Anyone Using LED Shop Lighting?

[Onetrackmind]

So...my dedicated shop is still on indefinite hold and my over-stuffed 3 car garage is going to continue to be my lair for the foreseeable future. When we bought this house, I immediately saw that the "3 car garage" was that in name only...maybe for 3 Yugos, but not anything a family can fit in. I had funds earmarked for a freestanding shop at closing, but wifey-poo found other "more important" uses for those funds (read: new paint, plantation shutters more fencing and landscaping...ugh). Anyway...no shop.

Since this garage will likely have to do for a few more years, I NEED MORE LIGHT!!! I have three ceramic fixtures w 100w floods hanging down right now. At night, I have to set up a shop light and wear a head lamp just to see what I'm working on and I'm very tired of this arrangement. My first thought was to simply replace the 3 fixtures with 4' fluorescent setups and maybe add 2 more daisy chained to the last one in the circuit, but then I discovered the LED fixtures at Home Depot.

The one that I am looking at (made by Commercial Electric) looks like a fluorescent fixture, but it has 3600 lumens of LED strip lighting inside it. Side by side compared to the fluorescent lighting, it seems to be a MUCH brighter and whiter light. I'm seriously considering going this route and installing 5 of these fixtures in the cave. It claims a 50,000 hr lifespan... that's pretty darn good in my book. $49 apiece.

Has anyone transitioned to LED lighting in their garage/shop? Do you like it? How about the Home Depot variety...will I be disappointed with the light output or quality?

Thanks!

[keister]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-...-840/205570126

I installed these in my new garage and I love them.
Now in the process of changing my old fixtures out too.
They have a decent variety at Home Depot (or they did last fall when I got mine).
So you have your choice of plug in or hard wire, flush mount, chain hang style, etc.
It’s a really neat technology. No “bulbs”, just a strip of little yellow diodes the size of a little kid’s fingernail.
No glass, no gas filled bulb, no element, no buzzing, no heat.
Just clean, energy efficient light.

I know they also make conversions bulbs to use your existing fixtures with LEDs.
They look like 4' fluorescent tubes, but with a little strip of LED lights.
I haven't heard anything bad about these, but also have no firsthand experience either.

[Onetrackmind]

Thank keister! That's exactly the kind of review that I wanted.

I looked at the Lithonia LEDs also, but it looks like these may have more light output:
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-...4141/206032014

Anyway...I have a few more days until I can tackle this project.

Thanks again for the reply.

[Jason125m]

I bought the same basic light as keister, they put out a ton of light compared to my old fluorescent tube lights!

[atctim]

I replaced all 6 of my 4' florescent lights in my garage with the Home Depot Commercial electric fixtures. The improvements are 10 fold. Highly recommended. No warm up time in the cold, no loud buzzing, much less energy used. It's a no brainier. I told myself that I would buy one every paycheck, and that is just what I did. Again - you will not be disappointed!

[Onetrackmind]

Awesome! Thanks for the reviews guys.

[TrickShot]

My brother got a couple Zochlon Model#PT500W 110volt LED Floodlights for our shop. Length 595mm, Width 325mm, Height 98mm. They work great and super bright.

[Onetrackmind]

Thanks.

Update:

I wound up replacing my original three incandescent fixtures with three Commercial Electric 4' LED light bars. I also added two 4' LED shop lights with a pull chain which are above my work area.

WOW! What a difference! I went from around 1250 total lumens in this 3 car garage to right at 19,000 lumens (advertised). I can actually see s__t in there at night without a headlamp! Very happy with the results.

[ironchop]

How much did they cost?

Never mind. Just saw the Home Depot link and looked it up.

Sent from my Z998 using Tapatalk

[captainweezy]

I have some Xmas money put back for 5-6 new lights in my shop. I think I will order them online and pick them up Friday. Thanks for the reviews gents.

[86T3]

Last summer I stopped over to my old bosses shop and he showed me these new LED bulbs he bought for his old florescent fixtures. They go right in, and all you have to do is remove the ballast and wire it direct. So you get rid of the troublesome ballast and get more light, 2 birds with one stone. He said he got the bulbs at home Depot or lowes, can't remember which.

[Onetrackmind]

Yep...I saw the LED replacement "bulbs" at both stores. That would definitely be an upgrade for those with aging fluorescent fixtures for sure. Not very expensive either.

Since I was still just rocking the old school incandescent bulbs, I decided to go with the complete LED package.

[83ATC185]

I went from around 1250 total lumens in this 3 car garage to right at 19,000 lumens (advertised). I can actually see s__t in there at night without a headlamp! Very happy with the results.

To quote a man i know, "Atsa lotta lumens!"(in reference to a AA battery powered latern)


I'm glad to see people are happy with these i'm really considering buying some of the floodlights like trickshot posted for my dad's shop instead of the high bay fluorescents he had planned on getting. The extension cord "carnival" lights he has now are less than optimal for a 30x70 shop...I've went LED on pretty much everything 2 years ago and have not been disappointed or had to replace one yet.

[keister]

Currently doing my basement. Here is 3' LED beside 4' fluorescent

[keister]

Why was that upside down?