LED Lighting for your Garage

[mpire]

The big question is how much less heat is generated by the LED bulbs.

The biggest energy waste is running the A/C to remove the heat that the lights generate.

 

[kschauwe]

fyi, Lowes have a 60w replacement LED bulb now for $9.98
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338931-75774-LA19/OM800/LED_0__?productId=3550116&Ntt=led+bulb

 

[Pantsfall_McFixit]

The big question is how much less heat is generated by the LED bulbs.

The biggest energy waste is running the A/C to remove the heat that the lights generate.

Minimal amounts, less than incandescent and fluorescent. High powered ones must still have a heat sink though, because LEDs are a solid state electronic component.

 

[bimmerZ5]

This is the LED task light that I have and it is one very bright unit. You cannot look into the beams..

Note that it says CREE on the box...

can you tell me more about this product? where can I buy it?

 

[Big-Foot]

can you tell me more about this product? where can I buy it?

I bought this setup at Menards.
Not much to say other than;
* Bright
* Cool / warm to the touch - not hot
* Low current drain
* I think it cost about $80 on sale

http://www.menards.com/main/outdoor/outdoor-lights/work-lights/tripod-led-worklight/p-1462789.htm

 

[Burtonrider10022]

Menards is having an 11% off sale on every item in the store right now, fyi

 

[Cheap5.0]

In the reef aquarium hobby, PAR/light output is one of the most crucial parts of properly maintaining a reef tank. LED's have pretty much assumed the dominant position in that respect.

The real fun however, is in the DIY LED arrays that are becoming very common place. It takes very little know-how to make them work, and only a few basic tools.

This may be a bad example, as the reef hobby only uses the highest quality/output LED's that are: A) Expensive, B) require expensive parts to run...but the point should still be taken that DIY LED 'barn" lighting is not far off if we are building DIY aquarium lights now.

http://www.rapidled.com/

http://reefledlights.com/how-to-diy-led/

 

[bimmerZ5]

I bought this setup at Menards.
Not much to say other than;
* Bright
* Cool / warm to the touch - not hot
* Low current drain
* I think it cost about $80 on sale

http://www.menards.com/main/outdoor/outdoor-lights/work-lights/tripod-led-worklight/p-1462789.htm

thank you! that's a lot more than I could find trying to google for it. i haven't seen anything like that before and have always wanted to get a LED based work light like that... thanks! hope menards will ship it to CA for a reasonable price...

 

[bimmerZ5]

Anyone have a heads up on new LED Lighting options availble for a home or garage? I am interested in an LED Lighting System that would replace my existing Florescent Lighting. One that would offer reduced operating costs as well as improved brightness.

i got so excited about that LED work light, I forgot to reply to the OP...LOL

I'm in the process of install these in my garage:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BLH714/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I bought these fixtures from Sears:

http://www.sears.com/48-in-shop-light-tread-plate/p-03489033000P

for really cheap with my SYWR points; almost free actually.

You have to re-wire as those LED tubes only require AC power from one end of the tube. It's not difficult to do and since the shop lights were free, I wasn't too hesitant to tear them up.

I've retrofited 4 of those shop lights now with the above LED tubes. I like them so far, but it's true the "light spread", for lack of better term, is narrower. But the light is pretty intense, and I like the fact that it's a bright white color. I don't want mercury in my garage, so I'm fine with the LED however they compare to T8. The truth is, my garage has no lighting at all right now so it's going to be an improvement.

I still need to hang them and figure out where the rafters are in my ceiling. Then I have to run some 1/2" conduit to power these lights from a switch.

 

[bdamico]

Just ordered three 20" light strips from superbrightleds.com to go under my upper cabinets over my workbench for $100 (with power supply). They put out close to 400 lumens each if I recall. It was cheap enough for me to just see how they look.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/more...high-power-led-waterproof-light-fixtures/622/

 

[SVIPD]

Look at Traslectric... They have many options to choose from.

 

[bdamico]

Just put in leds from superbrightleds.com. I got three of their high power rigid light strips

http://www.superbrightleds.com/more...high-power-led-waterproof-light-fixtures/622/

These are only $24 a pop and the power supply was only another $20.

I hotglued them to the bottom of the cabinet and drilled some holes in the cabinets to link the lights. I hardwired the power supply (yes I need to go back and clean this up) and put in an insteon switch to control them (which ties in to my automation system for my entire house).

They throw off something like 350 lumens each, which is quite sufficient, and the light matches my fluorescent tubes nicely. (BTW) the light bands reflecting off the stainless work top are only seen on camera for some reason. The lights are quite even with a good spread.

It's really amazing how thin these fixtures are. They'll be great if they hold up.

 

[Modern Jess]

Subscribed!

I remodeled the kitchen in my new house a year ago, and went with 100% LED lighting. I used a bunch of CREE CR6 recessed lights and some linear undercab strips. It is really, really good light and consumes maybe a bit over 100w for all of it.

I have become so enamored of the LED lights in my kitchen that I'm planning on lighting a significant portion of my workshop with LED as well. Not sure if I will succeed or not, but I'm certainly going to try. The lighting industry is undergoing an LED revolution right now -- it's happening as we speak. Dedicated fixtures are trending up, and I think that's where we will see most of the really interesting developments over the next year.

It's an exciting time to be shopping for lights. Well, it is for this geek, anyway.