Light fittings

which are a fitting that includes the LEDs, rather than LED tubes in a strip light fitting. You can do that, but it's unnecessary cost.

I have about a dozen of these in the garage and loft:

The main downside is you can't buy longer link cables, so I've had to extend that 20cm cable using junction boxes for a wider spacing. I probably could have made it neater by soldering in an extension piece, but in the garage and loft I don't care how it looks.

Theo

The larger ones tend to be called LED battens

If you are definite about wanting twin 6ft LED luminaires then you want one of these

Cheers all.

I just used flat LED panels similar to those used in suspended ceilings.

Richard

There's no rule. Do what you like the look of that gives the output you need.

The lighting fixtures seem to have different CRI values as well. A "daylight" 6500K colour temperature fixture, had a CRI of 80. A warmer non-daylight one, the CRI was only 60. If you were measuring and cutting, you'd want some degree of quality light.

None of these "single point" measurement methods for light quality are perfect, and CRI is only an approximation to what humans like. While that Home Depot article seems to think "brightness" is some kinda nirvana, I've got a bulb here with a low CRI and yes, the light is bright, but the light is also "poor for any purpose", you can't read in it, you can't measure and cut in it. You have trouble telling what colour pants you are wearing. The light it emits can only be described as "mush".

Incandescents have a continuous spectra. Both white LED light and white CFL light, have spiky spectra from the phosphors they use. (The white LED datasheet includes a spectral scan so you can see this.) The white LEDs are actually blue inside, and the yellowish phosphor coating makes the white light. To make a lower colour temperature, the phosphor is generally a bit thicker. The colour temperature goes up to around 9000K and that's just too blue except for highway driving purposes. Some bicycle lights are 9000K. My bicycle light is 4500K (you buy 50 matched LEDs in bags and they're sorted by things like their colour temperature by a binned-machine at the factory).

Nowt much wrong with florescent lights, they are not much less efficent than LED's. My garage and workshop, have been lit, by then for 40+ years, with none needing repair/replacement, in all that time.

Needing to buy new, yes, LED is the way to go.

I think they have a long life because they are generally in a cold environment. We've been here 13 years, and the tubes are the same as when we moved in. I guess they were not too different from yours in total age.

I don't think you'll have a lot of luck getting the fluorescent tube ballast units, and even the tubes are in short supply. TLC have only the

I agree there is little difference in light output per watt. The only drawback (with florescents) is the flickering start up, which can be a nuisance if you walk into complete darkness and have to stand still while the light come on.

Electronic starters was a way to overcome that :)

Nicer, but seem to shorten the lives of the tubes.

I put a fluorescent with an electronic starter in my shed. It was fine in the the late spring, summer and early autumn, but in cold weather I just got a feeble glow from the tube, it never lit properly. So I went hunting for the same sized fitting at car boot sales and bought one with a choke and starter. There is no problem at low temperatures now.

I've got a couple in my loft. The original very old one with choke and starter, and a new one I fitted a dozen years ago which was electronic. Even on the coldest day the electronic one starts immediately, while the old one takes several seconds to come on.

I think my loft has electronic starters too. No problem. You can design electronics to work at low temperatures - its just a matter of thinking about it first.