New Shop Lighting

I plan to go the LED route, at least for the shop area. Might do T-5s in the garage.

Coolidge: Were the Lithonia fixtures originally fluorescent?
 
I priced T8, T5, and LED. Little price difference between T5 and T8. LED almost double but less to operate, no maintenance, and better light IMO. Plan to sucks it up and pay the price:)
 
for me the biggest pluses are instant on, whatever the temperature, and good colour rendition. I used to get so peeved at the fluorescents and CFLs not lighting or being dim in the winter! The fact that all the lighting in my garage/ shop adds up to less than 25W, including 3 task lights, is just a bonus :)
 
When I put the electric in my shop, I did it the same way I wired my kitchen. Even though I'm an amateur electrician, I knew enough about code requirements to run 2 circuits for the outlets and a SEPARATE circuit for the overhead lights. My kitchen is only 84 square feet, but it has 3 circuit breakers dedicated to it. My shop is only 200 square feet (I use tabletop equipment for watchmaking), but it has the same setup: 2 20 amp for outlets, with the lights on its own 15 amp circuit.

The idea is when you blow a circuit because of something you did on the bench, THE LIGHTS DON'T GO OUT. This is important in a kitchen or a shop since there are lots of dangerous things in a small area.
 
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mcoak said:
I am finally getting electricity to my new shop space. It's about 15' by 30', no windows.

Would fluorescent fixtures be the best way to light the shop?
Click to expand...

I used FEIT 4' LED Shop lights. No more humming ballast and a good colour of light. Costco.com has two packs for $79.99. They'll last forever! I am very happy with them in my little 10' X 12' shop.
 
The Phillips T8 LED tubes that Home Depot sells have a built-in ballast bypass. Just swap the tubes and you're good to go. No need to disconnect the ballast. They were about $24/tube here locally (the shop lights rrdstarr purchased from Costco include the fixture — the are just bare T8 bulbs).

I just replaced all the fluorescent tubes in my shop, and I'm very happy with the result. Nice bright white (noticeably brighter than the fluorescent tubes I had before). The LEDs will last forever. As ballasts start to fail or buzz I'll remove them, but with 18 tubes to replace in my 20'x20' shop, I was happy to just swap the tubes. "Daylight" color temperature (about 5000K) and nice and bright (1650 Lumens).

As others in the thread point out, LEDs cost more up front, but since you'll never have to replace them you'll recoup the expense within a few years. More importantly, you'll never have to deal with the flickering and annoyance of failing bulbs.
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Rex
 
I'm also switching to LED in some areas. I'm a little dubious that they will last 'forever' as they haven't been around long enough to prove it. The LEDs themselves probably, the internal power supply I'm not so sure about.... CFLs were supposed to last way longer than conventional bulbs but my CFL always seemed to die prematurely and randomly.
 
I read quite a bit about lighting on the Garage Journal forums. Think I will install florescent fixtures that can be easily switched to LEDs when LED prices come down.
 
I use t8 daylight bulbs in my shop they put out a nice white light. If your lights will be under 10ft high then t8 is the way to go. If over 10 ft then t5. t5 doesn't spread the light like t8 does.
 
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