Workshop light ?

Darin Clark

Darin Clark

Active member
Got to thinking about the lighting over my carving area, so I did a little searching on the web for what would be the best light for painting. I realize natural light, but at this time I'm carving in my "man dungeon" as my daughter refers to it. In the art painting world the recommendation was for lights with a CRI of >80 and a CCT of 5000 or 5500 K. I currently have two 24" fluorescent lights directly above the bench. I usually have to replace the bulbs a couple times a year. While searching for different lights I found LED bulbs that will fit the fluorescent fixtures without rewiring to bypass the ballast. They fit the CRI of 80 and color temp of 5000K. They are 2-3 times the cost of regular bulbs but have a life span of 50000 hrs which is 5.7 years of continuous burning, so cheaper over time. Has anyone had any experience with this type of bulb or other recommendations? Below is a link to the bulb I am looking at.


https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/137350/GREENCREATIVE-40803.html
 
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I am in the process of replacing as needed the 4' fluorescent bulbs in my garage as needed with LEDs. No real results yet but they do come on NOW even in the cold.
 
We are replacing all the bulbs in the engine bay of the firehouse I work at to LED. They are great and have a much warmer light. It's closer to natural light than florescent lights
 
LEDs do create a different light field. Another option is a light fixture with bulbs that mimic the ambient natural light regimen. Several fly tying supply facilities sell these.
 
LED shop lights all the way. You can get them on sale for very cheap at big box stores - I got mine from Sam's club.


Less energy, light up instantly no matter how cold it is. I have 9 in my garage and they are GLORIOUS.


Paul
 
Lots to know before buying LED tube's. This has been one of my businesses for the past couple of years so I hope this is helpful.

The T8 you list from 1000bulbs.com is an OK lamp. Couple of things to point out. This is what is called a direct replacement tube (or ballast dependent) which means you can use the current ballast in the system to power the new LED tube light. Note the one caveat "Only works with Instant Start ballasts". This is very common with lower tier product manufacturers. If your current fixture is not an instant start ballast, this tube will not work. Even the big boys have a hard time making a direct replacement tube light work with all ballasts currently employed. The direct replacement tubes we design and sell work with any ballast, magnetic or electronic, in any fixture. There are others that have more compatibility but they are hard to find. We do not make 2" versions. One of the best direct replacement tubes is the Philips Instant Fit product family. I do not believe they have had the recalls many other direct replacement manufacturers have had (Sylvania, Cree, etc....) With a diet replacement tube, when the ballast burns out, the ED will not work until you replace the burned out ballast with a new ballast. An added expense down the road. Also note that all direct replacement tubes do shorten the lifetime of your ballast. Not much, but some.

Most LED tubes will save an average of 40% in electricity compared to a fluorescent. Keeping the bulb on 16 hours/day has a payback of between 1.75 - 2.5 years. Using the bulb less than this amount of time/day the payback period is much longer.

CRI (color rendering index) of over 80 is very sound advice. CRI tells of the bulbs ability to reproduce a color compared to how that color would look in sunshine (CRI 100). Be sure the product you purchase says the actual CRI of the tube, do not buy one where it say "80 CRI typical" or other such language. The higher the CRI, the better that tube is able to accurately show the true colors of whatever you are looking at.

Also only purchase tubes that are UL listed. Tubes that are ETL listed are not as safe as UL listed products. UL changed their testing procedure in April 2015 as some tubes were getting UL approval and latter catching on fire. UL listed tubes are V0 fire rated meaning they cannot support a flame. Lower quality, non UL listed tubes could catch fire and support the flame.
I would also only purchase LED tubes that are DLC listed (Design lights consortium). Couple of reason - they are typically higher quality, and only DLC tubes qualify for rebates offered by the utilities. Depending upon where you live, the utilities could pay you to replace the old fluorescents with LED tubes. Feel free to use my site to determine what, if any, rebates are available in your area. Open the site, click on your State, click on your utility company and you will see what they have to offer. Do not fill out the form and submit and please don't hit the support tab. I don't have 2' tubes so you will be kicked out of the system in no time should you do either.
https://3m.northamericanrebates.com/

Color temperature. This is a very personal choice and some folks like the 5000K lamps and some prefer 2700k lamps. The higher the color temperature, the more blue in the lights which tends to wash out blues and greens. The lower the color temperature, the more red/orange is in the light. 2700K is the color temp of your typical incandescent bulb you have at home. Most fluorescent tubes used in offices are either 3500K or 4100K.. I personally do not like the 5000k as it does not look like "daylight" to me and is more of a marketing term. I would find a place that has a 5000K LED on and see what you think.

Make sure the tube you purchase has a Lighting Facts label associated with it. This label looks like the label you see on food items and will list the color temperature, the watts consumed and the lifetime of the lamp. If the product has this label, it means it was tested by an independent agency and is not numbers made up by a manufacturer.

Other tubes types are ballast bypass and what is called Universal. Ballast bypass offer the greatest savings in the long run as once the ballast is replaced, the tube will last 50,000 hours plus. Disadvantage is someone has to be knowledgeable to remove the ballast and re-wire the fixture.

We also have what is called a Universal tube. It works with or without a ballast, with any ballast, and works on any voltage from ~90-300V. I believe a couple of others have a similar product. You should be able to google those supplier. I believe one manufacturer of a nice universal is Bramal out of Canada. I do not know if they have 2' tubes.

Couple of other points. Make sure the tube you buy does not require a tombstone change out (tombstones = the part of the fixture that the tubes are placed into - they look like tombstones). Depending upon what you buy, and the compatibility of the LED you buy, you may need to change out the tombstone on your current fixture. Make sure you ask this question if special tombstones are required.

Earlier this year the DOE passed new standards for fluorescent tubes. You know how you can't buy some old incans anymore? They weren't outlawed, they just couldn't meet the efficiency standards issued by the DOE. Beginning in 2018 you will start seeing the phase out of inefficient fluorescent tube products. Start stocking up now.
Good luck with your purchase.


Mark W
 
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You are welcome. Just be very careful on purchasing a direct replacement tube. There have been many recalls due to manufacturers not understanding, or not realizing, just how much power is pushed through a ballast to start a fluorescent tube. Many design the tube using only the running voltage/power of the fluorescent tube once lit. They design the pin to circuit board connection to handle just a fraction of the power going to the tube when the ballast starts. I have even seen some tubes that use small springs to make this connection - bad idea. Imagine a real strong guy twisting in the LED tube. He applies a little too much force and the spring connection goes off a little bit. Then when the ballast puts power to the tube, the small steel spring that is jilted can't handle it, the tube shorts and a fire breaks out. Sylvania and Cree have had recalls of over 1,000,000 or these direct replacement tubes. Not good.


Mark W
 
Mark,

Thanks for posting that. I'm eventually going to have electricity out to my barn/shed/whatever you want to call it and have been thinking about LED lights for sure. Nice to have a good reference to start with in my search

Dani
 
All very interesting! I normally hate flourescents (the subtle strobing, the warmup time) but my new shop needs lighting, bad. I took an existing flush mount light fixture and replaced with an outdoor security 2-bulb flood and it's bright, but you gotta be at just the right angle to work with the shadows instead of against them.

I may try to learn more about these LED tubes and an installation from scratch that does not use ballast at all (if something like that exists.)

The color temperature thing has always thrown me off. It's hard for me to say whether I want daylight summer noon, winter 10 am, etc :D
 
Wow, good info, Thanks.

If you want to stick with the fluorescents for awhile, folks that start seeds use a cool white with a warm white tube to replicate daylight and avoid the cost of a special grow light. It seems to help.
 
Little more info


Color temperature is an aesthetic choice, so each person will have their own preference for each setting and application. Preference is as individual and varied as there are applications and people. Here is what we have found to be generally true:
  • Warmer whites are preferred for dining and living areas and reception areas where you want a more relaxed environment. Add in bars for those who enjoy a drink every now and then
  • Natural whites are preferred for kitchens and bathrooms where tasks are performed.
  • Daylight whites are best in retail outlets and offices, though natural whites are used in these environments as well.
  • Cool whites are used for industrial areas and hospitals.
Older eyes often times see better in cooler color temperatures. Women often prefer warmer colors than men. Task lighting is better if cooler. Cooler whites raise attention. Warmer whites soften the environment and make for a more relaxed space. Warmer whites will hide the true color of objects and add yellow tint. Cooler lights will add blue tint to objects
Here is a good representative of CT found on the web.

View attachment CT.jpg

I was asked a couple of other questions on LED's and fluorescents. Do not get in a lumen war when looking to replace the old fluorescents with LED's. A typical LED bulb will put out about 2000 lumens (4', 15-18W consumption LED tube). Many customers compare this to their present 2900 lumen fluorescent T8 and assume the LED will not be bright enough. Fluorescent tubes emit light 360 degress and rely upon a reflector to get the light going up towards the ceiling directed down to where it is needed. Up to 30% of these lumens are lost in the fixture due to reflector adsorption and other factors. All LED tubes are directional and shine all the light down where it is needed (LED T8's don't work well in indirect lighting applications as you can imagine). Another factor is LED's put out a type of light that is different than fluorescents, incans, halogens or whatever. Eyes perceive LED light differently. Have had many customers replace three 2000 lumen fluorescents with two 2000 lumen LED's and comment that the LED's put out more light.

To get around the what to buy dilemma. Manufacturers are making what are called "all in ones" where the entire fixture is the light bulb. They are also called integrated fixtures. There are many nice units out in the market today. They tend to be expensive and when the light goes out, you have to replace the entire fixture. The lighting trend in this country, and we are a little behind Europe and Asia, is in new construction where they are mostly using integrated LED fixtures and not even installing bulbs/tubes anymore. Something else to consider.

Mark W
 
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I have been replacing all my basement lighting with LEDs as the ballasts go out. The fixtures are super easy to rewire for LEDs too. I don' miss the tubes one bit. The LEDs are much brighter, and I don't have to worry about breaking one near as easily either (not that any of us have ever done that).
 
Thanks again Mark. You've given me a lot to think about. I'll have to give it some more thought as to whether I want to buy LEDs that will work as is, or rewire my lights. Maybe just buy all new fixtures which looks like the most expensive route. As for color, I'm looking for light that will give me the truest color for painting decoys. Looking at the photos in your last post, the 5000K looks really blue. I might be happier with something in the 4000 range. I know I'm glad I asked for input before jumping in. The wealth of information on this site amazes me!
 
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