Shop Lights

D

ddickey

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2016
Messages
3,582
I'm sure this subject has been beat to death but I'm going to take a chance on a question or two.
My shop is done except for wiring. The first thing I think I'll do is get some lights up. Was thinking I'd put up some cheap LED's from Home Depot or Menards then sometime in the future maybe redo with better lights
My question is if anyone went from cheap LED's to made in the USA ones and if it was worth the extra expense?
 
Not sure that you'll get an objective answer. You'll probably hear passionate replies of "I bought X and love them", which doesn't answer your question. Most people would buy one or the other and likely be happy with it. You're asking for someone who bought half of one and half of the other, which isn't likely.
 
I bought these last December and placed them throughout my garage. They were cheap at a little over $100 perhaps closer to $200. The link says they aren't available in my area now.

42W Linkable LED Shop Light for garage BBOUNDER 48 Inch 4FT 5000K LED Work Shop Light LED Utility Shop Light Ceiling Fixture (10 Pack) - Amazon.com

Shop Amazon for 42W Linkable LED Shop Light for garage BBOUNDER 48 Inch 4FT 5000K LED Work Shop Light LED Utility Shop Light Ceiling Fixture (10 Pack) and find millions of items, delivered faster than ever.
www.amazon.com

Anyway, they put out lots of light and I've been very happy with them. They are throwaways if a bulb goes out, but that hasn't happened. I can't imagine a more expensive led light improving on what I have. I wanted bright light and was not worried about cool colors and such for my shop.
 
Last edited:
I also have shop full of 4' LED lights and they are bright and have worked perfectly.

ddickey said:
My question is if anyone went from cheap LED's to made in the USA ones and if it was worth the extra expense?
Click to expand...

Not sure there ARE any LED lamps made in the US
 
When it comes to lights, A lumen is a lumen and a color is a color, You will not see much if any difference between cheap and expensive. The only place you mat see a difference is in life of the lights, or light pattern of the lights.

Some of the makers of cheap LED fixtures use lower power (less expensive) LED emitters and then just over drive them (run at voltage higher than they are designed for) to get the brightness, doing this makes them run hotter and have a shorter life span.
The other place they save some money is in the light pattern, by making a narrower spread of the light will drive the lumens higher at the expense of lighting a smaller area, Most stores have lights on display so you can see the light pattern.
And of course there are some makers of the real cheap stuff that just flat out lie about the specifications.
My old florescent fixtures in the shop are 40+ years old and still work fine Yes I have had to replace bulbs and old style 40W T12 bulbs are getting harder to find. I have a few LED shop lights and they are much brighter on the bench but have a smaller area of illumination so to light the same area I would need more LED fixtures. It is as bulbs go out that I am getting LED, I now have one Harbor freight and one Menards, they are both 5,000 lunem and I can not tell any difference in the light output, I never actually measured the amp draw. It wont be for another 40 years before we know how well LED holds up over time.

Look close at the power usage of the lights, there are some LED shop lights that draw more power than the florescent or even incandescent that you are replacing and some throw off a lot of heat. In today's world LED does not necessarily translate to power savings or cool operation.
 
I purchased the cheapest fluorescent 4-foot shop light fixtures that I could find at Lowes or HD. I removed the ballast and rewired them for direct wire 120 V AC LED tubes like these:
www.homedepot.com

toggled 48 in. 16-Watt Daylight Deluxe T8 Dimmable Linear LED Tube Light Bulb (2-Pack) D416-65321-2 - The Home Depot

Toggled direct-wire/Type B LED tubes (2-pack; 6500K/Daylight Deluxe) are designed to replace T8 and T12 fluorescent tubes. Dimmable with compatible switches, UL Classified, and FCC compliant. Energy efficient.
www.homedepot.com

I'm very happy with the toggled product. If you already have fluorescent fixtures then converting them to LED is even more attractive.
 
If you don't already have fixtures, just get the tubes that fasten directly to the ceiling (they are called integrated). You can also hang these easily. Get the 6000 kelvin ones as they are the brightest (especially if your over 40:)). If you already have fixtures in place, then get the tubes that fit directly in them and just rewire the fixtures (take out or disconnect the ballast).
Aaron
 
I do not have fixtures so will probably get the integrated. I thought 6000k were bad for your eyes?
Everything I've seen around here so far are 4000k.
 
Gaffer said:
I bought these last December and placed them throughout my garage. They were cheap at a little over $100 perhaps closer to $200. The link says they aren't available in my area now.
Click to expand...
These "newer version" lamps are available. Same manufacturer, 10 pack for $140:

PS - you can get 4 foot LED "tubes" that directly replace the fluorescent ones, at least in the T8 size. My shop came with 8 foot ceiling fixtures. Bought LED replacement "tubes." On the 8 foot version, you have to remove and wire around the ballast. Easy to do ... and VERY good light.
I prefer either 5000K or 6000K lights, rather than 4000K and lower. The latter are too yellow for my taste.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top