In my indoor workshop I currently have two quite old (20 years +) flourescent light fittings, with a single 40 watt tube in each. They are starting to get a bit temperamental at starting, and buzz quite a lot.
I'm thinking about replacing them with LED strips something like these (link will split across lines):
in cool white.
Do you think they will be ok as replacements for the tubes? I guess I'll have to go for the 100w transformer.
As all the light from LEDs will shine downwards, whatever reflector you have on the old lights won't do much, the light pattern you get might not reach as far laterally as with the tubes.
Alibaba prices will be under 1/4 LEDhut's prices if you can afford to wait for delivery from China/Hong Kong.
I'd want decent colour rendering in a workshop, and I'm pretty certain no reasonably priced LEDs will do this. Also, LEDs are a tiny light source so you'd need lots and lots of them to give an even light.
I'd go for some modern decent florries. With tubes suitable for your use - rather than basic. Electronic ballast florries don't suffer from starting problems on a cold day.
I see "5000 lumens" in the spec which is very good. You can also bandy the strips around a bit to get perhaps a more even lighting if you want.
One query - do you want "warm white" or would you be better with a cool white for that type of use?
The product spec is missing the colour temperature and CRI. (Warm White and Cool White are not good enough descriptions.) That's usually left out of the spec when the product is crap, but it could just be the retailer's incompetence. OTOH, workshops are not normally as critical as house lighting for these factors.
The claimed light output is more than 2x36W tubes, and because it's all directed downwards, the light output should appear to be significantly more than you had before.
I would not expect any problem with 4' tubes starting cold. It was only a problem with the 8' tubes. Bare fluorescent tubes are significantly less efficient in the cold though, and they'll take longer to run up to final light output.
Why now just swap the tubes for LED tubes and bypass the ballast?
Is there any upside at all compared to new tubes? The light output will be terrible.
NT
I disagree (no surprise there ;-)). Decent lighting is probably more important in a DIY workshop than in most parts of the average house. Except, perhaps, the kitchen.
Of course it depends on what you do DIY wise.
Bit cheaper and would replace the existing tubes, not as high an output,
4100K (which I find evry good)"High Brightness ( 3400lm ), 90W Replacement ? 56% Energy Saving, Low Power Consumption ( 40W ) ? 5 Year! Guarantee, Long lifespan ( over 30.000 hours ), CE, RoHS ? Cool-Day ? Colour Temperature, High CRI (over 80) ? High Quality, High Brightness Epistar 200x SMD2835 LED Chip ? Rotatble end caps with +90° or -90°"
Yes I had a pair of much shorter tubes that flashed away on cold days, but grabbing them with a warm hand for a few seconds made them work, so they were just too cold. I have to say from friends who have tried leds, if you can do without the off axis light they are much brighter thann tubes, but if you want all around light I suspect they are not going to be much good. Brian
A problem with all LEDs. They look bright to the eye but the light they throw on the work is what matters. Which is why florries are such a good choice for workshops - a large area which isn't too bright to look at directly.
I recently decided it was time to replace the 5 ancient double 8ft fittings in the workshop (several of which are partly dead). I considered LEDs but the price and the uncertainty about effective illumination levels led me to order some modern HF fluorescents from TLC
I fitted a single 4ft Viper HF in the kitchen with a standard (not-warm) white tube and the Polycarbonate Diffuser which does throw the light out. Much better light than the previous bought from a shed, and at £15 cheaper than the non-HF models still common place.
It was a bit unlucky the electronics failed after a year, so now it's on the second one...
Unfortunately, electronic ballasts from lesser-known manufacturers often don't last as long as the first tube. So not unlucky, but sadly typical.
The 20W daylight LED 300mm x 300mm panels I have give a good _even_ lighting in a 2.5m x 2.5m x 2.7m room. Since fitting the light I have spent many hours DIY in this room and find the light levels ideal, even for 'fiddly' work.
If the LEDs do the same job then what is the problem?
The first one is up and seems fine, but I much prefer the standard "white" tubes to the "daylight" ones. I think I'll want to keep a couple of the 8ft fittings so will look around for some cheap(ish) 70W HF "ballasts" - any suggestions?
They are available for an awful lot less than those you link to. These are £6.95 !
They are available for an awful lot less than those you linked to - these are £6.95 !
Andrew
Methinks you replied to the wrong post, young man
I use these everywhere, nice and bright, and also reliable, the only LEDs I've had that haven't failed at all in over a year - others have died after a few months! You can join them directly to each other end to end (they say up to 10, presumably too much current goes through the first one otherwise). Available in warm and cool white, 1 or 2 feet. 240V directly into them (actually they will take something like 85 to 265). I normally get the ones with the built in socket, but you can get the tube ones and fit them into your existing fittings, removing the ballast etc so they get 240V directly. They give a very nice spread of light at a full 180 degrees, or you can take the covers off and get about 90 degrees but more light.
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