LED Shop Lights
- Thread starter walt460
- Start date
Marctrees
Well-known member
Here's my point I wish to be addressed mostly by the Old Timers, that includes myself.-
For YEARS and Years we had Steel Trough fixtures, typically the "Better" ones were heavier Gauge.
Made sense for years.
Now, we have this influx of integral ALL plastic LED strip lights.
I TOTALLY understand most or almost all are from china, where generally I totally exclude from buying everything I reasonably can.
And I would totally expect lower performance AND life from them compared to USA made.
BUT... Comments like the "5 years" above should make all of us look deeper.
Platonic et al ???
Marc
For YEARS and Years we had Steel Trough fixtures, typically the "Better" ones were heavier Gauge.
Made sense for years.
Now, we have this influx of integral ALL plastic LED strip lights.
I TOTALLY understand most or almost all are from china, where generally I totally exclude from buying everything I reasonably can.
And I would totally expect lower performance AND life from them compared to USA made.
BUT... Comments like the "5 years" above should make all of us look deeper.
Platonic et al ???
Marc
Marctrees
Well-known member
Also, 5 million billion zillian Amazon and Youtube 5 star ratings at purchase and initial installation are relatively big picture meaningless.
What DOES matter is "5 year" experience, that we have VERY little documentation of.
Marc
What DOES matter is "5 year" experience, that we have VERY little documentation of.
Marc
I'm all for getting the most bang for your buck. Thing is platonic has catered to this and keeps a thread going that lists CHEAP but also decent quality fixtures. Nobody is suggesting really expensive fixtures.
I have seen the costco, and other brands, in person and I guess they are OK for an occasional task light but a whole shed lit with them would be awful to work in. $19.95 is a rip off for that junk.
To each their own. Kind of like suggesting any electric tool at harbor freight. Obviously cheapest is best...
PNWguy
Well-known member
This is the exact reason I am buying 4' LED ready (no ballast) T8 fixtures and T8 LED replacement bulbs. I'm putting 50+ of them in the garage, woodshop and main shop. If I can't get the same replacement tube, I can move them around and not have to replace every damn fixture,
The thing is, ALL light sources degrade over time. That's a plain fact. It happens slowly, so that it's not really noticeable.
The fact that you claim that you have had zero degradation after 5 years is impossible, especially with cheap diodes and drivers. They've degraded plenty, and faster than quality fixtures would have. I'm sorry to have to tell you that. And Feit, the manufacturer of the Costco product has been taken to court over this very issue more than once.
The point I was trying to make is that it's not really your fault for touting the Costco product. Not everyone knows the ins and outs of lighting, nor do they want to. That's why I put the information in the post, so that people will be a little more informed so that they can make good choices. If that rubs some people wrong because they've decided that price is more important than quality, then that's too bad. But be assured, there is an enormous difference between Costco/Amazon/Ebay junk vs. good quality lighting products.
CD
I'm not a lighting industry guy, just a heavy, heavy user that learned a lot about lighting. One of my buildings operated 24x7 and the electric bill was $30,000 per month, 20 years ago. It had to have sections that were efficient for office, warehouse, production, inspection, and also areas that were designed to look impressive to the customers. Production and Inspection departments were monitored for light levels and recorded. Light levels were recorded as part of the QC for the items produced due to the sensitive nature of those products.
At this point, I'm still operating my auto parts business after 47 years, and still working as a technology consultant to several former business and others owned by friends. I really think you guys should listen hard to the "industry guys" that post here.
Let's talk about those Costco/Feits. As part of reorganizing my auto parts business and condensing it from 5 buildings to 2, I've ended up with some areas that need light but haven't got to the permanent setup. Some of them are now 5 years old and I'm moving them around so the newer ones that have the most light are in the areas that require more light. Even though they seem to be better than most Feit products, thinking they last forever is just silly. They have good light output for just about exactly the same amount of time as long life T8 bulbs did in the big business 20 years ago. Only real advantage of the cheap LED fixtures is that they work better than good T8 bulbs in frequent on/off cycles.
People that are really happy with their cheap LED installs are mainly happy because they are replacing old lighting with new lighting. We took one showroom and cleaned the troffers in the front half, converted the 30 year old fixtures to T8. We converted the other half to LED in various configurations. The ones in the office in the back were replaced with LED troffers. They all worked great. New vs. Old. Or even cleaned and upgraded. All looked good.
At this point, I'm still operating my auto parts business after 47 years, and still working as a technology consultant to several former business and others owned by friends. I really think you guys should listen hard to the "industry guys" that post here.
Let's talk about those Costco/Feits. As part of reorganizing my auto parts business and condensing it from 5 buildings to 2, I've ended up with some areas that need light but haven't got to the permanent setup. Some of them are now 5 years old and I'm moving them around so the newer ones that have the most light are in the areas that require more light. Even though they seem to be better than most Feit products, thinking they last forever is just silly. They have good light output for just about exactly the same amount of time as long life T8 bulbs did in the big business 20 years ago. Only real advantage of the cheap LED fixtures is that they work better than good T8 bulbs in frequent on/off cycles.
People that are really happy with their cheap LED installs are mainly happy because they are replacing old lighting with new lighting. We took one showroom and cleaned the troffers in the front half, converted the 30 year old fixtures to T8. We converted the other half to LED in various configurations. The ones in the office in the back were replaced with LED troffers. They all worked great. New vs. Old. Or even cleaned and upgraded. All looked good.
My Old Tools
Well-known member
Bert, you are dead wrong. It's wonderful to work in.
gayler
Well-known member
Just a quick update for you guys. The fixtures linked to by Platonic Solid are discontinued, but they have some comparable in price make by Tech Bright. You can get without bulbs for 19.00 and with bulbs for 37.00. If you type in T442ss in the search bar it will list the three options. Oh, you also still get the 7% Garage Journal discount.
They're only discontinued at ProLighting.com. Just ordered from ShineRetrofits.com last week.
Craig Balzer
Well-known member
I am not an electrician and will confess to only skimming this thread, but are you considering dimmable LEDs?
My main work area is 48' wide and 36' deep with 14' walls.
I am using 7x fixtures (*) 150W LED Linear High Bay, 18,500 lumens, 5000K. These will be hardwired to a dimming switch. The circuit required metal-clad wire with 5 strands.
I only have 4 of them installed right now, and the walls haven't been painted (white) (much less sheathed) nor the epoxy applied on the floor so I ought to have plenty of light.
Also put LED can lighting in the soffits . . . happy snaps attached
(*) https://www.homelectrical.com/150w-2ft-led-linear-high-bay-120v-277v-5000k.tcp-hb15000150.1.html
My main work area is 48' wide and 36' deep with 14' walls.
I am using 7x fixtures (*) 150W LED Linear High Bay, 18,500 lumens, 5000K. These will be hardwired to a dimming switch. The circuit required metal-clad wire with 5 strands.
I only have 4 of them installed right now, and the walls haven't been painted (white) (much less sheathed) nor the epoxy applied on the floor so I ought to have plenty of light.
Also put LED can lighting in the soffits . . . happy snaps attached
(*) https://www.homelectrical.com/150w-2ft-led-linear-high-bay-120v-277v-5000k.tcp-hb15000150.1.html
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Kaizen
Well-known member
OK i've drunk the cool aid Platonic. Ordered 9 fixtures for my 1100 sq ft 12 ft tall shop per the tool recommendations. I like to have some data so have you ever wired in an hour meter of some sorts? I'd like to see exactly how long these last till i have issues because in my experience all led's don't last near as long as they claim. Even "reputable" ones.
Frank Kerman
Member
Philips 60 Watt Equivalent 16 Pack LED Light Bulb and Philips Hue White LED Smart Bulbs are the best LED shop lights.
They might be good bulbs but you better buy a pallet of them since you'll need so many! A 60w bulb is about 800 lumens...
T VETTE
Well-known member
Looking around for lights in my new 1200 sqf shop and after reading this thread I have a headache. I think I will have to take a couple aspirin and read it again later. I need to do something rather soon or use candles. 
Platonic Solid
Well-known member
I have not done the test you're suggesting. LEDs don't just die, they dim over time. There are several IES tests involved with LED component, array, and fixture life. Here's a brief description of some of these tests (link). If a light fixture suddenly dies, that's a good indication of driver failure. The key to long life is component quality, circuit design and heat management. The best the average consumer can do is opt for the highest efficiency their budget permits. Higher efficiency = less heat = longer life + select products that have been certified by a NRTL + have available IES files.
And then there's this IES disclaimer (link)
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jpcjguy
Well-known member
Looking around for lights in my new 1200 sqf shop and after reading this thread I have a headache. I think I will have to take a couple aspirin and read it again later. I need to do something rather soon or use candles.
I agree 100%! I need to figure out my lighting in my shop - 48x30. 32 feet of the 48 is 10 ft flat ceiling (including over 1 bay). The other 16 feet are 12 walls with a 4/12 (inside slope) scissor truss (lift bay).
How to I account for the difference in ceiling heights and plane?
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T VETTE
Well-known member
I was wondering about that type of set up. I saw Costco selling those t8 LED replacement bulbs sitting next to the complete lamps.
Kaizen
Well-known member
I agree 100%! I need to figure out my lighting in my shop - 48x30. 32 feet of the 48 is 10 ft flat ceiling (including over 1 bay). The other 16 feet are 12 walls with a 4/12 (inside slope) scissor truss (lift bay).
How to I account for the difference in ceiling heights and plane?
For 12 feet or less you can just use the fixtures and bulbs listed above. i thought the costco ones were 40 bucks? maybe i'm wrong. Got these ones for 39 delivered. 2 of my bulbs are 5346 lumens compared to that costco one of 4000 lumens for about the same price. Not sure if "integrated bulbs" on costco means they can be replaced.
As i understand it high bays should not be used in 12 foot scenarios. I would attach to the flat bottom of the truss middle and see how it works. my 30x36 called for 9 lights spaced out. so i have a little more then 48000 lumens. If i used costco i would have only 36000 lumens and need to buy 3 additional costco lights to get the same amount of coverage.
I also had decision paralysis. Saw how much Platronics believed in them so just went with it. My eyes are not seeing so well in the low light lately. in daylight i can read fine so that will be my test on these when i install them.
