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Old 09-03-2020, 06:56 PM   #1
nhusa
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Default Garage lights

I had 15 4 tube florescent lights in my 2+ car garage to give me light for working on vehicles.
A few weeks ago I decided that to convert to LEDs.
After a bit of research I choose a 9600 80 watt Led light with adjustable panels to replace 4 sets of lights and installed it.
I was amazed at the amount of light and ordered 5 more to replace the remainder of the florescent fixtures.
The light in the garage is significantly better than before and it costs less to run them.
The current joke is for the last person out of the garage is required to turn the sun off.

The biggest issue was to dispose of the old fixtures and florescent 60 tubes.
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Old 09-03-2020, 07:00 PM   #2
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Default Re: Garage lights

That sounds great!
Can you post a picture of the replacement units?

R/ Roger.
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Old 09-03-2020, 07:11 PM   #3
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Default Re: Garage lights

What was total cost and have you calculated what electrical savings will be ?
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Old 09-03-2020, 07:21 PM   #4
Charlie Stephens
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Default Re: Garage lights

I found the best price at Costco. Their lights were made by Feit electric. Savings are dependent upon how much time you spend in the garage. I replaced all of the lights in my house and garage and the electric bill dropped about 30%.

Charlie Stephens
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Old 09-03-2020, 07:25 PM   #5
jm29henry
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Default Re: Garage lights

If your lamps have green end on the end of your tubes that means that they are eco friendly and can be disposed in you trash .as for the ballast if they are electronic they would not have PCB’s and also could be thrown in your trash best of luck to you
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Old 09-03-2020, 07:36 PM   #6
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Default Re: Garage lights

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Stephens View Post
I found the best price at Costco. Their lights were made by Feit electric. Savings are dependent upon how much time you spend in the garage. I replaced all of the lights in my house and garage and the electric bill dropped about 30%.

Charlie Stephens
That is what I was looking for, percentage. A very significant savings for sure!
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Old 09-03-2020, 07:49 PM   #7
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Default Re: Garage lights

As part of the move to low energy use (and hence carbon emissions), our Government has been changing over any old incandescent or fluorescent lights for the low energy consumption LED replacement free of charge to the home owner. I agree - for a fraction of the energy, lightis much better. There is the cold bluish light and the warmer more yellow light. We take our pick.
In the workshop, they have proved to be a wonder but I still prefer to work on the car just inside the open roller door where I can see our resident King Parrots, Rosellas, Magpies, Kookaburras etc. It makes working on the car a pleasure.
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Old 09-03-2020, 08:51 PM   #8
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Default Re: Garage lights

A good friend installed LED lights in their kitchen which I believe were the tube type. During an outage (we have a lot of those in CA) when his generator was running his wife called him to the kitchen because smoke was coming from several of the lights. They called the local fire department and after resolving the issue they told him some of the LED's can be a problem when using a generator. Evidently on the cheaper stand by generators the sine wave isn't very good and it causes the lights to heat up and smoke then start smoldering, etc. I haven't had a problem personally but am using a Honda generator which has a near perfect sine wave. Only saying this as an issue to consider when using LEDs and a generator and am assuming the FD personnel know what they are talking about!
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Old 09-03-2020, 09:27 PM   #9
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Default Re: Garage lights

Do not throw ballast in the garbage. Take them to your local metal recycler.
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Old 09-04-2020, 03:30 AM   #10
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Default Re: Garage lights

I replaced the 4' florescents in my shop with LEDs from Amazon. These were the most lumins per dollar I could find at the time. Bought two boxes of 25 and used most of them.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Current draw went from just over 27 amps, to right around 10 amps and the increase in light is amazing.
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Old 09-04-2020, 08:34 AM   #11
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Default Re: Garage lights

I had two sets of 8 ft high output T-12 Florescents in my home garage and swapped them out for 8 4ft LED shop lights from Rural King on sale for 19 bucks each. Made a HUGE difference in light output and amp draw. Luckily I have a dumpster at work for the old fixtures and bulb disposal.
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Old 09-04-2020, 11:44 AM   #12
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Default Re: Garage lights

Switched my shed lights over from Florescents to the LED's a few years back.



First thing I noticed is that they are much brighter, but tend to throw a different shadow - hard to explain.


Second thing noticed is they start out bright, even when they are cold. The Florescents, if it is below 30, they go into dim mode until they warm up.


The third and big thing I noticed with the LEDs is that I am not replacing them each year. With the Florescents they would last about a year - 40x60 shed, get out the tall ladder, work your way around the cars and toys, change bulbs.



How much money am I saving? Cannot give an exact amount, but can see the difference in the electric bill.
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Old 09-04-2020, 11:54 AM   #13
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Default Re: Garage lights

I’m replacing four fluorescent panels with four LED panels in the next couple of weeks in mine.
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Old 09-04-2020, 05:18 PM   #14
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Default Re: Garage lights

LEDs are great, now. If someone wants good lighting during the day with the electric meter not spinning , look at solar tubes lighting.
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Old 09-04-2020, 06:07 PM   #15
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Default Re: Garage lights

I replaced all of the fluorescent 4' lights with 4' LED's from Rural King,$19 on sale on the top floor which is where I mainly work from. I placed the old fluorescent lights in the basement level of the garage and replaced all incandescent lights in the house basement and garage. The LED's are so much brighter, start out bright when winter hits, (I heat the shop at 50 Degrees F.) and no more buzzing from the ballast.
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Old 09-04-2020, 08:16 PM   #16
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Default Re: Garage lights

For getting rid of the old lights, if you have a local Craigslist, someone will take them off your hands.
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Old 09-04-2020, 08:33 PM   #17
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Default Re: Garage lights

i switched over to LED in my house,garage, and shop including the paint booth. it is nice to turn on the lights and all of them come at the same time. and they don`t hum like the fluorescent`s.
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Old 09-05-2020, 01:33 AM   #18
Bill G
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Default Re: Garage lights

I have about 12 4' LED fixtures, a mixture of Harbor Freight and Home Depot house brands. They REALLY light up the garage and I can really see what I am doing. Really a blessing. Now, when I go to other's shops, they seem dark. I can also say that it can be annoying when I am under the car laying on my back looking up. If the bright light shines in my face, it's hard to see what's under the car. But I like having the light and it doesn't break the bank either for the cost of the fixtures or the power to run them.
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Old 09-05-2020, 09:04 AM   #19
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Default Re: Garage lights

I had 8-4 tube T5 fluorescent fixture in my shop. They were state of the art in shop lighting at the time and were quite good. Several years ago I replaced them with 4-250 watt LED's. HUGE difference but in my case, no power savings. Power consumption is about the same. I had the LED guy come out with samples and I huge 1 of the 250's in the middle of the shop temporarily just to see and the one light lit up the shop better than the 8 T5's.
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Old 09-05-2020, 12:38 PM   #20
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Default Re: Garage lights

If you want to save a little money, you can convert your current flo fixtures to LED with a simple rewire of the tombstones and no more ballasts. LED's just need power from one end like a normal light bulb. So, all you have to purchase is the LED tube.
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