Carport work light LED upgrade

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LandCruiserPhil

LandCruiserPhil

Peter Pan Syndrome
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LED lighting is amazing is terms of power consumption, heat, and light output. I installed a 9"x9"x1/8" LED panel in my carport ceiling for a better work light.

Specs - For 50 watts of electrical consumption you get 6000 lumens.:eek: A 65 watt flood lamp puts out 520 lumens so yes this sucker is bright, cool running temp for the Arizona heat, and cheap to run. The color is excellent at 4000K about the same as a halogen light.

Source - It's made to retrofit commercial wall pack fixtures you will see at the back of most shopping centers.:grinpimp:

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Dimples said:
Where did you pick that up at? Or is a LCP coming soon part?
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Left over ;) from a shopping center lighting upgrade project. I have access to all kinds but for some the ~$90 price tag might be too costly.
 
You must have seen my reply before I lost it. The forum displayed my reply twice, so I deleted one and both were gone. I didn't feel like typing it all up again so I gave up.

The cheap fluorescent fixtures I installed in my shop 10+ years ago are failing one by one. Installing new ballasts really highlights the loss of output over time- with an app on my phone I have measured the lumen output of one of my original fixtures with old bulbs vs. an old fixture with a new electronic ballast and the old bulbs that were in it when the ballast failed. The fixture with a replacement ballast (with old bulbs, mind you) has literally double the lumen output.

To answer your first question, I'm looking to replace failing fixtures as economically as possible over the long term. I love LED's, but I don't like arrays that prohibit individual LED replacement. I am considering replacing all my fluorescent fixtures with standard A19 (Edison) sockets and LED bulbs. I can get a 6 pack of 8.9 watt (60 watt equivalent) bulbs for just over $20 on Amazon, and porcelain sockets are about $1.50 each. So for about $30 I can replace the light output of one 4' twin bulb 80 watt fluorescent fixture, and consume about 50 watts.

The problem comes when I calculate the total cost to replace all 16 fixtures- around $500. I will probably just replace the old fixtures as they fail with LED's, and get all the life out of my original investment in the fluorescent fixtures.
 
Any update on this? @Spike @LandCruiserPhil I have had three ballasts go out in my shop over past months of the 8 in my garage, so I looking at doing something. FIrst thought was to retrofit the 4' flourescent fixtures to led. Trying to figure where/what types of bulbs to get.
 
I haven't done anything, but I'm keeping an eye on the trendy 'light strings', basically 48 foot long strings of 24 or so standard Edison sockets that are often seen at outdoor cafe seating or on backyard porches. They can be had for around $40, and probably cheaper. I've found them for around that price (and even less) including weak incandescent bulbs. LED's can be had for around $1.50 each at Costco, and you could probably beat that price on Amazon. I could replace 4 of my fluorescent fixtures with one string for around $80. That's about the same money I'd spend on ballasts for my current fixtures. I'd have to do some more research when I pull the trigger, as PAR30 reflector LED bulbs are getting cheap and might put more light down where I want it compared to standard round bulbs.

Another option is to find a supplier for the in-line sockets and put together my own. They'd have to be somewhere around 50 cents each to make that worthwhile, and maybe not even then, considering the time it would take to assemble them and the added cost of wire and plugs. China is hard to compete with! I could do custom spacing that way though.

If you look into this, make sure the strings have standard medium-size Edison sockets- many have the candelabra sockets. Many also come with LED bulbs, but they are low wattage and won't put out enough light. If you find bare strings (no bulbs) or bulk sockets please let me know.
 
I found these led lights, pretty high ratings.

Barrina T8 T10 T12 LED Light Tube, 4FT, 22W, 6000K (Super Bright White), 2600 Lumens, Dual-End Powered, Clear Cover, T8 T10 T12 Fluorescent Light Bulbs Replacement, 16-Pack - - Amazon.com

I have four light troffers in my ceiling, sounds like I can go down to 2 or three led lights for equiv. light production. So, 16 bulbs would do 6 - 8 fixtures. at $6 a bulb, this will be about $12 to $18 per fixture to upgrade.

From some quick research, it appears you have to pull out the ballast, and wire them differenctly to the tombstones, but then direct fit.

I have never done this before, so if anyone has advice, please post.
 
2fpower said:
I found these led lights, pretty high ratings.

Barrina T8 T10 T12 LED Light Tube, 4FT, 22W, 6000K (Super Bright White), 2600 Lumens, Dual-End Powered, Clear Cover, T8 T10 T12 Fluorescent Light Bulbs Replacement, 16-Pack - - Amazon.com
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This looks like a better solution than my idea. I like that the ballasts are removed, I had seen some that used the ballasts and I didn't care to have to rely on them. Cheaper than my idea, while still giving me a standard bulb that can be replaced later at low cost. Installation will be a lot cleaner than string lights too. I pulled the trigger on 40 bulbs.
 
2fpower said:
I have never done this before, so if anyone has advice, please post.
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Lots of vids, this guy's voice will either be entertaining or drive you nuts......
 
Did this over the weekend, results are amazing. Put two bulbs in most of the four light fixtures, and have more light than before.
 
On the left side is fluorescent the other two have two LEDs in them
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tlin said:
Lots of vids, this guy's voice will either be entertaining or drive you nuts......
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Always find it interesting how they show you how to do with it laying flat on the ground when most will be changing the out working off a ladder.

2fpower said:
Did this over the weekend, results are amazing. Put two bulbs in most of the four light fixtures, and have more light than before.
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Did you get the Amazon 16 pack? My garage up north takes a while to get the fluorescent lamps to warm up in the winter. Even then not that bright. Was thinking of installing more fixtures but will try this first. My second garage in the valley the PO used twice as many fixtures in less space. Plus no covers. Which I think was funny because he just stored a cigar boat, his Camaro from his youth, UTV and quads. No room to do any type of work.
 
Living in the Past said:
Always find it interesting how they show you how to do with it laying flat on the ground when most will be changing the out working off a ladder.



Did you get the Amazon 16 pack? My garage up north takes a while to get the fluorescent lamps to warm up in the winter. Even then not that bright. Was thinking of installing more fixtures but will try this first. My second garage in the valley the PO used twice as many fixtures in less space. Plus no covers. Which I think was funny because he just stored a cigar boat, his Camaro from his youth, UTV and quads. No room to do any type of work.
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yes, I did the 16 pack for $99 on Amazon. They say that they are not effected by the cold. I would use diffusers over the lights as I have read that they are too bright to look at without them.

I am installing a lift in my garage, so I had to relocate one of the lights, so I had it on the ground like the video. The rest I did on scaffold and only took a few minutes each.

i will never buy another ballast again. Swap out to these! At $6 for each bulb, very hard to beat.

Savings on power is another positive. see article.

LED vs Fluorescent Tubes - Comparison in Energy Consumption, Lighting Performance & Efficiency | Metrosphere Blog
 
Been thinking about this the crappy builder lighting in my garage for awhile and saw this thread. Also noticed Costco had a motion activated indoor/outdoor shop light for $39 ($29 on sale right now) and picked up a pair. No brainer install, and you can adjust the motion sensitivity, light output, timers, etc. Pretty happy with the results and was a pretty simple solution.
 
@2fpower - Is your garage air conditioned?
 
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