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looking at lights for the garage


dunnc1991
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We moved into our new house a few months ago. Now that the weather is changing and my outside projects are coming to an end, I'm finally starting to work on the garage...my "shop". First thing I need is some new lights. It has 2 fixtures with regular incandescent bulbs in them and that's it. The fixtures have 2 regu km are outlets in them as well. The po had 4 approx. 36" dual fluorescent lights on the ceiling. They were plugged into the light fixtures mentioned before. I'd like to go this route, but have been looking into LED lighting. Just looking to see if anyone has any opinions or suggestions. Budget isn't too tight. Willing to spend some for good lighting. Thanks

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Costco LED fixtures are the way to go with a new installation.  Have not tried the 4 ft LED replacement tubes.  I have 2 fixtures on each side of the cars plus an extra 2 lamp fixture in front of each car.  Also have 2 Snap-On LED shop floods to light up the underside of the car if I need it.

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Costco and Sam's has 4 foot LED shop lights for $35. They are worth every penny.

 

 

I went and looked at these this weekend. They look like a good buy. But I didn't jump on them cause I would really like a fixture that is Warm White color temperature. I have noticed the 5000-6000k Temp range affects my mood...... anybody else?

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I went and looked at these this weekend. They look like a good buy. But I didn't jump on them cause I would really like a fixture that is Warm White color temperature. I have noticed the 5000-6000k Temp range affects my mood...... anybody else?

Yup. The blue LED stuff is frustrating and irritating to me. Makes it hard to focus. LED (especially cheaper stuff) also has light hot spots with a quickly degrading light pattern. This is why I have stuck with florescent. I've got 9 fixtures to buy for my new shop (lots-o-light) and will be going with florescent due to the color temp and light dispersion.

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I'm a fan of those 500W halogen construction lights. I really appreciate the heat they put off. Even heated garages, in my experience, aren't typically all that warm inside in the winter, so it's nice that you get that infrared hit where the lights are pointed.

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Costco and Sam's has 4 foot LED shop lights for $35. They are worth every penny.

 

 

I went and looked at these this weekend. They look like a good buy. But I didn't jump on them cause I would really like a fixture that is Warm White color temperature. I have noticed the 5000-6000k Temp range affects my mood...... anybody else?

 

 

 

 

I replaced most/all of the CFL bulbs inside the house with the "daylight" color around 5500K.  For me it is a much more pleasant lighting.  I have grown to hate the yellowish tint some of the older CFLs had - just depressing.

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I've found that some 120V LED Strip lighting in certain areas around my work bench really helps with visibility when working on the table.  The setup it came with out of the box was a small flourescent fixture, but my eyes are really light sensitive and CCFL lighting gives me headaches.  No, it's not a main garage lighting tip but it's something extra and small to consider.

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  • 2 weeks later...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252194747333?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

Just ordered 2 of these for 29 bucks shipped. They look to be the warm white color temp too. I thought it was a pretty good deal. I'm going to run the electrical outlets in the ceiling this weekend and when it comes in, it would be ready to plug in and mount. Ill keep updated on light output.

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Following with great interest. I have a newly acquired garage as well, and it's been so long since I've set one up I'm learning all about these new fangled LED options for the first time. Thanks!

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/252194747333?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

Just ordered 2 of these for 29 bucks shipped. They look to be the warm white color temp too. I thought it was a pretty good deal. I'm going to run the electrical outlets in the ceiling this weekend and when it comes in, it would be ready to plug in and mount. Ill keep updated on light output.

Definitely interested in your opinion of these.

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/252194747333?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

Just ordered 2 of these for 29 bucks shipped. They look to be the warm white color temp too. I thought it was a pretty good deal. I'm going to run the electrical outlets in the ceiling this weekend and when it comes in, it would be ready to plug in and mount. Ill keep updated on light output.

Definitely interested in your opinion of these.

 

 

 

Got them in yesterday and hooked them up. I wasnt blown away by the light they put out but it was still a good amount. Esp for 13 bucks. I'm happy with them and if I need more I would buy more. But if you want super bright, order a few more than you think you might need.

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1200 lumens is not real bright.  2 of them are 2400 lumens.

 

Just checked the box for my Costco 2 lamp LED fixtures - 3700 lumens - on sale this month for @$29.95

Also have some dual T8 lamp fixtures I got from Lowes for like $17.00 - But had to buy the T8 lamps.  Each T8 lamp puts out 2550 lumens, total 5100 lumens  The brighest and also most expensive. 

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I'm a fan of those 500W halogen construction lights. I really appreciate the heat they put off. Even heated garages, in my experience, aren't typically all that warm inside in the winter, so it's nice that you get that infrared hit where the lights are pointed.

 

:agree:

 

I bought high output CFL and LED lights, both tube and round. I took all the conventional shaped round LED lights back, couldn't see paying $20 for a bulb that put out less than a cheap CFL. Kept the $35 dollar tube LED from Costco, only because I wanted to try it long term (for the $$$ it still sucks, and I suspect it flickers because it is plugged into one of those screw in plug in adapters for a light socket). Then I went to our local home resource center (love that place, buying many building items new is just plain wasteful and stupid, usually they have what I need for real cheap), picked up a few of those 300 & 500 watt construction light fixtures for like $3 a pop, hard wired them, and couldn't be happier. I've found a few  real disadvantages, high heat output, and short bulb life (I buy cheap replacements at HF for about $3 for a pack of 2, bought 6 packs yesterday)  I also left the glass off to make changing bulbs quicker and easier. Maybe in the future, I'll convert to full LED tubes, but for the time being, $35 buys an awful lot of cheap 300 and 500 watt bulbs.

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Do you realize the amount of electricity that is using though? For every two hours you have that light on its costing you around $0.14. I sometimes work 8+ hours in my garage a day. That would get the electric bill jacked up pretty quick.

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When your shop is heated with electricity, (as mine was) does it really matter whether the heat actually comes from the furnace or the lights?

My parents in their house actually switched back to incandescent bulbs, because the power bill went up after switching to CFL's. Having lights that didn't put off heat meant they had to turn up the furnace and heat the whole house, but incandescents meant the house was always a few degrees warmer where people were doing things, and the rest of the house didn't matter as much.

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When your shop is heated with electricity, (as mine was) does it really matter whether the heat actually comes from the furnace or the lights?

My parents in their house actually switched back to incandescent bulbs, because the power bill went up after switching to CFL's. Having lights that didn't put off heat meant they had to turn up the furnace and heat the whole house, but incandescents meant the house was always a few degrees warmer where people were doing things, and the rest of the house didn't matter as much.

 

I so agree, it doesn't matter where or how you put energy into the system (your house or shop) it's still going in, and you get the added primary benefit of light. Actually I leave most lights on in the house all day long...furnace don't run as often...go figure. Think I'm wrong, don't turn the tstat up on a Sat morning, watch the temp rise from the TV, coffee pot, toaster, washer, dryer....you get the idea. Specially if you got a family.

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I can't imagine having to put up with that, heat all the time... I like this climate where I can snowshoe to work. ;) also, electricity's only about US$0.06/kWh up here. Gotta love hydro-electric.

But I guess having the a/c going where you are, you really wouldn't want incandescents.

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