shop lights

[Drfting1]

I have 10 200 watt incandescent bulbs in the shop I wonder if I switch them out to 200 watt led equivalent bulbs would that brighten the shop up , and cost less to use. Also can you put led bulbs on motion detection switches. Thanks

you would have to check the lumens output on it, the equivalent bulbs mean they put out about the same light but with the leds your only using a fraction of the wattage, maybe like 24 watts, I replaced all mine in my garage and I noticed a difference in brightness, then since I was saving $ on using leds, I added some more lights to really brighten it up ... Also another plus for me was, since my head injury, my eyes have been sensitive to the high speed flicker rate rate of florescent lighting, the leds eliminated that, no more headachs while working in the garage!

[inairam]

I have 10 200 watt incandescent bulbs in the shop I wonder if I switch them out to 200 watt led equivalent bulbs would that brighten the shop up , and cost less to use. Also can you put led bulbs on motion detection switches? Thanks

you should get rid of them today. Your 2000 watts of lights are producing 1800 watts of heat and 200 watts of light. replacing with led would be liking adding a 15 amp circuit back to the panel.

You can purchase "4 Pack LED Shop Light for Garage: 36W 4FT 48 Inch BBOUNDER 3600 Lumens LED Utility Shop Light Fixture LED Garage Lights for Workshop" on amazon for $60. home depot, lowes & amazon have " linkable" shop lights so you can control from one switch. You can daisy chain 3 or 4 together on one switch.

For task lighting like in a shop, you are looking for ~3700-4000K temperature "daylight" rating. I think this is a very importance spec. Lumen is the amount of light but the color is the "quality" of the light. The higher temperatures or "white light" have a lot of blue which I do not like.

[MiCarl]

I have 10 200 watt incandescent bulbs in the shop I wonder if I switch them out to 200 watt led equivalent bulbs would that brighten the shop up , and cost less to use. Also can you put led bulbs on motion detection switches. Thanks

If they're counting correctly equivalent LEDs should output the same amount of light as the incandescent, but much low power consumption. Ideally you compare lumens (how much light) rather than power consumption (watts) but incandescent bulbs don't usually have a lumen number on them.

Where you'll see a difference in the LEDs is they're probably whiter (incandescent light are fairly yellow unless they're halogen) and none of the light will be wasted shining up.

[XFIRE]

I just replaced 6-8' T8 fixtures in my home shop with 4' 5000k / 5500 lumen fixtures. One 4' LED lamp gives at least the same amount of brightness as the 8' fluorescent and at a better shape of light for working. Not to mention lowering the amperage use by more than 50% (0.4 vs 1.0). I considered using the replacement bulbs but I saw problems in the future for the type that uses the ballasts. The ballasts will need to be replaced when they wear out and are expensive. Also, I could not find any replacement bulbs that gave an equal amount of lumens or come close to the kelvin temp of the full LED's.

[Lt.Mike]

I did find one defective LED bulb. It was a Cree screw in replacement for a standard light fixture. I had this one in a pantry closet and after a couple of weeks of use I flipped the switch and it flashed really bright and went to dim with a flicker and a audible buzz. Unlike an incandescent bulb or fluorescent light flashing only once and then being totally dead this bulb would flash each time the switch was flipped, go dim and buzz.
It sounded and looked like a wiring issue and I was more than a little concerned about a short causing a fire.
The odd symptoms and me worried about a fire it played with my head.
I pulled the fixture, the switch, checked the continuity of the wiring and checked the breaker in the fuse box. I couldn’t find the issue and it was really bugging me. Then it occurred to me this wasn’t an incandescent or fluorescent bulb, could it be shorting within the bulbs circuit board?
Yup screwed in a new LED and it’s been fine since. In the few years since I started using them that’s the only bulb to quit, all the others are still going. The life on these is impressive.
I’m going to have to look into the tube replacements as a cheaper alternative and get some use out of the fixtures I’m not using now.

[Dale Finch]

I had purchased a few LED bulbs from Walmart to replace some incandescent ones, and it was early on, when they had just come out. With one fixture, I had the same problem with one of the LED's. The noise it made was similar to arcing, and when I removed it, it was REALLY hot. I do know LED's get hot, but this was worrisome, so I put the incandescent bulb back in. Arcing and fire are not my favorite thing!

Ended up this year replacing the whole fixture with LED, but was never sure about that one LED bulb. Probably defective, because they were about the cheapest Walmart had!

[Jerry's cub]

Here is what's sweet with the led's our old family farm is way back in the hills no electric. We have 6 of the 4 foot led's in the tractor shop and power them with a 750 watt inverter running off a deep cycle battery, lights the shop beautifully and they run for hours no problem and we could probably add a couple more lights. Some times technology is actually great.

[Frozenstate]

Led bulbs last a very long time, however they have a transformer like flourecsent lights. That is what usually fails. I have replaced several of the "drivers" in the large 400w equivalent 150w led parking lot lights. I have also had some new led tubes that were bad out of the box. I had many flourecsent bulbs bad out of the box also. They will work a long time and save lots of electric and pay for themselves in no time. I do like the 6000k for work areas, the 3000 and 3500k are more like the regular flourecsent bulbs.

[Eugene]

Been following this topic with great interest.

Plan on replacing the fluorescent fixtures in the acreage shop as the current bulbs expire. No particular rush since we don't use more than the minimum kilowatts in a month - don't pass the base charge for having electricity. The problem with the current fluorescent fixtures is that they are about 10 feet above the shop floor and do not provide any more than area lighting.

Did a rough count of 4 foot fluorescent fixtures, close to 30. Will start to replace the fixtures in the basements because they get used all the time. Locations that gets seldom use, will not change out until the bulbs expire.

[Barnyard]

I stopped by Home Depot today to pick up some things and saw replacement LED bulbs for my fluorescent shop lights. I asked the retired electrician who works there what he thought about them (I have always trusted his advice) and he said most customers bring them back because they don't like how they work. I might just buy all new fixtures.

[Frozenstate]

I have replaced hundreds of flourecsent lights with led direct wire bulbs and everyone has been thrilled. Almost all of the led replacement led's at the big box stores require using the ballasts in the fixture, those are outdated and really not worth getting. I cant believe anybody wouldn't be happy with the led's in place of flourecsent bulbs. I have not had one complaint except for a homeowner whose kitchen looked bad in the increase of light. His wife saw how old everything looked, I put 3500k in place of the 6000k and only put in half as many and they were happy.

[XFIRE]

You may be able to change out your 200 watt incandescents for 100 watt LED's and still come out with more light. I changed out some 100 cfl's in doors and was able to use 1 LED for every 2 cfl's. Just make sure they are 4500-5500 kelvin.

[Slim140]

Here’s some photos of our lights at work that were converted. They started life as regular 8’ light fixtures and had guards added to reflect downward. They been up for so long we were having to replace a ballast every couple of months. Our energy provider gave a rebate to convert so that may be something worth checking into as well. The ends were changed, ballast were removed and a center piece added so the two 4’ bulbs could be installed. They are direct wired and been up for about 2 years with no issues. The conversion came in a kit. They are instant on, no flickering and cold weather does not affect them. They also don’t make any noise and are a lot brighter than the fluorescent ones that were up.

[Super A]

I had purchased a few LED bulbs from Walmart to replace some incandescent ones, and it was early on, when they had just come out. With one fixture, I had the same problem with one of the LED's. The noise it made was similar to arcing, and when I removed it, it was REALLY hot. I do know LED's get hot, but this was worrisome, so I put the incandescent bulb back in. Arcing and fire are not my favorite thing!

Ended up this year replacing the whole fixture with LED, but was never sure about that one LED bulb. Probably defective, because they were about the cheapest Walmart had!

Maybe it's just me but seems like Wally World bulbs, even if they are a name brand, don't seem to last as long.

So when I built my little shop, it happened that they were replacing the lights in the shop at school. The old ones were put up in the 70s, and were similar to the lights Shane was showing in his post. They are 4' long, with two T12 bulbs. They were going to the dumpster so Maintenance said to help myself. I liked them because they were old timey looking and had the shades on them to direct light downward. So I took them home, cleaned them up, replaced the 277v ballasts with some 120v residential ballasts from Lowe's and put them up. Got plenty of free bulbs too! It worked to be a couple dollars per light cheaper than just buying new fixtures. I will definitely check into the LEDs when it's time; I like something I can just swap in and not change any wiring. And of course, the more light the better.

Al

[CapeCodCubs]

We have a program in Massachusetts where they come to you house and replace old bulbs with LED's for free. you guys got me thinking. Thanks, totally forgot about it.