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Thread: Replacing 4 foot T-8 or T-12 Shop lights with LED

  1. #16
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    One other consideration is that ballasts can give off electric noise that the radio picks up. When I have the radio running and turn on the lights static immediately ruins the radio output. I’m planning to replace my T8’s with LEDs that bypass the ballasts

  2. #17
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    We replaced the T8 bulbs in both my woodshop and my husband's workshop. We went with the direct wire version that requires you to remove the ballast. We'll never need to replace a ballast again. Both us experienced improved radio and WiFi reception. It really only took a few hows to do both buildings and it is much lighter with the LED bulbs. Ours came from Green Light Depot.

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas Crawford View Post
    Line voltage LED's are getting hard to find. Not available at the big box. I actually had to buy a replacement ballast for one I had converted to use LED direct wire versions. I wonder if there are good margins on those ballasts or I guess its too much to ask the average homeowner to rewire it.
    I got line voltage LED tubes from Home Depot but had to order them. I'm sure the ballast compatible tubes are bigger sellers because they're drop in replacements for Fluorescent tubes. It isn't hard to remove ballasts from most fixtures but it's not something typical homeowners are willing to undertake it there's a plug-n-play alternative.

  4. #19
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    I wired the entire new shop with line-voltage LEDs, the high CRI ones from Hyperikon. I'm sure they cost more than Costco or other big box store ones, but the light quality has been great - much better than lower CRI bulbs.

    I just bought normal fixtures from Home Depot that came without bulbs and removed the ballasts from them.

    My ceilings are 17 feet high, so really don't want to have to change bulbs.

    And, of course, there's the debate about which color temperature to use. 4100K looks best to me in my workshop, and 2700K for the finishing room. But YMMV on that one.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  5. #20
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    Alan, I'd be wary of that very warm 2700K in your finishing room if you work with colors...but that's me....
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Alan, I'd be wary of that very warm 2700K in your finishing room if you work with colors...but that's me....
    Jim:

    Every light in my house is 2700K. Literally every one. We really like that color temperature. So it matches colors great.

    Out of curiosity, which color temp would you suggest for a finishing room / spray booth?

    Alan
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  7. #22
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    I prefer as close to daylight as possible for finishing and since my finishing is within my general shop...the whole shop is lit that way. Mine are 4100K but some folks even like to push to 5000K for this reason.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I prefer as close to daylight as possible for finishing and since my finishing is within my general shop...the whole shop is lit that way. Mine are 4100K but some folks even like to push to 5000K for this reason.
    I like the 4000K lamps for general shop lighting as well. It seems white to me, the 6500K advocated by some seem to have a distinct bluish cast.

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clarence Martinn View Post
    Is there much of a savings in replacing the old T-8 /T-12 Shop Lights, with LED shop lights of the same size ?
    To answer Clarence's original question , I recall reading that LEDs use about half the wattage of equivalent fluorescent tubes. That seems about right, 40 watt T12 replacements typically use around 17 watts I think. The saving is greater going from incandescent to fluorescent than fluorescent to LED but incandescent to LED is better yet.

  10. #25
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    Even 5000K seems bluish to my and my wife's eyes. And since she's an artist, I don't mess with that.

    For our living spaces, 2700K seems perfect to us. For the shop, that seems too yellow, except, as I said in my finishing room. For my last workshop, I tried out multiple color temperature fluorescent bulbs to see which I liked.

    I can always change the bulbs over my spray booth easily to any color temperature I would like (I used hanging flood lights there, not tube lighting so I could get it lower.)

    I really love the Hyperikon, high CRI T8 LED replacements. Seem to be a very high quality product.

    If you are going the big box route, HD carries much better quality LED bulbs than Lowes. Their EcoSmart store brand is made by CREE (doesn't say so, but it is), and now they sell higher quality CREE branded bulbs too. These are for can lights. So HD has clearly become my go-to place for LED lighting - except for the T8 replacements.

    If you are using recessed can lights, and want to use Lutron dimmers (which are great, but pricey in the RF remote versions), buy the Halo can lights at HD. You can set the color temp with a switch on the fixture, and they don't flicker or stay slightly on when the dimmer is off (an incredibly annoying problem with multiple dimmer manufacturers, that I can't believe they haven't solved since all bulbs are going the LED route, and most are already there.)

    As you can see, I've spent a lot of time (and money) on LED lights / bulbs. But my electric bill is negative, so money and time well spent.
    Last edited by Alan Lightstone; 06-21-2020 at 8:26 AM.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clarence Martinn View Post
    Is there much of a savings in replacing the old T-8 /T-12 Shop Lights, with LED shop lights of the same size ?
    Less than you think electricity wise, but the longevity should make them pay off as well as not having to change bulbs.

    As was just said by Curt, the savings vs incandescent bulbs is far greater, and is mostly a no brainer - can be upwards of an 80-90% savings, not counting less heat production, so less AC needed.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by David L Morse View Post
    I think these are the future. Single ended/double ended/ballast/no ballast. Same bulb, any application. This format will take over. Only one type per color for a retailer to stock. No confusion for the end user.
    Nice, thanks for this post. My current lights are just where I want them already, but the output just isn't that great and it would be a chore to pull them all completely down to start again, so I think this is a really good option.
    - Bob R.
    Collegeville PA (30 minutes west of Philly)

  13. #28
    I just got a four-pack of line voltage LED tubes from Amazon. I had the same experience as others here - the big box stores only had the ballast-using ones. Ugh. No thanks.

    The bulbs were these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Installation was a cinch. I cut the wires into and out of the ballast and wire nutted the yellows (common) to white and red/blue (... not common) to black. All the tubes powered on with no issues.

    ... and then my wife said "oh my god the baseboards are dirty" and started scrubbing. It's a rental, and the baseboards are painted MDF, so it didn't go well. But the lights work great!

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Bernat View Post
    ... and then my wife said "oh my god the baseboards are dirty" and started scrubbing. It's a rental, and the baseboards are painted MDF, so it didn't go well. But the lights work great!
    Yea...one of the downsides to really good lighting. LOL
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #30
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    I replaced 6 shop light flourescent fixtures with these from Costco and man are they bright. 4,000k color. 4,000 lumens. And they sell the single fixtures in my store. Bought a bunch when they were on sale individually for $17.99 each.

    Next up is to replace the 8 tubes in my ceiling fixtures with the matching tubes. They are rated at 4,000k color and 3,500 lumens per pair. They sell them in two packs at Costco also. Should be really bright and all bulbs match color wise when done.

    For me, it was more about not having to change tubes every 12 months. Seems like the flourescent tubes were always burning out or getting dimmer within a year. And even though I bought a 10 pack at a time, it always seemed I couldn't find the same brand/color when I needed the next box.

    https://www.costco.com/feit-electric...100462723.html

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