Take a look at T-8 fluorescent fixtures. I had old 8' fixtures in my
shop that I supplemented them with 400 W metal halide ones. The metal
halides are good and put out a lot of light, yet they have 'issues'.
They are slow to come on, they are a very bright point source of light
(don't look up at them), and they dim over time. They put out about 60%
of the rated output as they age.
The T-8 lamps have a 20,000 hour average life. They come on instantly
and work in cold weather. Their light output drops only about 2% over
their rated 20,000 hour life.
I replaced the metal halides with fixtures that have 6 bulbs that are 4'
long. The fixtures have a chrome reflector behind the bulbs that boosts
the light output. They provide a much more even light than the metal
halides and are much easier on the eye. Another benefit of the T-8
bulbs is the availability of different color temperature bulbs. I like
the daylight balanced bulbs in my shop. I bought the fixtures at a local
industrial supply shop for about $120 each with the bulbs.
They are very energy efficient and that's why a lot of the big box
stores have replaced the metal halide fixtures with either T-8 or T-5
fixtures. The T-5s are somewhat better for the various specs but tend
to cost more, especially for the replacement bulbs.
Gil Fuqua
Nashville
-----Original Message-----
From: shop-talk-bounces@autox.team.net
[mailto:shop-talk-bounces@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Galt, Stuart A
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:46 AM
To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: [Shop-talk] Lighting
Sorry for asking a shop related question...
I have a garage with 13.5' ceilings and am currently lighting it with
cheapo 4
ft fluorescent lights. The problem that I have is that as soon as I
get down
off the ladder from replacing a tube I need to move the ladder somewhere
else
and replace another one. I need to find a different lighting option
because I
cannot keep up! My ideal alternative would provide lots of light, not
cost an
arm/leg to run, be heat/cold tolerant (garage is not heated) and not
require
me to spend all my time going up/down a ladder. I have 18 light
fixtures on
4 different circuits (the garage is 2400 sq ft).
Would LED lighting be useable for this? I know it would be expensive
but I
would hope that they would last long enough that I would not be spend
all my
time on the ladder. Also I would expect it to tolerate the cold and the
lights would come on when it is below freezing in the garage. Would
better
fluorescent fixtures solve my problem?
Stuart.
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