fluorescent light choices

[Bob Cooper]

i know this has been discussed a lot and i've read a fair number of posts but i'll ask anyway.

I'm looking for 8' T5 fixtures but can't really seem to find any ... at least at the big box stores. I have not gone to an electrical supply house yet. I'm thinking the 8' fixtures would be preferrable since the T12 fixtures and bulbs seem to be well less the twice the price of the 4' onces.

So...when you bought fixtures what did you choose and did you find a source for reasonably priced fixtures -- mail order, big box, ...?

[Leo Graywacz]

I don't think they make a 8' T5 bulb

http://1000bulbs.com/category/t5-bi-pin-programmed-start-linear-fluorescent-tubes/

These are the lights I have in my shop, 6 bulb. Efficient and bright. You might have a ceiling that is to low to use them at their rated distance from the floor.

http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/commercial_lighting_fixtures_35_ctg.htm

[Jeff Monson]

Leo, the T5 fixtures I have are 8' but they have 4 bulbs, I think this is the norm for 8' T5 fixutres. I saw Menards had some on hand but I'm unsure of the quality, I bought 4 new fixtures for my shop last year. I had a friend of mine who is an electrician, pick them up for me at his supply place, with bulbs it was $345.00, great lights.

[Bob Cooper]

9' ceilings. This application is actually for the garage...the shop is next. I'm running cabinets along the back wall (the workshop sits just on the other side of this wall). See attached picture. The blue boxes represent where i think the garage doors will be when they are up.

As you can see, using 8' light's i have 8 of them + 1 extra near the entrance from the house. Just seems like if i try and do this with 4' fixutures it'll get very pricey.

the brown represents cabinets and shelves (left wall)

[Leo Graywacz]

Why don't you just use T8's. Good light output and inexpensive. Can be found anywhere. For my edge lighting my shop I use 4' T8 double bulb fixtures.

The F54T5HO are very bright, they are 47".

[Matt Meiser]

I just put 3 of the 8' fixtures from Home Depot that use 4 48" t8 bulbs and they seem pretty decent to me.

[Jim O'Dell]

I also used the 8' 4 bulb, Lithuania fixtures from HD, for my shop and they work great. I think the price on them now is about 44 bucks. The 4' 2 bulb units in contrast are 27 bucks. They have been almost flawless. I had one of the 8 footers that created noise in my stereo. Changed it out under warranty. Then put the antenna outside...that might have saved me the hassle of doing the exchange. Maybe not. Mine are all T8s. I understand the T5s should be even more efficient, but they just aren't as plentiful at this point, thus making the price a little higher. I got my bulbs from businesslights.com About 66 dollars with shipping for a case of 25 Ushio German built bulbs. 5 years old now and still working great. Not a single failure. Jim.

[Don McManus]

If your above layout is for 2 bulb fixtures, I'd be concerned about having excessively bright, harsh light under the fixtures and strong shadows, all along the edge. It might be ok, if those are single T8 bulb strips. Also if you are moving the fixtures away from the cars for fear of the doors blocking the lamps, I have to ask "How many cars do you pull in simultaneously?". Probably not all three, right? The doors will probably only open one or two at a time, and there be lots of reflected light. I suspect you might like it better with a more evenly distributed light around the entire area, even if you are working in the cabinet area primarily.

A couple warnings about the high efficiency lights....They are MUCH brighter than T12. I bought a stack of 4 bulb T8 fixtures to put in my shop a few years back, which was too much of a good thing. After I installed the first one in the center of my shop, i returned the rest and bought half as many, 2-bulb fixtures rather than 4 bulb, for the shop perimeter than I had planned. I think the T5's are brighter still than what I tried out.

As with Jim, I bought a case of 25 bulbs, though i paid a lot more 10 years ago. At that time, I had to order a full case qty, in order to get high CRI bulbs in 5000K. As advertised, they were sunshine bright, but like an arctic sun. I always felt cold in the shop, even when i was sweating in Houston's heat. It was disconcerting, and bothered me enough, that I when i painted the walls I went several shades darker and yellower, to try and fight the "blueness". I couldn't return the special order case of bulbs, and not a one has even gotten dimmer, let alone burn out. But paint color was "free", since i did that after electrical. Also, I had them tint the primer, to preview the effect...and still went two shades darker still, when i got the actual paint tinted.

Maybe get a fixture or two, and a couple packs of locally available bulbs. Try them out before you buy in bulk ( and before the return period expires). For my second shop. I cut a 30' cord off a dead household vacuum i saw on the curb on trash day. I wired this into a fixture before I made any holes in my ceiling. I set the fixture on top a ladder, and tried it in different spots to see what it looked like day, night, doors open/closed etc. Tried out different bulbs too.

Hope this helps...

Don

[Leo Graywacz]

I have a mix of 5900K and 5000K and I much enjoy the lighting. Before that I have Sodium vapor lighting which are the orange streetlights. They sucked, but they were really bright and efficient.

As for the shadows. You want them, you just don't want harsh shadows which a non point source light has a hard time producing.

[Bob Cooper]

Thanks all. I'll check the local BORG and see if they carry 8' T8 fixtures and if so, buy one as don mentioned and try it out to see how much light it produces.

Do i need the high output fixtures. A good friend of mine commented that he has HO and that his units put out a ton of heat. cold temperature isn't going to be that big of a deal here so i'm not too concerned w/sub 30 degree flicker...i would like it though if they didn't hum too much.

[Charlie Barnes]

Bob,

When I built my shop last year, I put in 8' T8s with 4 bulbs each. I got them at Home Depot for around $40 each, but I think Lowes and the other guys all pretty much have the same thing. They produce plenty of light and I haven't noticed any issues with reception on the radio I listen to while I'm working.

I just saw your question about hum and flicker. I keep my shop at 45* in the winter when I'm not out there and I haven't noticed any flicker or hum when I first turn them on. Can't say that about the old T12s in my garage. They're terrible.

Charlie

[Bob Cooper]

From a wiring perspective.

1) Do i just need to put a box -- like i use for recepticles and switches -- where i think the middle of the each fixture will be located
2) What's a good number of these to put on a single 15 or 20A circuit. If each one has 4 bulbs at say 50 watts each = 200 watts = 1.6A...would say i can put 9 on a 15A circuit. Is this about right?

[Gary Curtis]

Go to the website for Griot's Garage. Do a Google search.

They offer some very high tech color balanced fixtures and bulbs. Be aware that this company draws in clientele who drive Ferrari's.

[Leo Graywacz]

From a wiring perspective.

1) Do i just need to put a box -- like i use for recepticles and switches -- where i think the middle of the each fixture will be located
2) What's a good number of these to put on a single 15 or 20A circuit. If each one has 4 bulbs at say 50 watts each = 200 watts = 1.6A...would say i can put 9 on a 15A circuit. Is this about right?

You can put an outlet for each of the two fixtures or if they hard wired you will need a box for each. You have to limit the total current to 80% of the circuits limit.

[Buck Williams]

You don't necessarily need a box for every fixture. If all of the wiring is on the surface you could easily run your power, and boxes down the middle of the two rows of fixtures and feed the fixtures using 3/8" or 1/2" flexible metal conduit (trade name greenfield), both sizes use a connector with a 1/2" knock out. Your boxes will have 1/2" KO's and each fixture should have 1/2" knock outs in each end and in the back of the fixture in the middle of the fixture. You might want to consider two lighting circuits just in case one breaker trips, all of your lighting won't go out.

[Don McManus]

from your questions 1 and 2...

1)The fixtures i used only had knockouts, so at rough in, we just left a romex wire hanging from the ceiling at each anticipated light location. (3/4" hole in the drywall). Then used a "romex connector nut"(not sure of the name) to hold the wire in the knockout hole of the fixture and protect it from the sharp edges.. IIRC, the knockout wasn't in the center of the fixture, which didn't center the lights on the holes we already had in the drywall. Check the fixture in advance, if this important.

2) The wattage will depend on the type of bulb and the efficiency of the ballast. As for # on a circuit 'per code', I'd see if the ballast/fixture manufacturer has a recommendation, or a rated amperage per ballast. It may be printed right on the ballasts label.

Your amperage question reminded me of something else....if you have a lot of fixtures on one switch, maybe buy a slightly heavier duty switch. My mom had to replace a switch in her kitchen..a few years after they switched to all CFLs in her can lights(maybe 12 lights on the circuit). The switch would arc-over at start-up because of the Fluorescent inrush current(start up current). You could hear it buzz in the switch. After a few years, it just buzzed longer and longer before the lights would come on, until they didn't. IIRC the heavy duty switch was $3.99 vs $0.39 for the regular duty: well worth not having to change it again in 3 years.