Opinion on lights

[sgf13]

When I built my last workshop I did all the electrical myself. I went to Lowes and bought the standard 4 ft. shop lights and they worked, but not well, and my eyes where younger then.

After reading this forum I learned a couple of things. A lot of knowledgable good people post great info. on lighting, and unfortunately I understand very little of it. I have read for hours and I still feel like I'm guessing more than really understanding.

Has anyone used these lights https://m.samsclub.com/ip/linkable-10pk/prod21062241 ? My metal building is completed. The pictures show it in progress but the ceiling has the same white insulation. The building is 45 x 40 x 10 but the ceiling is open. If you used these how did you space them? I won't use the pull chains but I guess you just put them in the on position and operate from switches. It will be used for machinery repair, welding and woodworking.



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[Platonic Solid]

Is that a sunken garage in the background? I know you're asking about lighting, but this picture is too good to pass up.

 

[sgf13]

Is that a sunken garage in the background? I know you're asking about lighting, but this picture is too good to pass up.

No, the water table here in Eastern NC is way to high for that, or even a basement. It was a couple of month old 80'x30' open pole barn. I thought the poles should be sunk and surrounded by 57 stone as is typical here. The expert said the steel manufactured post holders set in concrete were a better modern alternative that they used successfully. My gut said no but I didn't' want to be the know it all customer so I succumbed after citing our hurricane prone area, he was from a few inland hours away. A month or two later we had 60 or or so mph winds overnight and my wife sent me a picture of the building collapsed the next morning. There is still a 1960 Ford tractor under it along with some other equipment I left there, since it is out of the weather. The building is a building materials source for me now.

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[sgf13]

When I built my last workshop I did all the electrical myself. I went to Lowes and bought the standard 4 ft. shop lights and they worked, but not well, and my eyes where younger then.

After reading this forum I learned a couple of things. A lot of knowledgable good people post great info. on lighting, and unfortunately I understand very little of it. I have read for hours and I still feel like I'm guessing more than really understanding.

Has anyone used these lights https://m.samsclub.com/ip/linkable-10pk/prod21062241 ? My metal building is completed. The pictures show it in progress but the ceiling has the same white insulation. The building is 45 x 40 x 10 but the ceiling is open. If you used these how did you space them? I won't use the pull chains but I guess you just put them in the on position and operate from switches. It will be used for machinery repair, welding and woodworking.



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Okay, if no one has used these have you tried anything similar?

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[GRB]

Probably a better idea to ask the experts what would work well instead of asking if cheap junk won't work and why. Everything looks good when they are trying to sell it.

First clue is a PULL CHAIN. Clearly designed for task lighting not area lighting. Kind of like trying to replace a pickup truck with a bunch of mopeds that cost a bit less but have the same "advertised load rating".

 

[Evan(CA)]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKVJLUQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I don't know if these are the exact ones but my buddy used 9 of something very similar for his 30x60 barn and they are awesome.

 

[Bert_]

Quite a few people here use those type of lights and claim to be happy with them. Personally I wouldn't spend a dime on them, there are a lot of better options out there.

Frankly this question has been beaten to death and a quick search would show several threads that talk about the same lights.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKVJLUQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I don't know if these are the exact ones but my buddy used 9 of something very similar for his 30x60 barn and they are awesome.

I'm not a big fan of the IBH series, even before you consider what they cost. Lithonia has an IBG series that is still pricey, but is a much better fixture.

 

[Lelandwelds]

When I built my last workshop I did all the electrical myself. I went to Lowes and bought the standard 4 ft. shop lights and they worked, but not well, and my eyes where younger then.

After reading this forum I learned a couple of things. A lot of knowledgable good people post great info. on lighting, and unfortunately I understand very little of it. I have read for hours and I still feel like I'm guessing more than really understanding.

Has anyone used these lights https://m.samsclub.com/ip/linkable-10pk/prod21062241 ? My metal building is completed. The pictures show it in progress but the ceiling has the same white insulation. The building is 45 x 40 x 10 but the ceiling is open. If you used these how did you space them? I won't use the pull chains but I guess you just put them in the on position and operate from switches. It will be used for machinery repair, welding and woodworking.



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The adventure with the previous buildings stinks!

Is it common to clear span forty feet with a carport style building? I am a little surprised. Does it move in high wind? Does it creak a lot just from gaining and losing the suns heat?

 

[tom-ky]

I have a 30x40 with those lights in it. Most have been up for about a year with no issues. Added a couple more overna work area recently. Not sure why some people claim they are poor lights, I might regret it later but very satisfied.

I put 6 of them down the middle about foot apart and 4 on each side then added one across the front of the bay. It is very bright.

 

[Lelandwelds]

I have a 30x40 with those lights in it. Most have been up for about a year with no issues. Added a couple more overna work area recently. Not sure why some people claim they are poor lights, I might regret it later but very satisfied.

I put 6 of them down the middle about foot apart and 4 on each side then added one across the front of the bay. It is very bright.

No one says "poor lights". There are more efficient and better built choices out there. Getting 50% or more light for the same money spent on electricity for the next 7, 15, or 30 years is tempting. Electrical costs will rise. Free money is the best money.

 

[tom-ky]

No one says "poor lights". There are more efficient and better built choices out there. Getting 50% or more light for the same money spent on electricity for the next 7, 15, or 30 years is tempting. Electrical costs will rise. Free money is the best money.

Which ones are 50% more efficient? The ones that I looked at around here and online were more expensive with less lumens per watt.

 

[cybrdyke]

No one says "poor lights".

I do.

Which ones are 50% more efficient? The ones that I looked at around here and online were more expensive with less lumens per watt.

Tons of them out there. You're only at 107 lumens per watt with these. Fixtures are commonly available at 150+ lumens per watt. Plus, these are only rated for 50,000 hours, while there are fixtures out there rated L70 at 200,000 hours.

This fixture, along with all the others...Feit, Costco, Sams Club, Honeywell, etc...are the lowest of the low quality wise. Sometimes there's a need for that. A garage space where you're storing cars or just residential use where you might need to work on the lawn mower from time to time is a good example. In these instances, you're using the lights around a 1000 hours per year, so it might make sense to get the cheapest thing you can. But if you're using the space full time, as a business, or as a hobby shop, you'd be better served to pony up a few more bucks up front and get a fixture that uses better diodes, better drivers, and is better constructed.
Good luck,
CD

 

[biggziff]

I have 10 of those Sam's club lights. They are bright, but they produce a lot of glare (mine have no diffusers) . If you happen to look at one, you'll be blinking like after getting hit with high beam headlights. They're cheap, but they're not optimal.

 

[sgf13]

The adventure with the previous buildings stinks!

Is it common to clear span forty feet with a carport style building? I am a little surprised. Does it move in high wind? Does it creak a lot just from gaining and losing the suns heat?

Since the building was just recently erected I can't answer all your questions in regard to my building but here is what I know. It came with engineered drawings and I had it built to 130 mph wind load requirements. I have been in a wider building from the same company and it seems to use the same style trusses. I posted some pics of that building and will hunt them down if you want to see them.

I haven't had it long enough to address creaking from heat but I haven't heard complaints when I asked other owners questions before contracting for mine. We have lots of high winds here including many hurricanes and even a tornado less than two miles from us. The best I can tell you from experience is that we had a storm with maybe 35 mph winds when I was in it sealing the concrete and it was quite. I expect there will be some noise as is common in any metal roofed/sided building. I think full insulation makes a big difference in my experience with other buildings.

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[Platonic Solid]

Meanwhile the poor guy still has no lighting recommendation. What's the pitch and center height to that horizontal center piece? Support spacing might be useful. Heck, do you have a PDF design drawing of this building?

 

[sgf13]

Meanwhile the poor guy still has no lighting recommendation. What's the pitch and center height to that horizontal center piece? Support spacing might be useful. Heck, do you have a PDF design drawing of this building?

I'll post a drawing.

I had an electrician out tonight and we discussed lighting. He said that in our area the popular lighting for applications like mine would be 8 ft. LED tube lights. Each fixture has four tubes and he said I'd need nine fixtures. I felt good about his info. since it agreed with much of what I read in Platonic Solid and other knowledgeable posters have said in the lighting sticky and elsewhere on GJ. I don't have a quote yet so no specific details on the lights but he said the ones he's been using are about $75.00 a piece.

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[sgf13]

I guess I have to figure out what's up with me posting my drawing. I have never had an issues before, including in this thread, but I have tried linking from drop box and cube upload in jpg and other formats and the link always comes up broken!

 

[346ci]

I haven't spoken to my electrician yet but more than likely going to use these in my 40x40x14, https://greenlightdepot.com/products/lhb-110w-with-lens-and-w-o-lens?variant=36041819012

They are rated at a minimum of 15' so may not work well at 10'.

 

[cybrdyke]

I haven't spoken to my electrician yet but more than likely going to use these in my 40x40x14, https://greenlightdepot.com/products/lhb-110w-with-lens-and-w-o-lens?variant=36041819012

They are rated at a minimum of 15' so may not work well at 10'.

Too much for 10'. Do they make one with a smaller lumen package?

BTW, no offense to any electricians here, but mostly, they're not a good source of lighting info.

CD

 

[GRB]

Too much for 10'. Do they make one with a smaller lumen package?

BTW, no offense to any electricians here, but mostly, they're not a good source of lighting info.

CD

I completely agree with both statements.

I tried one of the Lithonia version of that in my warehouse at 16'. When you would go to get something off a shelf at 8-12' high, it was unpleasant. It now resides in my garage at home hung at 12' in an area where you can only be fairly directly under it. The rest of the garage has stringers at 8' with plywood on top with storage above. At 10' you would have to always wear a hat with a brim and be careful to not look up. I think 15-16' is the lower limit and you need to use care at that height. I'm using the larger version in a heavy equipment maintenance facility but they are hung at 28'.

Never met an electrician that knew anything about lighting design. Not as bad as letting one run computer cables. In my computer business I've seen that a dozen times and never worked well. We all have different skills and you need to use care when doing another person's job.

 

[cory58]

The truss design on your building looks familiar. Did you get it from Diamond Outdoors of the Carolinas? Did they also give you the bad advice on the collapsed carport? I'll wait till your response before going off.

Cory

 

[346ci]

Too much for 10'. Do they make one with a smaller lumen package?

BTW, no offense to any electricians here, but mostly, they're not a good source of lighting info.

CD

That looks like the smallest high bay they make. I'm going to buy one and try it, if nothing else, I can add a dimmer.

 

[cybrdyke]

That looks like the smallest high bay they make. I'm going to buy one and try it, if nothing else, I can add a dimmer.

More so than evaluating the amount of light it delivers, check how much glare hits you in eyes when you're in the space.
Also, be sure your dimmer is a 0-10VDC type. A standard dimmer wont work.

CD

 

[sgf13]

The truss design on your building looks familiar. Did you get it from Diamond Outdoors of the Carolinas? Did they also give you the bad advice on the collapsed carport? I'll wait till your response before going off.

Cory

No, the building is from Superior Metal Structures & Concrete. They were not the company that built the collapsed building.

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[Platonic Solid]

That looks like the smallest high bay they make. I'm going to buy one and try it, if nothing else, I can add a dimmer.

The LumeGen 80W 10,400 lm @ $70 is better suited to 10' mounting height. Also 2-lamp strip lights as in the best light fixture sticky post #1.

 

[Platonic Solid]

I haven't spoken to my electrician yet but more than likely going to use these in my 40x40x14, https://greenlightdepot.com/products/lhb-110w-with-lens-and-w-o-lens?variant=36041819012

They are rated at a minimum of 15' so may not work well at 10'.

I'm confused - is the ceiling height 14' or 10'?

 

[Augus7us]

I'm confused - is the ceiling height 14' or 10'?

Interesting. When I asked if these were too much lights for my 12' ceiling you said:

Adding dimmers is easy and cheap. You can get lower lumen output for higher price which is illogical.

Does anyone actually own and use these in a building with ceilings that are under 15'?

-Clint

 

[346ci]

I'm confused - is the ceiling height 14' or 10'?

The OP's is 10', mine is 14'.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Augus7us - I stand behind my original statement at 12' mounting. At 10', 4' 2-lamp strip lights are likely the best option.

 

[Platonic Solid]

346ci - Qty.12 4x3 arrangement 10'x13'-4" center to center fixture spacing of the 110W GreenTek/James 16406 lm fixture in 40x40x14 = 95fc @ 30" workplane.