for it. Go searching for 14,000+ lumen output LED fixtures and I expect you'll be rushing back to order the proposed fixtures.

Paperman went the extra mile and got a serious power company rebate. See his thread here (link). Check your local power company website for possible rebates.
 
Last edited:
R

R7237

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 4, 2010
Messages
125
Location
Georgia
I have a 75' x 75' that I just hung lights in. I went with UFO LED Highbay purchased from eBay in packs of 8. Wanted 150W, ended up getting 100W because the 150W I wanted sold out to quickly. I bought some 240W that I ran down the center. 5700K color, space them 12 ft apart, 6 foot off the sidewalls. I am getting probably 60 fc throughout, but have 18' sidewalls. 150W would have given me 75 fc. I control them with Aeotec Micro Switch G2 thru my SmartThings Hub, which kept me from having to run wire for switches. If you want switches, you can run thermostat 18 gauge wire to them as the relays only switch on 3 Volt anyway. My beam angles were 90 degrees, but would have preferred 120 degree. I divided them into "bays" to control them individually. Very happy with the results, as the $70 per fixture was pretty reasonable in my view.
 
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
AuroraSC - It's not fair to compare a high lumen output fixture with a low lumen output fixture. That said, these fixtures do have their place and are a worthy option to consider.

Here is a fair comparison:
Alphalite Slim Linear LED High Bay, 2 Foot, 160 Watt, 21,222 Lm, $143 (link)
vs
LED, UFO High Bay, 150 Watt, 19,500 Lm, $137 (link)
 
A

AuroraSC

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
96
Location
Broken Arrow, OK
Platonic Solid said:
AuroraSC - It's not fair to compare a high lumen output fixture with a low lumen output fixture. That said, these fixtures do have their place and are a worthy option to consider.

Here is a fair comparison:
Alphalite Slim Linear LED High Bay, 2 Foot, 160 Watt, 21,222 Lm, $143 (link)
vs
LED, UFO High Bay, 150 Watt, 19,500 Lm, $137 (link)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification.

I was indeed looking at the 150 - 240W (20,000 - 30,000 lumens/ea) versions of the UFO in comparison to the 110W, 14,000 lumen alpha.

At the top of the spectrum, the 240W fixture has the best lumen/$ factor, but likely a less continuous spread of light. I'm assuming of the two styles of light, you tend to push towards the panel over the circular style?

I know I've asked before, but it seems like the OP is also asking. If we have a 40x60 shop and don't have the finances to drop $1,800 on lighting, what is your suggestion for a $500-1000 budget?

Targeting closer to the 100,000-150,000 lumen region, it would seem that (4) 240W UFO's from LightUp is a pretty attractive bang for the buck at ~$700.
 
Last edited:
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
AuroraSC - The luminous opening of the 240W UFO fixture is aboout 10" in diameter. Now imagine 31,200 lumens exiting that 10" diameter. If this is in your field of view, which it would be if mounted at 15 ft in a 40 x 60 building, it will be at least uncumfortable and possibly painful for your eyes. You'll be much happier and it's much healthier to reduce total area illumination, still aiming for overall even distribution. Nothing wrong with 40fc @ workplane and then adding task tighting as needed over critical work areas.
 
Last edited:
A

AuroraSC

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
96
Location
Broken Arrow, OK
Platonic Solid said:
AuroraSC - The luminous opening of the 240W UFO fixture is aboout 10" in diameter. Now imagine 31,200 lumens exiting that 10" diameter. If this is in your field of view, which it would be if mounted at 15 ft in a 40 x 60 building, it will be at least uncumfortable and possibly painful for your eyes. You'll be much happier and it's much healthier to reduce total area illumination, still aiming for overall even distribution. Nothing wrong with 40fc @ workplane and then adding task tighting as needed over critical work areas.
Click to expand...

That was my suspicion. If you just look at lumen qty, it's easy to get wrapped up in something that won't quite satisfy the need.

So for someone targeting 40-60fc at workplane in a 40x60 (14-16ft height) are you still promoting the alpha 2ft 14,400 lumen fixture over the 100-150W UFO or 4ft dual tube maxlites?
 
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
How much ceiling height are you willing to give up? Just cause the building has 15ft ceilings doesn't mean the fixtures have to be up there. Drop down to 10ft and use the 4ft dual tube Maxlites.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
M

mrpizza

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
2,935
Location
IL
So 6 of the alpha lite high bay LED would be more than sufficient for a 40x40 with 10’ ceilings?
 
R

R7237

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 4, 2010
Messages
125
Location
Georgia
If it were me, and I didn't have a ceiling fan mounted in the shop, at 15' ceilings, I would use some UFO highway LED with 120 degree angle spaced at 12 ft apart, 150W. I am not a light designer, and someone can certinally plot the distribution for you, but I would think the higher you mount the lights, the better off you would be. Again, this is only based on my limited knowledge. I went with the UFO highways because of my 18' sidewalls, and the low cost per fixture. Light layout software would say that I have a lot of hot spots, but I don't notice them. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
40x60x15

Qty.30 (5x6 layout) 2-lamp LumeGen/Maxlite hsg from pg1 of best light fixture thread. Cost = ~$900

Fc @ different mounting heights: (Ceiling|Wall|Floor reflectance used = 70|50|20)

15ft = 45fc
14ft = 47fc
13ft = 48fc
12ft = 49fc
11ft = 50fc
10ft = 52fc
9ft = 53fc
8ft = 54fc
 
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
R7237 said:
If it were me, and I didn't have a ceiling fan mounted in the shop, at 15' ceilings, I would use some UFO highway LED with 120 degree angle spaced at 12 ft apart, 150W. I am not a light designer, and someone can certinally plot the distribution for you, but I would think the higher you mount the lights, the better off you would be. Again, this is only based on my limited knowledge. I went with the UFO highways because of my 18' sidewalls, and the low cost per fixture. Light layout software would say that I have a lot of hot spots, but I don't notice them. Just my 2 cents worth.
Click to expand...
Better off going with Alphalite Slim Linear LED High Bay, 2 Foot, 160 Watt, 21,222 Lm, $143 (link)
 
Z

zmotorsports

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
21,312
Location
Northern Utah
Here is the fixture that I just used in my 50x60x16 shop and RV garage.
https://www.e-conolight.com/replace...-bay-e-hld27-series.html?cct=5251&finish=5331

I installed 11 of the fixtures in the 40x50 shop section and 6 of them in the 20x50 RV storage bay. I'm not gonna lie, my shop is bright. I have between 111 and 123 foot candles @ 3' off the floor. At first I thought it was almost too much light but now after having them in for a few months and actually working in the shop I am glad I didn't go with anything less.

They are actually a little cheaper now @ $249, they were $279/each when I purchase them about 5 months ago.

You can see quite a few pictures of mine along with meter readings in my shop/RV garage build thread linked in my signature. Should be towards the end of the thread.
 
S

Stuart in MN

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
23,000
Location
Minneapolis
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
AuroraSC - I stumbled onto that greenlightdepot website the other day when I was looking for alternative retrofit lamps. The fixture you linked to is a better deal than the Alphalite. It took more digging than should be required to get the claimed lumen output. Here's the spec comparison:

Alphalite (linked to PDF) 14410 lm, 110W, 131 L/W, $91.25 (free shipping over $1000)

Greentek (linked to PDF catalog) 16406 lm, 110W, 149 L/W, $93.99 (free shipping over $99)
 
Z

zmotorsports

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
21,312
Location
Northern Utah
Stuart in MN said:
I've been getting catalogs in the mail from e-conolight every single month for the last five or ten years, and finally I find someone who's actually bought something from them. :) I'm glad to hear they are working out.
Click to expand...

I am very happy with them. I had not dealt with them before but my electrician buddy that helped me wire my shop told me that he has been using them through their company for several years and only has had a couple warranty issues and he said they were fantastic to deal with even during getting the couple of lights warranteed.

When I was waffling on the decision between staying with the T-8 lighting that my contractor bid the shop at or upgrading to the LED's my buddy took me to a couple of different shops that they had installed these lights from e-cononlight and I was very impressed. Now in my own shop I like them even more. My cousin has T-8's in his 40x60 that he built about 6 years ago and he got the information from me the other day as his wife is going to get him an LED upgrade for Christmas and he is going to order the same ones. I text him last night after seeing the price yesterday to let him know they were cheaper than when I purchased them just a few months ago.
 
P

Platonic Solid

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,587
Location
CT-USA
zmotorsports - They think $1800 is too much for lighting a 40x60. I doubt they'll be jumping to spend more.
 
Z

zmotorsports

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
21,312
Location
Northern Utah
Platonic Solid said:
zmotorsports - They think $1800 is too much for lighting a 40x60. I doubt they'll be jumping to spend more.
Click to expand...

I agree. I definitely didn't say it was the cheapest option as there are cheaper options out there. I have seen cheaper when I was looking and was NOT impressed with most of them. My shop is not over the top but also was not a budget build but I did want to show options and give a brief review of the light output.

I completely understand that many of our topics anymore are driven solely by cost but not all of us make our decisions based 100% on cost. Just another opinion/option is all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom