Garage LEDs

[rswan]

I have been installing lights for 20+ years. As for commercial, residential, and industrial lights I rarely have installed the same light style twice. The time the lights are ordered and installed, they will be outdated and replaced by a new model. If you want to do each light when they burn out; retrofit the existing light to take t8 led holders. Use 120V led lights that don't require a ballast. Kits are available like shown above.


Good Luck.

[fishin-jim]

Another thing to think about I work at a machine shop and we had all LED lights when we moved in about six years ago they just replaced all the LED lights they said they were getting dimmer and you could tell a difference when you looked at them. Less light.

Originally Posted by rswan

I have been installing lights for 20+ years. As for commercial, residential, and industrial lights I rarely have installed the same light style twice. The time the lights are ordered and installed, they will be outdated and replaced by a new model. If you want to do each light when they burn out; retrofit the existing light to take t8 led holders. Use 120V led lights that don't require a ballast. Kits are available like shown above.


Good Luck.

Thinking I'll go this route. Will check Menards as I can get the 11% rebate (which is available quite frequently) and it's only a short drive for me. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Pooch]

I just installed these in my "train room" in the basement. This is what I bought from the link above to "Green Light depot".

8ft 40W LED Linear Tube - Fa8 Socket - Bypass - (ETL) - 6000K - Clear / Daylight White (6000K)

Installation took about twenty minutes per fixture. Very straight forward and logical.

The lights I bought are very bright. You cannot look at them without the same sensation as looking at a camera flash. They will be fine out in my shop area, but are too harsh for a basement room with average ceiling height.

I am going to reorder more of these, but with the frosted glass instead of clear. The clear are fine in a high ceiling area (like a shop with ten foot or more ceilings). The frosted will soften and disperse the light more evenly. Clear glass (what I bought) cast shadows.

So, at the moment I'm sold on them.

Pooch

Pooch, good info, thanks. Did you put 2 LEDs into each light fixture? I assume the old fixtures had 2 8 footers each?

[Pooch]

Originally Posted by Garage LEDs

Pooch, good info, thanks. Did you put 2 LEDs into each light fixture? I assume the old fixtures had 2 8 footers each?

Yes, 2 eight footers in each fixture.

Pooch

Thanks again. Think this is the way I'll go. What brought this up is my ballast on one just gave out. Well, with the cost of starting to replace ballasts I may as well go LED. I will try this company but I'll have to go with the other type of bulb with the oblong type end instead of the single pole like you have as that's what is in current fixtures. Few dollars more per bulb but not a huge deal. One more question and sorry to be a pain, but would you go with the 5 or 6K in a garage application? I'll go with frosted based on your posted experience. Thank you again.

Just one more thought. In researching all of this, lots of people have advised me they love those screw in type LEDs with the 3 or 4 "paddles" that you can adjust but from what I've read, they cast a LOT of shadows which only makes sense. They may throw out a ton of light but when from a relatively small source area I can definitely see that as an issue. With 7, 8 foot fixtures the light source obviously covers a much larger area therefore, hardly any shadowing in corners etc and that is how it is with the current fluorescents.

[AllenW]

fwiw, I run about 10, 2 bulb four foot fixtures in my garage.

I also wired each to use a 110 volt receptacle.
When I went from T12 to T8 as each burned out/failed, I just unplugged them and installed a T-8, doing the same for the T8 to LED change over.

I control these with several circuits and wall switches and still have the pull chains on each lamp.
Gives me control of each lamp, depending on what I'm doing.

Like Rswan says, they change styles/models as often as cell phones, but for it it hasn't made any difference.
I buy basic non covered LED lights that run about $25 to $30.

Al