Bare Strip Lights or Wrapped Lens?

[Coblue]

It looks like most everyone here uses the traditional florescent tube shop light, mostly strip lights w/o reflectors. I like the clean finished look of the tube fixtures with the wrap-around plastic lenses, like you often find in laundry rooms. is there a lighting performance reason why they aren't prevalent in garage workshops?
I have a 21x21 garage, 8 1/2' ceiling, if that matters.

 

[GTBullitt68]

IMO, I would assume that the number one reason is cost and light output. I just put two 8' fixtures in my 20x20 garage with 9' ceilings and it's like daytime in there. When I was comparing the strip lights vs ones with diffusers, the diffusers cut the light output in half. The price and light output difference were why I chose the strip lights.

 

[Coblue]

Wow- that's a lot bigger reduction than I was expecting- the choice seems clear!

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Lenses "eat up light" and lenses collect bugs. Lenses need cleaning. It all adds up that the most simple is the best.

Charles

 

[jvitez]

+1 on Charles's post.

The only issue I could see is if you'll be doing woodworking in there swinging 2x4's around. Then a plastic lens can prevent a shower of glass all over your head. But it will require cleaning out bugs and more washing of the lenses. The other option for bulb protection is to install regular strip lights but cover each bulb with a plastic bulb protector.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Speaking of tube sleeves, looking at the 1000bulbs web site, the 4ft T5 sleeves are $2.20 vs $1.52 for the 4 ft T8 sleeves.

Note that the sleeves CANNOT BE USED WITH HIGH OUTPUT BULBS, either T5HO or T8HO.

They also make metal wire grids for protecting lamps also, if you have low ceilings and wacking the fixtures might be an issue.

Charles

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I would never run open bulbs. t12's tend to fall out and I'm not sure if t8's are any better. There has been much mention here of bulbs falling out on the floor.

HUH?

I've never seen a properly installed, working fluorescent lamp "fall out" of a fixture (unless it was broken). I've certainly never seen it mentioned on GJ, let alone "much mention" of it.

Charles

 

[rburke65]

Wow!!.......as an electrician in the residential setting, in the commercial as well as the industrial field, the only time I have ever heard of a flour. lamp falling out is AFTER it has been hit and broken. There are hundreds of millions of these things mounted to ceilings and if the tubes were falling out of the fixtures we would know about it. The lawyers would be all over this.

 

[Kevin C]

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/commercial-electric-white-ceiling-fluorescent-shop-light-hbsl-25g.html#.UPSy1280V8E

This is what I used. I have 11 of them in a 624 sq foot shop. Nice and bright.

 

[Coblue]

Thanks for the opinions and suggestions. Since the goal is to have is have good lighting and low maintenance, I'll probably go with the strip lights and add the wire grid where the bulbs are more likely to be bumped.
For the record I have bumped the hanging shop lights and ducked for cover, but fortunately the tube didn't break or come loose.

 

[mtnwalton]

Wow!!.......as an electrician in the residential setting, in the commercial as well as the industrial field, the only time I have ever heard of a flour. lamp falling out is AFTER it has been hit and broken. There are hundreds of millions of these things mounted to ceilings and if the tubes were falling out of the fixtures we would know about it. The lawyers would be all over this.

In my apprenticeship years ago, running a lathe, just as I was finishing a pass with the tool very close to the chuck, one of the bulbs directly above fell out, landing on me and the spinning chuck. Not fun.

 

[Falcon67]

8' 2x4s can nudge T8 bulbs out (in multiple pieces) if you're not careful.

I originally speced in 26 4' two bulb fixtures with covers. Then I thought (as Charles nicely pointed out) about the bugs, cleaning and in the first place wiring and mounting 26 fixtures - I went to the 8' four bulb units and am very happy.