Fluorescent vs LED shop lights?

[hickslawns]

I am an idiot when it comes to electrical things. Was hoping some of you guys could educate me. Our electric bill is pretty stiff for the shop. Right now we need to buy a box of fluorescent bulbs as we have some burnt out and are out of bulbs. My foreman and I were discussing upgrading the light fixtures. It seems there are much more efficient lights out now. I don't mind spending some money on fixtures if they pay for themselves in reduced electric bills.

Does anyone know the differences? Are the energy savings worth the added costs of the fixtures? How would I go about figuring the energy costs of what I have? Has anyone tried the LED lights? The marketing materials are plentiful for the newer style fixtures but I just want to wade thru some of the marketing hype and get to the facts. Being not-very-electrical makes it tough.

For those who have used them: Do the newer LED style lights put out nice light? Logic says no ballast and lower electrical consumption (as marketed) vs fluorescent means I should go this route. I just want to verify before I spend any money. I would hate to save electricity but not have enough light in the shop. Hopefully we have someone with some knowledge on the subject. TOO is full of knowledgeable guys. I'm sure one of you knows the answer. Truthfully, I don't care if you say "Phil- Buy light xyz. Save yourself money. Get better light output." In the process, maybe we can all learn something.

 

[giles]

Back when I had my business I also tried to save some money on the electric bill. These are some things that I did to help.

Added more lights switches. This helped people to only turn on the lights needed. Not just one switch to turn everything on.

My outside flood lights were LED motion lights. Crazy bright, bought at cosco, don't remember the brand.

Lights that always seemed to be on (bathroom and office) I added the motion sensor lights.

All my battery chargers were on a board with a switch that got turned on every night and turned off every morning.

Interior LED was just becoming something on the market back then, so I don't have a lot to say about them. I can add that when it was below -20* the LED flood lights didn't work. Not that that is a problem here in Ohio, but if it was to get that cold, it's something you should know about.

When/if I build a shop here at my place, I'm going to look into solar panels for the roof. Prices have come down a lot on those things and seem to last a long time with very little care. I understand the need to run compressors and such, so I would continue to use regular power for those types of things. Lights, chargers, and your more everyday things could run just fine off solar though.


What all are you running off power? A three phase compressor with a small leak could rack up a bill pretty quick. Add that with an old deep freeze and beer fridge... Or 10, 18V chargers running nonstop.

Sorry to go off subject, I know you just asked about lights. Lol

 

[Dustinb80]

I just put two 4 foot over head lights in my garage. They are LED and make a world of difference. They were $40 each, and I bought a light bulb adapter that I can plug them into. So when I flip the switch in the garage, they come right on. Only took a few minutes to install, and they came prewired with a plug, and had the bulbs as well. I know you are probably looking for a different application as far as a real big garage, but hope this sheds some light on the subject. Bwahaha.

 

[5Cent]

May I introduce you to a new addiction. This is one bad ass forum for everything shop. Just go back to the electrical section to keep looking. Here is a led thread on pg2:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323550

Start by figuring out what kind of output you need by finding a calculator. Believe it's lumens per sq/ft. I'm currently running 8x 4' T8, 5000k bulbs in my small 19x19 attached garage. Each was bought for $17+bulbs from lowes. Like Dustin, I wanted to retain the original lights in the four sockets so I used adapters. Each light fixture is running a 90w incandescent and has two T8 fixtures plugged in. Changing bulbs gets old. Walls and ceiling white, floor is gray w/flake epoxy. You can never have enough light!

For the original question Phil, LED is the way to go for cost savings, limited heat build up, longer life, etc. I would recommend a deep dive to get the layout and output right.

 

[Buckmaster]

I have 6 light fixtures in my new garage each holding 6 T5 bulbs each. Their output is very bright.
They came out of an old factory and we're gifted to me by an electrician.
The factory ended up going LED throughout for upgraded replacements.
I probably would have favored LED however I ended up with fluorescent because they landed in my lap.

 

[bowhunter1023]

I like old fashioned fluorescent from an initial cost standpoint and I like the light better. But LED lights do offer some advantages when it comes to long term cost saving and brightness. I have fluorescent fixtures in my garage because they're cheap. It takes a bigger area and tighter accounting to see the advantages of LED IMO.

 

[antiqucycle]

A couple years ago word was passed that Obongo was going to ban regular 4 foot fluorescent bulbs like 100 watt ordinary bulbs were banned. So I stocked up for my basement lights and some fixtures in the garage. Then on Black Friday, Lowes was peddling LED bulbs for 99c, no limit.
I have had colored LED bulbs fail in a year or so outside.

 

[hickslawns]

Thanks Adam. I read so much on that forum I am seeing cross eyed. Sounds like LED is the way to go. Lower power consumption. Less fixtures needed to provide the same lumens/sq ft. Theoretically, if I have 8-10 lights in a 24x36 shop (and we would like more light output), I can replace them with 8-10 LED fixtures for roughly $320-400. Possibly less money if I wait for a sale. We would have more light AND consume less energy. Not sure what the payback time is, but they sound like they use substantially less juice.

 

[5Cent]

Another positive that should have been covered many times in the threads is the "cold start" improvement. It reminded me of it this AM when I flicked on the lights in our non-insulated garage at 5:45am. While it's only a few minutes until full bright, LED's wont' have that issue.

Good luck and share some pictures.

Here is how I laid mine out....an "H" with a 2 in the middle. Disregard all the crap.



I wanted the main focus to be in the middle since I have cabinets on each side. No use in lighting the top of a cabinet lol. I also like 5000k bulbs mixed with incandescent. 6500k is too blue, anything lower than 5000k was too yellow. So 8 fixtures, each can be turned off with their pull cord, 4x 90w bulbs in each socket, and 2x 90w bulbs in the garage opener. Just the garage opener gives enough light for the wife and kids to walk-in/leave without turning on everything else.

Here is a shot from man door from outside when dark.

 

[Buckmaster]

Everything you need right here Philbert.
http://www.bigassfans.com/

 

[Jamie]

I just replaced all of the lights in my kitchen with LED fixtures. bulbless, 50,000 hour life for the diodes. I love the light it produces. it's so bright that I put dimmers on all of them. my shop is well lit with 10 fluorescent shop lights, but I hate them. I'm going to replace them all with LED lamps. much better light for bow work, no waiting for them to warm up, no more 4' bulbs to dispose of. LED the only way to go, imo.

 

[Blan37]

Have a look at this: https://www.ledwaves.com/pages/led-calc

You just need to know your current bulb wattage, LED wattage & cost of the LED bulb. It will tell you your break-even point.

 

[hickslawns]

Thanks Blan37. Not sure how accurate it is but it gives me an idea. I think the replacement of fixtures might be a little high. Looks like I would save roughly $85/yr on electricity. That is a 4-5yr pay back on the fixtures. Probably a little less because I wouldn't have to buy replacement fluorescent bulbs anymore either. Other benefit is the greater light output, longer life, and faster turn on time in the cold. We keep this building at 50 degrees (higher if we are working in there) so I don't see the cold affecting them. I hear of some 1-2sec delays for them to turn on. That doesn't bother me. It has to be better than that pesky flickering fluorescent that just won't turn on sometimes.

 

["J"]

Phil, the older the eyes get the more they appreciate light... If you're going to do it plan for a few extra fixtures.... You can always hang them and just leave the bulbs out until you need them....

 

[Dustinb80]

Mine have a split second delay but like you said, its better than waiting on them to warm up to full brightness. Im definitely glad I installed mine. It will make working in the garage a lot easier. It would be neat to turn one of them into a bug zapper.

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

You should see if your utility is conducting free (or small fee) energy audits. These were big a few years ago and I believe there will be another wave coming. They may be able to show you some things, like the LEDs, if they are worthwhile. There are LED salesmen that should be able to look at your usage and square feet and make a determination of payoff.

 

[reo]

Businesses from banks to grocery stores to gas stations are retrofitting to LED lighting solutions because it save money.

 

[Jackalope]

I have 28 can lights in my house all running par 20 halogen bulbs. I like light. Good light. LEDs don't cut it for me yet when it comes to house lighting. They're too white for my taste. Even the ones that try to soften the whiteness are just off. Would be cool for the garage though.

 

[hickslawns]

I ordered 5 of the 2 packs of 4' LED lights online from Sam's Club. Sam's Club? Yes. Gives me 10 of the 4' replacements. I have 9 lights in my shop. I think I might turn some of the lights 90 degrees to spread more light to the center of the shop. I have a feeling it is going to be much brighter in there. Best part is I have 6 light switches for 9 lights. I won't even need to run them all if I don't want to. Might not need to if they put out that much more light so I will likely mount them all.

 

[5Cent]

Phil, can you share the sams club link?