Is there much of a savings in replacing the old T-8 /T-12 Shop Lights, with LED shop lights of the same size ?
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Member
Is there much of a savings in replacing the old T-8 /T-12 Shop Lights, with LED shop lights of the same size ?
Contributor
It's been a few years for me, but I found keeping the fixtures, and getting the drop in replacement bulbs to be a nice approach. Might be a little more expensive on electricity, but cheaper up front. Be sure to check to see which ones you get. There are some that require the old balasts to be removed, and other that work with them. Mixing them results in bad things happening.
Contributor
I replaced mine with ones I bought at Home Depot. The LED bulbs didn't require that I remove the ballast.
They are a bit brighter than the fluorescent bulbs. But the big advantage to me is that they last a lot longer. The fluorescent bulbs were giving problems of one type or another (sometimes burned out). I've had the LEDs for a while and no problems so far.
They use a bit less electricity but not enough to make a big difference in your electric bill.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
Bypass the ballasts and use bulbs that are powered from both ends. If you buy leds that use a ballast you have to open up the fixture and figure out what ballast you have. Then go and figure out which led bulbs will work with that ballast. Not all leds will work with what you have and different fixtures may need different led tubes.
The ballasts will still burn out and then you will have to figure out which replacement ballast will work with your old tubes. Good luck finding that out in 5-10 years. I wanted to keep an old heavy duty floursecnt fixture that came from my father's shop. No way could I find informationon a 50 + year old ballast. Plus it probably had PCB's in it.
It is easier to just unhook the ballast and wire direct to the tombstones. No need to remove the ballasts. Only need one type of led tube and they will still be available in most any store in the future.
Bill D
Last edited by Bill Dufour; 06-13-2020 at 10:22 PM.
Moderator
Savings? That would depend upon multiple factors including differences in electric use and how much time the lights are on. For me, the switch to LED was about the light, not the energy, although I'm sure I'm benefiting a little from that given I'm in the shop a lot more now. The lighting in my shop is now like being on the beach...and that helps with my work.
Mine are all from Costco and purchased during sale periods.
Last edited by Jim Becker; 06-14-2020 at 12:45 PM.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
I went with new LED fixtures . Barinna , from China , a 6 pk. for $120 . All in , 12 lites- $240 . They are still on Amazon at that price . Yes they are light , flimsy , might weigh 1 pound each . Honestly one of the best moves for me . Will they last ? We will see . Going strong 2 years later , and I don't plan on touching them again . Very , very bright , even diffusion w/ no shadows or dark spots . My shop is 700 sq. ft. and bright .
Contributor
I went with the twin bulbs LED’s from Costco in ‘15 and they are terrific. Technology says you can get the same equivalent light out of single bulbs now. My friend just put single tube led’s in his shop and the 42” fixtures just connect together. They came out nicely. One of the big pluses on LED is that when I turn on the switch, the light is there immediately. You don’t have to wait to heat up the fixture for it to operate.
Member
I bought mine from Green light Depot I think I paid about $7 each They are so much brighter and need no warm up in cold weather. I think mine are 13 watt ones
Contributor
I think the difference between the LEDs that will work with the ballast and those that require you to remove the ballast is that the ones that will work with the ballast can withstand the initial high voltage that the ballast provides to start the fluorescent bulb.
I suspect that if you put one of those LED bulbs in a fixture that didn't have a ballast it would work fine. So if your ballast died, you could bypass it and the LEDs would probably work fine.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
My understanding is there are two types of ballasts, magnetic and electronic. Some LEDs will work with electronic ballasts (which most newer ballasts are) but do not work with the older magnetic ballasts. I found an easy way to tell if your ballast is magnetic or electronic, just look at the light with the camera in your smartphone (I assume a digital camera would also work) , if there are grey bands it is an older magnetic ballast and won't work with LEDs. I used this trick when I replaced my fluorescents, all but one of my old lights had magnetic ballasts so I replaced them with new LED fixtures, one had an electronic ballast and I just replaced the bulbs. https://www.eledlights.com/blog/post...20LED%20tubes.Originally Posted by Bill Dufour
Contributor
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.
Member
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.
Beranek's Law:
It has been remarked that if one selects his own components, builds his own enclosure, and is convinced he has made a wise choice of design, then his own loudspeaker sounds better to him than does anyone else's loudspeaker. In this case, the frequency response of the loudspeaker seems to play only a minor part in forming a person's opinion.
L.L. Beranek, Acoustics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1954), p.208.
Moderator
That's a pretty versatile product, David...nice price, too.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
I took on the job of replacing all of the bulbs in about 50 2'x4' troffer fixtures in our suspended ceilings at church. Some were 60 years old. Some had ballasts that were changed out multiple times. Some buzzed. I chose to eliminate the ballast issues for all times and went with the direct wired versions. Took about 20 minutes per fixture to remove the ballasts, wire the tombstones directly and replace the bulbs. I got the bulbs from 1000 bulbs.com at about $7.00 per bulb, in case-only quantities. Ended up with 4 milk crates full of old ballasts. Prior to that I had a hodge podge of various fluorescent fixtures in my shop at home. Yanked them all but an 8 footer and replaced them with 4' LED fixtures from HD.
NOW you tell me...
Member
Like Jim, I replaced my lights to improve my lighting rather than for any cost reasons. I went from 6 double T12 fixtures to 10 LED fixtures (got a multi-pack from amazon) with equivalent light output. Because they're much thinner and plug connected I could put 3 of them right under the I-Beam across my shop, which REALLY helps since my tablesaw is now lit directly.
It looks like getting 10 whole new fixtures was $180 vs $90 for replacements for the bulbs, but given my bad starting layout was definitely worth the cost.
Bruce
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