Shop Lighting Commentary

[magu]

I think that is the camera flash - which in itself is pretty impressive given the dark surfaces.

That picture was actually taken with the flash disabled. The beam work and single point light are a horrible combination for getting the nice even light people strive for

 

[Blackjackjacques]

That picture was actually taken with the flash disabled. The beam work and single point light are a horrible combination for getting the nice even light people strive for

Wow - that is one bright light. I also have high vaulted ceilings and some beam work - although not as impressive or extensive as you. For my lab, I went ahead and painted the ceilings an off flat white and hit the walls with a yellow (Behr parchment) on 4-inch t/g cedar. I'm also using pendant fixtures with dimmable low temp LED bulbs. The fixtures radiate above as well as below -- providing a pleasant mix of diffused reflective light. My eyes seem happy and my pupils are opened wide, and I notice that I do not need my glasses nearly so much.

 

[chips&more]

Sunlight is also radiation from a heated body but in its case the temperature is around 10,000ºC and the light appears more bluish.

I thought light from the sun was at 5,778K or 5,505C° and was white in color (ref: CIE curve)…Dave

 

[RJSakowski]

Dave, I stand corrected. Bad memory. The temperature was 10,000ºF which is about 5,800K. I should have verified.

Sunlight is white but a blue-white in comparison to incandescent light.

Here is an interesting discussion of the color of the sun.

WARNING! This has absolutely nothing to do with machining and very little with machine shop lighting so enter at your own risk!
http://casa.colorado.edu/~ajsh/colour/Tspectrum.html

 

[Bob Korves]

My eyes seem happy and my pupils are opened wide, and I notice that I do not need my glasses nearly so much.

Warm color temperature and dimmer lighting is easy on the eyes. Focusing ability is a separate issue with different solutions. As the lighting gets gets brighter, the iris' in our eyes close down to allow less light to enter. As it gets darker, the iris' open up to allow enough light for us to see. A small aperture, like in a pinhole camera, gives the best focusing ability over a larger range of distances. This is called "depth of field." As the iris opens up, the depth of field diminishes, and things are only in useful focus over a limited depth of field. We older people are usually pretty aware of having to move the text to just the correct distance for us to be able to read it. This comes from the eyes not being able to adjust their focal length as well as when we were young. However, increasing the brightness gives us a better depth of field, and our arms do not need to be so long to read without our bifocal prescription. So, increased light improves the physical ability of our eyes to focus, but may also become uncomfortably bright at the same time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

 

[Blackjackjacques]

Warm color temperature and dimmer lighting is easy on the eyes. Focusing ability is a separate issue with different solutions. As the lighting gets gets brighter, the iris' in our eyes close down to allow less light to enter. As it gets darker, the iris' open up to allow enough light for us to see. A small aperture, like in a pinhole camera, gives the best focusing ability over a larger range of distances. This is called "depth of field." As the iris opens up, the depth of field diminishes, and things are only in useful focus over a limited depth of field. We older people are usually pretty aware of having to move the text to just the correct distance for use to be able to read it. This comes from the eyes not being able to adjust their focal length as well as when we were young. However, increasing the brightness gives us a better depth of field, and our arms do not need to be so long to read without our bifocal prescription. So, increased light improves the physical ability of our eyes to focus, but may also become uncomfortably bright at the same time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

I agree - my thing is that I prefer increased light but in the yellow vice blue part of the spectrum and that the smaller aperture is caused my aperture controls in an attempt to reclaim a better depth of field vice a forced small aperture owed to blue light.

 

[eugene13]

I got mine from 1000Bulbs.com, PLT-10019CS, you have to bypass the ballast, they're bright and the price is right $111.84 plus shipping for 16

 

[bfd]

also just changed my machine lights (lathe and mill) to led lights. good light but more blue in color. but they should last for a long time bill

 

[MARVIN GARDENS]

I am in the middle of rebuild of my work area. I have a long two car garage. I am in the process of insulating the walls and ceiling. My next step will be to sister all of the ceiling joists as none span the width of my garage and I am afraid that they won't support any weight. I am going to install 6" LED cans in the ceiling. The cans will illuminate the general area and a concentration of them will be placed over my main workbench area which is opposite of the garage door. A local medical building was being gutted and as I was driving by I noticed some lighting piled up outside. I talked to the foreman and he said that everything in the pile was to be thrown away and that I could help myself to any of it. I came home with two large lights from a surgical suite. They each run along ten-foot tracks with articulated arms so that light can be placed where needed. They are heavy, hence the strengthening of the ceiling joists. I also picked up three wall mounted surgical lights which also have articulating arms. I will place them where needed as the project continues. The ceiling mounted lights run off of a control box which electrifies the tracks the lights travel down.

I am going to keep one florescent fixture, a four-foot model with four bulbs. It was my grandfather's workbench light. I am going to convert it and the wall mount surgical lights to LED.

Before I'm done I will also replace my failing garage doors with new insulated ones, install new windows, and add a split AC system. The temperature in my garage seems to always be either 110 degrees or freezing.

I believe that LED is the way to go and am using it in any light replacement that I do around our home. My wife really liked our existing exterior lighting so, instead of replacing it, I reconfigured all of it to LED. I haven't had to change an exterior light bulb in the last two years.

Best regards.

Bob

 

[magu]

That's a great find on the surgical lights.