Inexpensive replacement for these garage flourescent lights?

You might try a search for "led shop light" or "led troffer light".

Are they T12? If so, you can go to T8 by changing the ballast in each, though you will also need T8 bulbs (smaller dia).

If you want to change the entire fixtures, then I suggest LEDs. Prices are dropping. A two lamp fixture of an LED will replace the 4 lamp fluorescent in light output. In addition, the LEDs will just about last a lifetime.

Inexpensive it porcelain fixture incandescent bulbs. Best is LED lighting but a typical 4' fixture is $40 and up. Should last many years though

Maybe not inexpensive, but Home Depot sells some 2 LED shop lights for about $ 40. I put some in the basement a year or two ago to solve the same problem.

I have not lookid into it,but have heard that you can get some LED tubes to replace the flourescent ones. I want to say the ballast has to come out,but not sure. You may be able to get by with just 2 tubes in each ficture as the LEDs seem to be brighter.

Maybe less expensive,but don't think I would want to do it is to put in a bunch of the regular light bulb sockets and put the LED bulbs in them.

costco

Item #1057373 Your Price59.99$ Shipping & Handling Included*

Features: Feit Electric 42W

That is actually a 2'x4' lay-in fluorescent fixture. There are LED retrofit kits available. I would get a retro kit that does not use the existing ballast. As far as quick, cheap, and simple, you will have to make your own determination.

John Grabowski

Everyone is touting LEDs but IME they are not ready for prime time.

About a year ago, I bought three circular LEDs for our bathrooms. Within 4 months, 2 of the 3 were flickering so badly they were unuseable. They were replaced with incandescent using fixtures, bye-bye flicker. Now the third is flickering and it too will be replaced.

The flourescent bulbs in my garage have been there 20 years, same for 6 out of 10 in my shop. If it were me, I would replace the four bulb with diffuser units you now have with two bulb strip T-8 units, (sans diffuser, the diffuser eats up about 1/2 of the light emitted). Those units are about $25 at a borg.

Perhaps the circular bulbs are not ready, but the regular screw in have been for a long time. So far I have about a dozen of them, the oldest about 3 years. They are getting cheaper too.

sams club sells 2 brite fluroscent equivalents for 34 bucks.

i am going to replace nearl all my fluroscent shop lights.....

the fixtures are over 30 years old, new lamps dont last...

the LEDs look awesome. save your receipt, and return if they dont work well

Hi Bill,

There's an old saying... You get what you pay for. If you want lighting that is going to perform well and last, you will need to spend a little more.

Decent fluorescent fixtures with T8 Bulbs and electronic ballast will cost about $50 each (not including bulbs). But they come on instantly (even in cold weather), don't have any flicker, and don't make any noise. One example are these fixtures at Home Depot:

Earlier this year I upgraded the lights in my garage/shop using the fixtures above. I have a web page and video showing the steps and methods I used:

I had hoped to use LED lights, but LED shop lights cost twice as much and put out less light (fewer lumens). Since I only use my garage lights occasionally, the lower power usage wouldn't really make much difference in the long run. So I stayed with the fluorescent fixtures.

My original T8 lights were almost 15 years old, but were still working great. So I was able to keep those and just add more fixtures to keep costs down.

Anthony Watson

I just replaced my shoplight that sits over my work bench with a 4 foot LED from Home Depot. About $39. Very happy with the result even if the price is high.

Just as with any other product, there are many variables to consider and in the case of LEDs, manufacture is key. There are cheap LEDs and there are quality LEDs. You may have purchased cheap China brand LEDs with cheap drivers.

IMO, thus far, I think Cree products are top notch and one can't go wrong when purchasing one of them.

This is my dilemma, exactly.

I love all the ideas, which all end up though, at: a. Keep the old system (cheapest in the short term) b. Switch to LEDs (expensive in the short term)

Long term, I don't think anyone argues LEDs aren't better. I'm in a cash crunch though, with lights going out, one by one.

Who's lifetime? Thats a very vague term.

Could it be the lifetime of a mosquito (a dew days), or is it just the lifetime of the bulb itself? (which could be anywhere from 1 second to

I think you answered your question of what to do.

That should have said a FEW DAYS !!!!

Just replace them one at a time with LED fixtures. Replace the worst one first!!! Eventually they will pay for themselves in saving on the electric bill and not having to buy more bulbs.

It's just like my yard light, (farm light on a pole). I had a 175W mercury vapor bulb. Every 1 ro 2 years, I spent $15 for a bulb, often had to replace the sensor too (another $12). Last year the ballast apparently died, (New bulb and sensor did not fix it). I spent the $120 to buy a LED fixture. It paid for itself in several months. My electric bill dropped from $15 to $25 a month (depending on length of daylight). Better yet, it's brighter, and dont flicker like those MV lights tend to do. I figure that I've paid for the fixture and saved another $50 to $70 on my electric bill by now.

One huge problem with LED-lifetime claims, as I understand them anyway, is that the *electronics* doesn't last as long as the LED.

Of course, their claims are for the LED only. The electronics fails much sooner (I'm told).

Especially in our case, where the power goes out frequently due to trees landing on the lines at least a few times a year.

Correct. The LED bulbs will last a lifetime (longer life than a house fly). It is the driver that needs to be of sound quality. Therefore, when purchasing an LED, it should be routine to ensure they will replace or refund the entire lamp if it simply stops functioning regardless of the failure.