Anyone using Lee Valley's LED strips? How bright per meter compared to 60W bulb?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Skip to question in bold at the bottom if you have ADD and don't want to read my lovely explanation of the whole situation. I did read the lighting sticky before posting, but this is a specific question regarding Lee Valley's lights.

I have a number of LED lights by various sources, and I love them, but I know they vary like the wind. We just put a bid on the house next door to convert into a shop ( I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!) Although the bid hasn't officially been accepted yet, I'm planing my expenses for the renovation. The whole place will be gutted and turned into one big 24'x32' open dream workshop with 12' ceilings. (This is an 1820 home- apparently people were taller back then, or liked to play baseball indoors, because ceilings and doors are huge.) I would like to consider the Lee Valley strip LED's in channels in the ceiling.

I live where electricity is the 2nd highest $/kwh in the world, so I love LED's. I also plan to go solar in the near future, so I'm liking the idea of a 12v lighting system. Another plus is this home is stone construction with 18" thick walls, and the remote control switch Lee Valley offers makes installation of this system much easier- just run 120v outlets to the attic, and plug in the remote receiver and wire the lights up to that- no need to run wiring to a switch- big plus, as I hate surface wire moulds.

My plan is to do two strips of LED's 32' long total (divided into four 16' strips due to voltage drops- with four transformers total.) The strips would run lengthwise through the shop on the ceiling roughly 8' from the walls. There will also be three big hanging fixtures with 100 watt equivalent LED bulbs each, and two or maybe three ceiling fans with option to have lights, but hopefully this is not needed.

So the question- how bright are the Lee Valley 120/m LED strips per meter? Lee Valley doesn't say, but for the 120/m lighting from other suppliers, they rate them at 900 lumens/meter. Can anyone using them comment on brightness per meter compared to a 60w bulb? (or whatever comparison would convey to me about how bright to expect them to be)

I love the idea of two long strips of light throwing out diffused light from multiple angles so there are no harsh shadows, with the three hanging lights centered over the areas where my workbench and table saw will be for even more direct light there.

Thanks in advance,

Malcolm

[Malcolm Schweizer]

By the way- I just realized that someone may ask why use the Lee Valley (or similar) strip lights when there are many other LED shop lighting options that are much more affordable. This home is one of the oldest standing homes on the island, and has a very significant historical value. I am trying to do as little to alter the "old feel" of the home, and also don't want to cut into the original wood wainscoting on the ceiling any more than nescessary. The LED strip lights mount with two screws per 3' section, and are fairly unobtrusive.

[Chris Padilla]

I don't know anything about LV's led strip lights but I used a firm called Flexfire for my LED strip solutions.

Using strip light channels allows one to embed very high lumen led strips into an incredibly low profile situation. You only need to route a groove/dado 3/8" deep by about a 1/2" wide and then thread the wire through to the power source. Google: strip light channel. I have used the Klus brand and am quite happy with them. They are aluminum channels and you can get a variety of covers that snap into the channel--clear or frosted.

[Jim Falsetti]

Malcolm, I own and use probably 40 feet of the Lee Valley high intensity LED strips and I highly recommend them. I put a relatively small strip, 18-24 inches long, into a closet with an occupancy sensor, and it lights up the area very nicely. I have also used them in two bookcases, where we added dimmers. I may be biased because I have also replaced all the CFDs and almost all the incandescent bulbs in the house with LEDs. But I like a very bright light.

In the shop, I still use fluorescents, but lots of them, all with daylight bulbs.

Buy them, you won't regret it.

Oh, go to the armacost lighting web site for more information on the ribbons. They are 6-7 lumens per LED, or about 750 lumens per meter. I looked up the lumens of a 60W incandescent bulb, and one source claims they are 800 lumens.

For the record, I have no affiliation with LV.

Best,
Jim

[Jim Becker]

I've used both the 120/m, 60/m and 30/m LED tape from Lee Valley and have been extremely pleased with them. In fact, in the kitchen (under cabinet), I had to get a dimmer to bring the light down a little. Very nice product. Be sure that you have a very clean and smooth surface available to stick the tape to.

That all said, these are not really for "shop lighting"...

[Jim Falsetti]

I think Jim Becker has a point on use of the ribbons for shop lighting. I used the Jack Lindsey article (in the sticky) when I selected shop lighting. At the time, LEDs were not an option, but they are now, and there may be LED options more suited for shop lighting than the LV ribbons.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Thanks for the replies. I bought a cheap strip light on eBay- the low-dollar kind that your mother warned you about- for my existing shop, just to play around with. Although a few led's burned out, as I was warned the low-buck kind would, they were so bright that I sometimes only use them and don't need to turn on the overhead light if just doing a quick task or grabbing a tool. They were a "trial run" that I literally just stuck to the underside of a shelf before I spent big bucks on a more quality set. They are 60/m, so I figured the 120, by sheer math, would be twice as bright. That would put them in the same range of brightness as a 60w bulb per meter. I would also have task lighting under cabinets and three large hanging lights that you may have seen in my "shop lighting score" thread. I like the strip lights because they throw out even light without the hot spots of a bulb type light, and they would blend right in with the wainscot ceiling. I would probably get the surface mount channel, but I am considering the one that you route in a groove for a nice clean and flush look, run parallel to the bead of the wainscoting. The house is full of windows and on the south side has French doors, and during the day would only need accent lighting. Obviously at night that's not the case. I would get the wireless dimmer switch to save energy during the day.

As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part. I'm keeping my mind busy planning out lighting and outlets.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I decided to get an 8' strip and the surface mount channels with opal diffuser as a test before going with 32' of it. I can use it in my current shop and if I get the new shop there will be plenty of places for it even if I do not go with this system in the ceiling.

[Curt Harms]

I think Jim Becker has a point on use of the ribbons for shop lighting. I used the Jack Lindsey article (in the sticky) when I selected shop lighting. At the time, LEDs were not an option, but they are now, and there may be LED options more suited for shop lighting than the LV ribbons.

I just converted a cheap shop light to LED tubes. They connect directly to 120 volt so no need for ballast and are rated for 2000 lumens. I used tombstones from Ebay that can be screwed to a flat surface so they can be used in many situations. The tubes cost $10 ea. delivered from Amazon. There are also LED tubes that are direct replacement, they use a T8 ballast. LED tubes used to be cost prohibitive. They're becoming pretty competitive with fluorescents IMO given that they should live longer and LEDs don't mind being turned off and on frequently.

[Steven Hosler]

Malcolm, I just finished a bookcase that uses the 60/m strips from Lee Valley. (I used the bright white rather than the soft white). I found them to be too bright for this application. I installed a dimmer to bring them to the right intensity. I also used the channel (corner channel) and opel diffuser. I like the way the opel diffuser "mixes" the light so it seems like a solid bar of light rather then many single lights. The installation was simple and has worked very well.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Steven, that's good to know. I have ordered 8' of the 120/m to test out. I figured it was worth testing and I can always find a use for them if I don't go this route.

Curt, those LED conversions would still use the ballast in the shop light, and not being an expert, I am assuming there would still be more power draw than a dedicated LED system. I may be wrong. I am going to try to go with something different than the classic hanging shop light. I want this to be able to be converted easily back to a rental unit or vacation home if my life plans change down the road, but mostly I want to keep the "old feel" of the space.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Update: a six-foot run of the 120/m LED's is about the light of a 60 watt bulb. Install was easy, and I LOVE the remote light switch. Finally have a switch on the entry from the house, which with 18" thick stone walls is not an easy task otherwise. I tested the remote from 20' away through two walls and it worked fine.

[Eric Keller]

I'm confused about what you got, could you give the LV part number? I used the aluminum extrusion that LV sells for our under counter lighting. I think it works really well. I bought the led strip itself from Amazon to save money. I am not sure if it makes sense to put it up in my shop, have to think about that. You have a unique circumstance

[Lane Hardy]

Malcom are you still on Sawmillcreek? Better yet are you still on the US VI? After the hurricanes?

Lane

[Charles Taylor]

Malcom are you still on Sawmillcreek? Better yet are you still on the US VI? After the hurricanes?

Lane

Malcolm is updating as he can over in the Off topic forum.