RAB PORTO XL Garage LED

[MrBear]

I have seen all the threads were everyone speaks so highly of the FEIT LED Costco lights, I am not sold. I have been burned before on MFG quality with outside motion lighting until I found RAB.

Has anyone seen/used the RAB PORTO, seems interesting. I rarely post on this board but would welcome thoughts on this product.

https://www.rabweb.com/led-garage-lights-porto-xl.php

 

[Norcal]

Anything is better then Feit, or Lights of America, Rab has a good reputation.

 

[Platonic Solid]

RAB is in a different league than FEIT. RAB being generally better quality + higher price. There really is no way to compare the disposable 3600 lm FEIT hanging plug-in shop light to the permanently hard wired surface mount 10,000 lm RAB PORTO (likely not listed for residential installation). They are completely different fixtures intended for different applications and mounting heights. Based on its - no better than fluorescent strip light efficiency and poor CRI - I wouldn't bother with the RAB PORTO. That doesn't mean I'm a FEIT fixture fan either.

 

[cybrdyke]

The RAB is for Parking Garages, not residential garages. Different animal.
CD

 

[MrBear]

Thanks to all for taking time to comment.

If this RAB is not really the answer for residential and the FEIT is kind of iffy or substandard (especially for long term reliability). Any thoughts on what to look at? Garage is modern 24 x 24 insulated, heated, power throughout, I just do normal garage projects no heavy duty hobby/work projects.

 

[cybrdyke]

There are lots of choices from real lighting manufacturers. The top brands are Lithonia (Acuity), Metalux (Cooper) and Daybrite (Philips).
I like the Philips FluxStream EZ. In my 24x24, I used 6 of them, supplemented by 4 recessed cans, 1 near each corner. I have a task light over my work bench.
The Lithonia ZL1N is very similar to the FluxStream.
If you want something fancier, the sky is the limit.
Good luck
CD

 

[Badger05]

There are lots of choices from real lighting manufacturers. The top brands are Lithonia (Acuity), Metalux (Cooper) and Daybrite (Philips).
I like the Philips FluxStream EZ. In my 24x24, I used 6 of them, supplemented by 4 recessed cans, 1 near each corner. I have a task light over my work bench.
The Lithonia ZL1N is very similar to the FluxStream.
If you want something fancier, the sky is the limit.
Good luck
CD

Maybe a stupid question but I was looking at installing the 4' fixtures by Commercial Electric from home Depot in my home garage.

I understand you usually get what you pay for quality wise...but could you explain how your recommendations are worth 2x -5x the price? They seem to have similar life expectancy and efficiencies.


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[cybrdyke]

Maybe a stupid question but I was looking at installing the 4' fixtures by Commercial Electric from home Depot in my home garage.

I understand you usually get what you pay for quality wise...but could you explain how your recommendations are worth 2x -5x the price? They seem to have similar life expectancy and efficiencies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sure. Happy to.
First, understand that there is no manufacturer called Commercial Electric. It is a house brand of Home Depot, same as the light bulbs branded EcoSmart. Home Depot buys the product from some manufacturer, the lowest bidder. Not all the products marked Commercial Electric are from the same manufacturer. It's whoever bids lowest on the particular item. So....you are guaranteed to get the worst possible quality. For the low price that you pay at the big box stores, Amazon and internet sites, you will get the lowest quality diodes, the lowest quality driver, and the lowest technology design possible.

Professional fixture manufacturers use specifically chosen components. Most of them actually own their own component companies, so quality is controlled on every component. Photometrics are scientifically designed to very critical specifications, whereas the cheap brands just scatter some light around. Life is much longer on professional lighting as they are intended for commercial or industrial spaces compared to the HD products that are designed for someone's garage. Almost all professional lighting these days has some level of controllability built in, be it dimming or daylighting or occupancy sensing.
I could go on and on and on....but I think you get the idea.

Dont get me wrong...even the big brands make a junk level product. They have to. I wouldn't recommend that anyone use any of that stuff either. But that's just me. Alot of the low end stuff is OK for use in a residential garage.

Hope that helps.
CD

 

[MrBear]

Thank you again for the input. I know Home Depot/Lowes are the cheapest quality that gets the sale out the door. I use to buy a new HD/Lowes motion sensing light every 1 - 3 years until I paid 4x as much for RAB which is still going strong after six years.

I will look into the other brands mentioned in this thread.

 

[Badger05]

Sure. Happy to.

First, understand that there is no manufacturer called Commercial Electric. It is a house brand of Home Depot, same as the light bulbs branded EcoSmart. Home Depot buys the product from some manufacturer, the lowest bidder. Not all the products marked Commercial Electric are from the same manufacturer. It's whoever bids lowest on the particular item. So....you are guaranteed to get the worst possible quality. For the low price that you pay at the big box stores, Amazon and internet sites, you will get the lowest quality diodes, the lowest quality driver, and the lowest technology design possible.



Professional fixture manufacturers use specifically chosen components. Most of them actually own their own component companies, so quality is controlled on every component. Photometrics are scientifically designed to very critical specifications, whereas the cheap brands just scatter some light around. Life is much longer on professional lighting as they are intended for commercial or industrial spaces compared to the HD products that are designed for someone's garage. Almost all professional lighting these days has some level of controllability built in, be it dimming or daylighting or occupancy sensing.

I could go on and on and on....but I think you get the idea.



Dont get me wrong...even the big brands make a junk level product. They have to. I wouldn't recommend that anyone use any of that stuff either. But that's just me. Alot of the low end stuff is OK for use in a residential garage.



Hope that helps.

CD

Thanks for your input.

For my basic 3 car residential garage the low end 4' led fixtures are still a big upgrade from my current 4 single incandescent bulbs I currently have...

I will look into some of your recommendations though and see if they are carried anywhere locally to scope out. My main problem is usually shadows which better/brighter /more efficient fixtures won't really help with. It's a number of fixtures needed kinda thing.


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[99LeCouch]

Outdoor motion lights are a bit of a different beast than a residential garage light. An outdoor motion light needs to be able to come on reliably for year after year, as well as generally be the sole illumination source for an area. A residential garage light is typically one fixture amongst many, so if one individual fixture fails it's nowhere near as big a deal as when an outdoor motion light fails.

After having used the Costco Feit lights, they're decent, especially when they go on sale for $25 a pop.

 

[thickhead]

MrBear,
The RAB Porto linked from your first post is also called an LED canopy light. You should have luck searching for them by that term with better brands.