Lighting and CLF

[veno]

CFL's like any florescent light is color rated.. be sure to get a 5000 kelvin or higher.... below that it will throw a decisive yellow cast

 

[Steevo]

I gotta say that this thread and Veno's pictures sure changed my thinking about what can be done with CFL lighting.

 

[6806goats]

Great info even if I can't see the photo's. Any chance of you sending them to me in a PM or posting them directly without photobucket or another server based location. (not sure where you have them stored but lots of folks use photobucket) They block us from seeing anything saved on pic servers. Anyway, great idea and the cost per light is pretty darn decent. I think my shop (basically a polebarn) is a 32x48 but just bought the place and didn't find my tape to verify what the realtor listed. I'll need to review my video again but I may have to come up with a different mounting plan since the rafters are placed pretty far apart. Trying to come up with a game plan for next year when I go home again on vacation. Is there a formula you used to calculate the amount of light needed per sq ft or is there a website? I'll go back and reread your posts as it might be in there.

Thanks for the good work on this and for passing along your results. Should be just what the Dr ordered.

 

[jdub63]

Veno, Great looking lights I'm dropping mine down 24 inches from the ceiling with rigid conduit attached to a "PAR" lamp holder (designed for outdoor floods).

I was wondering how the reflectors attach. Are they held in by the bulb?

 

[veno]

if you look at the top.... they simply screw in.... then the bulb screws in the reflector

 

[drm4633]

Hello all. Short time lurker and first time poster here. I was inspired by Veno and decided to try his solution in my new 30x30 garage. I went w/ 85w/300w CFLs from 1000bulbs and used standard edison fixtures from the home depot. I must say that I was impressed when I fired them up tonight for the first time. For reference I am 6ft and ceiling ranges from 11ft on the sides to 15ft in the middle.

Thanks Veno!

 

[veno]

LOL....
glad ya like the out come.....

I am still marveled at the quality of light from these high watt units...@ a fraction of the cost of comparable light out put solutions

 

[johnnyturbo]

I'll chime in on CLF lighting too. I was in LOWE's the other day when I strolled down the light bulb aisle and took in what they had in the compact fluorescents. The result was me leaving with three 4 packs of 26W (100watt equiv) and one 4 pack of 11W (60 watt equiv) 6500K temp for my garages. In the attached 25x25 house garage (10' ceiling) I have two 100watt equiv. bulbs and with the white walls and ceiling, I now need sunglasses in there. The 20x20 yard equip garage gets two 26 watters and two 11 watters placed diagonally, I need shades in there too (it is an 8' ceiling). My 30x40 pole garage has an 8' ceiling height because of a full second floor and there are 6 porcelain fixtures evenly spaced that have the 26 watt (100 watt equiv) bulbs in them and I have no complaint.

I had plans on installing twelve 2'x4' 4 bulb toffers (I have 16 of them) that I got at an autcion (only bidder, $1 each HA!), but I might rethink that now because I have adequate light with a lot less hassle, less electric usage and no need to worry about getting a sunburn from 48 T8 bulbs.

 

[bookman51]

Do you get any RFI or noise from these lights? I sure am looking seriously at them for my pole building.

Bookman

 

[6806goats]

Looking good! Since my pole barn is going to needa rewire job, I think the Veno plan will be my method. My roof is white do I might not use the reflectors. Hmm, I might have it spray foamed though and not sure what color they have...hoping white is the norm and not the yellow I've seen in the past. Still might protect the light a little bit. Not sure if the barn swallows would make a nest on top of them. I'll just have to make sure the shop is sealed up tight.

 

[veno]

Do you get any RFI or noise from these lights? I sure am looking seriously at them for my pole building.

Bookman

I get a little hum frm one light... no RFI I can tell.. the radio plays just fine

Looking good! Since my pole barn is going to needa rewire job, I think the Veno plan will be my method. My roof is white do I might not use the reflectors. Hmm, I might have it spray foamed though and not sure what color they have...hoping white is the norm and not the yellow I've seen in the past. Still might protect the light a little bit. Not sure if the barn swallows would make a nest on top of them. I'll just have to make sure the shop is sealed up tight.

Good luck with your build... I think over all the CFL is a inexpensive solution... to the multi tube expensive T8/T5 ripoff lights

 

[Goobzilla]

Well, looks like I'm going the Veno route for the lighting in my 40x64x12. Looks like it works great, energy efficient and reasonably priced,

 

[bookman51]

Goobzilla, Keep us appraised of how it works out. The two CFL I put in my unheated shop and garage are working fine, and we have had some zero and below weather here in Nebraska lately. I probably will go with CFLs at somepoing.

I have not quite figured where and how many I will hang when I get around to it. Probably need to look at some site regarding how much light for different areas the shop and try to convert the light level needs to how many CFLs to get. Does anyone know of a handy place that provides a calculator to do this?

Bookman

 

[CarterKraft]

Veno, nice job on the lights, pipe and wiring etc. Spent some time as a electrician and you can really wreck some tube fast if you are not on top of it.

I love the lights. I have 3 1000w MH low high bays (free) in my 30X40 and the noise makes be insane, so much that I leave them off 95% of the time, even in the dark.

My electrician is my childhood best friend and he wants to put the T-8 multi bub fixtures in, nothing to do with price as he and I swap out work, He just wants them because they are the "standard" in his line of work now. I am a cheap sob and I am I always looking for the other way. I love the CFL's in my house, even love the slow warm up oddly.

I am gonna show him the pix of your shop and see what he thinks, I love it and will definantly be pursuing doing this, thanks for sharing.

On another topic the insulation, my Father In Law put up 1" foil backed foam board like you have suggested in his 40X80. He loves it, more than you can imagine. Before you could not stand near a sun facing wall within 5' or so, the radiation off the walls was so intense. He used metal banding to secure it to the walls and ceiling. I will get some pix this Sunday when we go down there. It was along process to install but well worth it to save the $14K the spray foam guys wanted.

 

[veno]

CarterKraft thanks for the Kudos man..

6 months in to it and still overtly satisfied with the whole system...

if I had to do it again.. I would do 6 per quadrant instead of 4...

where I have the 4 lights... I would install 2 more centered with a 5 foot space between the two....

I could always add more if I really need to.. I really dont have the need.. so.. I wont.....

it just if I was to do one again.... thats all

 

[bookman51]

Veno, Have you calculated how many lumens you have....and would have with 6 instead of 4? Still thinking about what I am going to do. I put in a couple of CLF in my garage and shop and with -0 F weather seem to be working fine. They come on only slighty slower than the tungsten. I think I will definitely go with a warm color CFL. The cooler colors just look too cold to me. Probably just a personnel taste.

Thanks

Bookman

 

[veno]

each bulb produces 6670 lumen's they are 6400 kelvin rated 420 indecent watts

 

[Bruce4310TX]

Veno is your shop a kit or did u source the parts yourself, thats the size i am going to do but have not determined how high to go yet. Thanks

 

[Token]

Thanks veno!

I was going to go with MH or Mercury vapor, but thanks to this thread I decided to go with the CFLs and couldn't be happier.

I've got 18 of them (105W 5000K) in a 36' X 24' garage, and the lighting is excellent!
The pics don't do it justice, as the light meter in the camera kept going nuts trying to compensate for the brightness. I saved a ton of $$$ over the low bay fixtures, don't have to deal with the buzzing, and I think it looks great.

I put 6 of them in the main work bay, to give the most light possible for under-hood work.

 

[bradleys]

I've been following this thread with great interest, because my 50x74 shop is on the verge of completion. See attached pix.

How about taking CFLs to the logical extreme and using the 23 or 26 watt versions? The 105 watt CFLs are $20-25 and put out 6200-6700 lumens. The 23 or 26 watt CFLs are 99 cents (with Seattle City Light subsidy) and put out 1600 lumens. So, the 105 watt CFLs are twenty times the price for four times the light.

Even if you consider the price of the extra fixtures ($1.49) and boxes ($1.07), the price per lumen for the 23w or 26w CFLs is significantly less. Looking forward, I expect that the 105w CFLs will always remain a somewhat specialty product, while the price of 23w or 26w will continue to decrease.

I suppose the lame thing that I see is that I would need 100 CFLs rather than 25. My wiring fingers would be tired when I was finished hooking them up. It might look funny as well.

Or am I missing something?

Thoughts?

 

[bdog]

I have my 50x50x14 shop now wired for 20 CFL's. I had 5 runs of 4 lights. Climbing up and down the ladder with my bad knees it took me one evening to do each run. So 5 evenings for the install. If you are gungho maybe you could do it faster. You could save money going with the 26w versions but it boils down to what your time is worth.

Right now as a temporary measure I have regular 100 watt bulbs installed and it seems fine in my shop. Not what i would call bright, but not dark and I have been working in there over the past week with no problems. I decided to go with the 85 watt bulbs @ $17 each for a savings of $80 with my 20 bulbs. The light I have now is tolerable, and I am nearly tripling the lumens with the 85 watt units so I am sure I will be happy.

My 21 bulbs (ordered one spare) shipping and all came to $382. If you put 4 times as many bulbs you would have 80 bulbs and a cost of around $284 so you would save $100 but at 15 minutes a fixture it would likely take you an extra 15 hours of install time whicvh means unless you like working for less than 7 bucks an hour you are better to pony up for the bigger bulbs. I was enjpying wiring the first few bulbs but by the last few I was sick of it. I can't imagine doing 80. The other thing to consider is I doubt those 99 cent bulbs are of the highest quality so I can imagine you would have a high failure rate. Granted they are only 99 cents but when you have 80 of them changing ten percent out a year would be a hassle.

 

[veno]

MAN>>>>>> your welcome..... that looks great.... no thanks needed.... just trying to help some fellow doityerselfers.... so far I have nothing but great things to say about my install.. and everyone that has never been to the shop that comes by????/ the first thing they say is how bright and well lit the shop is.. well not the first thing.. maybe the third..

Thanks veno!

I was going to go with MH or Mercury vapor, but thanks to this thread I decided to go with the CFLs and couldn't be happier.

I've got 18 of them (105W 5000K) in a 36' X 24' garage, and the lighting is excellent!
The pics don't do it justice, as the light meter in the camera kept going nuts trying to compensate for the brightness. I saved a ton of $$$ over the low bay fixtures, don't have to deal with the buzzing, and I think it looks great.

I put 6 of them in the main work bay, to give the most light possible for under-hood work.

 

[veno]

Veno is your shop a kit or did u source the parts yourself, thats the size i am going to do but have not determined how high to go yet. Thanks

its a bolt up kit from Advantage steel buildings out of little rock,(I think) Arkansas.. I went with 14' side walls a 2/12 pitch. which gives a few inches over 17' at the ridge..

 

[veno]

so the shop has been open for humm 8 months?? or so... and still very happy.. one light has developed a hum.. o well.... one out of 16.... if I had to do it all over again.... I would have installed 2 more lights per quadrant... just because.. it would be blinding then!!!

 

[glockaddict]

Wow... excellent thread.. Been looking for a while and now my first post.
I'm in Fort Worth and in the process of building a 30x40x12 metal building,wich is almost done.. so.
How many bulbs you think for a 30x40x12 and i was thinking about using this
reflector?
Like to know you guys opinion... Thanks in advance..
http://www.1000bulbs.com/Aluminum-Reflector-Options/43480/

 

[veno]

thoes would be great.. just be sure you have up airflow around the balast.. else you will suffer early failures....

16

 

[edboyles]

Glockaddict.. I sent you a PM.... I am going to have a shop built in Burleson in the next 30 days......would be interested in who built your shop.thanks, Eric

 

[edboyles]

I ordered 20 of these......

http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...bulbs-ft1_greenhouse_lighting_1;pg108683.html

and used a promo code for $35 off on greater than $250 orders which offset the shipping....... the code is FA10899

 

[glockaddict]

edboyles..just answered your pm..
nice lamps i' may go with those too...

 

[edboyles]

The farmtek fixtures arrived today..... 4 boxes of them......... they look like they will do the trick.. rated for 200 watts.....

 

[Distressed]

Found similiar if not the same reflectors at Menards, 12.88. Picked up two for my garage based on the results you guys are getting!

 

[Davey4000]

I know this is an old thread, but I have a question for anyone still following who is knowledgeable in lighting. When using CFL's like Veno used couldn't you forego the reflectors if you have a steel building with white insulation?

 

[Dan5602896]

I know this is an old thread, but I have a question for anyone still following who is knowledgeable in lighting. When using CFL's like Veno used couldn't you forego the reflectors if you have a steel building with white insulation?

I just used this setup for my garage. It is stick built, sheet rocked painted white with 14' at the peak. 35 X 24 inside. I took Veno's total lumens, did a little math and came up with a factor that I then used for the square foot of my garage. I was able to use 100 watt day light bulbs and get the same effect without the reflectors. I have 16 lights in the 2 open bays and 3 bulbs in the bay with the loft above it (loft creates a 7.5' ceiling for the bay).

It's looks just as bright as Veno's pictures. Granted, my lights are set such that the light fixture is on the surface of the sheet rock. The paint I used is an eggshell with just a touch of gray tint, not a pure white ceiling paint. The interior is all the same color white.

 

[Davey4000]

Re: Lighting and CFL

Thanks Dan. My steel building is 40x60 with 16' walls at the eave. I'm thinking of using 12 fixtures in each of the three 20' bays, no reflectors, CFL wattage yet to be determined based on doing the calculations.

Not that I'm against spending the money for reflectors...I just want to use the overall reflection characteristics of the pure white insulation. My purlins are red iron, but I'm thinking with the keyless fixtures mounted to them that would have negligible degradation with 36 lights being installed.

 

[MeentSS02]

The amount of mis-information flying around here is incredible. D3-late summer
Bandwidth test sites- either cfl.rr or tampabay.rr both sit in the same location
Install times- varies with your current situation could be minutes, could be hours
Speeds- 40x4

Glad to see spammers on this site

 

[Dan5602896]

Re: Lighting and CFL

Davey, I don't think you'll have a problem. I'll try to post some night and day shots of my garage in the next couple days here.

 

[mytimeyet]

I am still building but was amazed by the light from just 3 fixtures with these:

I put 1 in the middle of each bay of my 30x40x12 as a 'night-light' just to see without turning on more stuff (that is not installed yet...) I used the same ceramic fixtures as the OP.

 

[Auzivision]

I should have known the guys on the journal have already tired these, but on whim I installed a 65W CFL (300W equivalent incandescent) over the weekend. I was amazed by how bright it was compared to the old 300 watt incandescent in the other bay. It looks be a little brighter and possibly whiter. The color wasn’t bluish like typical CFL nor yellow like typical incandescent. So long as they last a while to justify the near $20 price tag, I’ll be happy.

 

[MacTexas]

This interests me. I hope to give them a try in my next garage.

 

[John M]

Veno,

I was about to hang used low bay metal halides when I found this post. I think I've changed my mind.

How did you fasten the boxes to the purlins so that the CFLs hang straight down?

John