Shop Lights!

[091572SC]

Hello! Have read a lot on this forum, but am overwhelmed with the lighting decisions for our new woodworking shop. Dimensions are approximately 40' wide by 36' deep, for just over 1400 sq ft. (One corner will be a walled off room and closet space, taking up about 250 sq ft, leaving about 1200 sq ft to be lit.) Flat ceilings 10' above floor, white paint.

This is new construction and I'd like to have LED lights mounted directly by the electrician to the ceiling that I can control with a series of standard toggle light switches on the wall. Ideally, it would be nice if I could replace the occasional unit that goes bad over the years. (I'm not an electrician, so ideally this would be pretty easy.) I want a lot of light, since my eyes aren't getting younger, and I'd like about 5000K.

(1) What integrated LED would you recommend? What about this one:

Barrina LED T5 Integrated Single Fixture, 4FT, 2200lm, 6500K (Super Bright White), 20W, Utility Shop Light, Ceiling and Under Cabinet Light, Corded Electric with Built-in ON/Off Switch (It's on Amazon, can't post link yet.)


(2) How many would you recommend? (My novice, rough math gets me to about 40 4' lights assuming about 7'-8' between rows, and about 3' off the walls for the rows of lights.

Thoughts? Appreciate your help!!!

 

[cybrdyke]

Barrina is typical of garbage that is sold on Amazon. 6500K is annoyingly blue. At 10' you should be looking for a more traditional fixture like a back-lit flat panel, a center basket troffer or a 2 lamp strip fixture.
Good luck,
CD

 

[Bretny]

I have those amazon led lights. They work well and have for 3yrs in my semi heated garage. If they start to fail il replace them with the same light again.

 

[OptionalStop]

I've had good luck with the 6 Barrina lights in my attached garage, but for my new build which is similar to yours 24 x 36 with 10' ceiling I'm installing (20) Maxlite 2 bulb 4' led fixtures.

 

[Falcon67]

>6500K is annoyingly blue.

Everything in my shop is 6500K and not blue to my eyes. IMHO - for a building that size, you'll be paying to hang a LOT of 4' lights. Better would be 8' fixtures using 4 LED bulbs, either drop it using the existing ballast in the fixture or direct wired. I used drop in to convert all my T8 4 bulbs to LED. If I was starting new, I'd use this or something similar -

Direct wired 8' x 4 bulb fixture -
https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/1...KS4jXJKeHhunO8uMrl_01YY5cPPRUK1saAnypEALw_wcB

 

[Dirtmerchant]

Does anyone have an opinion on Feit LED 4FT Replacement Glass Tubes? These are currently on sale at my local Costco for $9.99 ($12.99 - $3.00) for a 2 Pack. This is copy&paste from their website.

Features:
4100K Cool White
1750 Lumens
Actual Watts Used 14
Life Hours 50,000
Replaces Fluorescent Tubes

Product Details

Convert your existing fluorescent fixture to LED technology with the 4-Pack Feit Electric T48/841/LED/4 4ft. T8/T12 LED Plug and Play Lamps. This 4100K cool white lamp is non-dimmable. It produces a similar fluorescent lamp output (1750 lumens), uses 14 watts of electricity and up to 56% less energy than a standard fluorescent lamp. Get instant on to full brightness even in sub-zero temperatures with relatively cool running performance. Feit Electric shatterproof T8/T12 lamps have an average life of 50,000 hours / 45.7 years are RoHS compliant and are 100% mercury free. Choose a dependable flicker-free lighting for residential or commercial applications. No replacement of the ballast or installation of LED driver or removal of old ballast required

Features:
T8 & T12 Plug & Play Replacement
32/40 Watt Replacement
Universal Base
Instant Full Brightness
Shatter Resistant Coating
No Flicker or Strobing
5 Year Warranty
UL/CUL Listed
RoHs Compliant
100% Mercury Free
Non-Dimmable

Specifications:
Feit Model# T48/840/LEDG2/4
Actual Wattage: 14
Life (Hours): 50,000
Lumens per Watt: 125
Brightness (Lumens): 1750
Color Temp: 4100K
Base Type: G13
MOL: 48” H X 1” D
Input Line Voltage: 120-277


Link to their 4 Pack on Costco.com site:
https://www.costco.com/feit-led-4ft-replacement-glass-tubes,-4-pack.product.100482236.html

 

[Platonic Solid]

Dirtmerchant - Those lamps require a functioning fluorescent ballast. I wouldn't waste my money on that.

 

[bobj49f2]

I have 24 4' LED lights from COSTCO in my 30x50 shop with 15' ceiling. Mine are the complete unit, on sale for $20 each, not the replacement bulbs. Shop is nice and bright.

This picture is right after we mounted them to the ceiling, before I bundled the power cords and attached to the ceiling.

View media item 94015

 

[Dirtmerchant]

@Platonic_Solid, Good point....

 

[cybrdyke]

Dirt Merchant- dont buy anything from Feit. They're the bottom feeders of the lighting world.
CD

 

[091572SC]

Seems like an integrated all-in-one LED is the way to go and would save having to deal with ballast issues.Why buy a fixture, convert it, and then buy an LED tube if one can just get an integrated light unit?

What about something like: "(Pack of 6) LED T5 Integrated Single Fixture 4FT,20W,2200lm,6500K (Super Bright White),Utility led Shop Light, LED Ceiling Light and Under Cabinet Light, Corded Electric with Built-in ON/Off Switch" from Amazon?

Ideally the lights will be reasonably priced and something I could just plug in to replace when I have to do that. Other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Bert_]

Integrated is fine if you don't buy the cheapest garbage you find. And those barinna things are definitely cheap...

Platonic has put a bunch of work into the lighting sticky. I'd suggest you read it.

 

[Bretny]

Seems like an integrated all-in-one LED is the way to go and would save having to deal with ballast issues.Why buy a fixture, convert it, and then buy an LED tube if one can just get an integrated light unit?
!

Because guys like messing around with the wireing for no reason is my best guess.

I had 6 commercial 4 bulb t4/3 housing that i could have converted to LED but didnt see the point. Sold them and bought the inagrated leds and plugged them in. I work in my garage and with just over ift ceilings its not out of the question that one will get hit.

I do like that these are single bulbs so you can spread the light out in the garage. Really takes away dark corners and shaded sides of a vehicle.

 

[GTFiero]

I used 9 Fiet 4' LED Shop Lights from Costco in a 24x30' shop. The exterior walls are 12' tall and a cathedral ceiling that peaks at 13'6". The lights are 4000K and burn 40 watts each. The place is lit like a stadium. Great easy light to work with, no shadows. The units were $20 each, and the local utility gave me a rebate of $8 each, end cost $12@.

My storage side of the pole building is 36'x30'. I used 8 of the above Costco lights in there. Only difference between the two rooms is the storage side only has a flat 12' ceiling. The lights work great on the storage side. Very useable lighting.

Costco sells out of these light fixtures anytime they get them in around here. I also put 4 in my slightly oversized home garage, they work nice.

 

[tonyciambrone]

Seems like an integrated all-in-one LED is the way to go and would save having to deal with ballast issues.Why buy a fixture, convert it, and then buy an LED tube if one can just get an integrated light unit?

Do you just want someone to tell you that your idea is fantastic?

I can only imagine how frustrated some posters on here must get... a few particular professionals that give free consultation, layouts, product suggestions etc. And truthfully if you read a lot on this forum you would know this is one of the most repetitive and covered topics...

 

[PNWguy]

Seems like an integrated all-in-one LED is the way to go and would save having to deal with ballast issues.Why buy a fixture, convert it, and then buy an LED tube if one can just get an integrated light unit?

What about something like: "(Pack of 6) LED T5 Integrated Single Fixture 4FT,20W,2200lm,6500K (Super Bright White),Utility led Shop Light, LED Ceiling Light and Under Cabinet Light, Corded Electric with Built-in ON/Off Switch" from Amazon?

Ideally the lights will be reasonably priced and something I could just plug in to replace when I have to do that. Other suggestions? Thanks!

There's no reason to buy a fixture with a ballast and remove it. You can find a "LED ready" T8 fixture that takes T8 LED replacements, and have no ballast. They are $15 to $20 each.

Hand and wire them, put in a LED tube and hit the switch.

I'll be putting them in my shop because I expect that any fixture I buy now will not have a direct replacement in 5 or 10 years when the first one fails. I don't want 24 of one fixture and 1 that's different. With replaceable tubes, I should be able to keep these fixtures for decades.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Direct wired 8' x 4 bulb fixture -
https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/1...KS4jXJKeHhunO8uMrl_01YY5cPPRUK1saAnypEALw_wcB

1000bulbs price looks good until you see the shipping charge at checkout.

 

[Bert_]

There's no reason to buy a fixture with a ballast and remove it. You can find a "LED ready" T8 fixture that takes T8 LED replacements, and have no ballast. They are $15 to $20 each.

Hand and wire them, put in a LED tube and hit the switch.

I'll be putting them in my shop because I expect that any fixture I buy now will not have a direct replacement in 5 or 10 years when the first one fails. I don't want 24 of one fixture and 1 that's different. With replaceable tubes, I should be able to keep these fixtures for decades.

^this.

Seems like the industry wants you to do a complete tear out and install new every time a new technology comes along.

The bipin fluorescent socket with 4' spacing has been a standard for about 80 years now. Chances are there will be lamps that fit long after the current crop of led tubes are dead.

 

[Hot shot]

I have 26 of these in my 46x28 garage with 11ft ceilings
Bought the maxlites per Platonic solid recommendations
Plenty of light. 5200 lumens per fixture


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Peter S]

Re: Shop Lights! RF Interference from LEDs

A question I'm struggling with -- LEDs can cause serious radio interference issues, ranging from AM radio static to actually interfering with garage door openers. Has anyone used a 4 foot LED fixture that doesn't impact AM radio reception? Looking for specific brands and models...

Peter S.

 

[Hot shot]

I heard that too
I’m still listening to an old magnavox dial radio in the garage and haven’t had a lick of interference

 

[cybrdyke]

Re: Shop Lights! RF Interference from LEDs

A question I'm struggling with -- LEDs can cause serious radio interference issues, ranging from AM radio static to actually interfering with garage door openers. Has anyone used a 4 foot LED fixture that doesn't impact AM radio reception? Looking for specific brands and models...

Peter S.

No more so than any fluorescent with an electronic ballast. Interference issues are as much about the susceptibility of the radio, how the wiring in the space is done, proximity to antennae, building structure, etc. as it is about the RF of the LED driver.
So, for instance, a specific brand and model in MY garage wont cause any issues, but in YOUR garage it might. For these reasons, there is no answer to your question.
There are things you can do to mitigate the interference, like RF filters, moving the radio antenna and it's wires, etc.
Good luck,
CD

 

[Peter S]

That's my situation. too. Trying to listen to an older tube radio. May I ask what brand LEDs you are running?

Peter S.
Alexandria, VA

 

[Hot shot]

They are keystones
Post #19 pic of the box

 

[Peter S]

Cybrdyke, that's true to a point. Some interference is situational. However, there are big differences in the amounts of RF emissions between brands of LED units. This makes a particular brand more or less likely to cause interference, regardless of the operating environment. Since I don't know of any comprehensive source of RF emission ratings, my thought is to start with a unit that works OK in at least one other person's garage and then make the adjustments you describe if there are issues in my garage.

 

[Peter S]

Thanks, Hotshot. I am going to give them a whirl. A lot of the Nats World Series triumph was lost in a blur of static, I want to be set for the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup!

Peter S.