LED workshop lighting vs fluorescent?

[martin62]

Found this a while back looks ok
http://www.instructables.com/id/Inexpensive-Garage-Lights-From-LED-Strips/

 

[knighty]

was thinking about these today...

what about clear heat shrink ? (the stuff you put on electrical connections) I used some to make a bike light in the day before these led strings/ribbons were around

bit of inch square wood, stick the led strips to it (however many you want) slide it into the heat shrink, heat it up with a hot air gun... job done

means they're easy to mount/fix to the roof/wherever and they won't come unstuck etc.


as soon as I click post for this I'm going to order some clear heatshrink and do this myself :-)


EDIT: lol.... anyone know where to get cheap clear heatshrink ?

32mm diam, 8m long £4 LINK

thats about the best I can find :-(

(to me half the point of using the led strings is to do it cheap and put lights where I normally wouldn't brother)

 

[brightspark]

just stick em in a clear hose if that's the way u want to go but personally I wouldn't bother and waste my time

 

[knighty]

the problem is sticking them up, the sticky back stuff on them isn't great, and if you cable tie them up they sag between the cable ties

but... they're awesome for areas that are hard to light :-o

 

[MrFluffy]

if you heat shrink the leds into a tube, how will they dissipate the heat?
Agreed they run cooler than a incandescent bulb, but they still generate heat and bake without cooling.

 

[brightspark]

the waterproof ones are already plastic coated

 

[Shox Dr]

Whats do you do when they fail? How do you get the double sided tape off your ceiling etc

 

[brightspark]

Whats do you do when they fail? How do you get the double sided tape off your ceiling etc

heat and a scraper

 

[Shox Dr]

heat and a scraper

I vote tubes

 

[brightspark]

I vote tubes

same here

 

[garethp]

I've played about with strips and was about to change the rest of the fluorescent tubes in the garage, then came across these panels;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291757870914?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

And I bought one to try - they're really really good so I've now got 4

 

[Mee]

if you heat shrink the leds into a tube, how will they dissipate the heat?
Agreed they run cooler than a incandescent bulb, but they still generate heat and bake without cooling.

Correct, it is much less than a tube but the heat still needs dissipating.

the waterproof ones are already plastic coated

They are usually the epoxy type and yes the internals are waterproof, but the anode and cathode aren't unfortunately.

I've played about with strips and was about to change the rest of the fluorescent tubes in the garage, then came across these panels;

They are usually the multi angle chips and designed for refractive lighting applications working at 2 - 3 metres height and offer a diffused light, and are especially good for workshop applications as long as your not too high with your mounting.

 

[sparkysy]

We do a lot with led lighting in warehouses and Barns, we sort out what lighting levels are required and use software called relux to calculate where and how many fittings. It hasn't failed so far but we are finding because of the limited beam angle of leds (120 degrees) you need a lot more to cover the same area as say a low bay or fluorescent and achieve satisfactory lux levels. Led fittings have come a long way in the last few years and good fittings are getting cheaper. We fitted some on Friday 6x 100w low bays in a barn and it was way better spread than the 2 250w metal halides we took out! And I forgot to get pictures too! Here is a useless one in the daylight

 

[sparkysy]

Damn I forgot to say they were osram led's and came with a 5year guarantee all for £155 a fitting!

 

[EddyP]

Has anyone tried any of the ebay high bay fittings? I'd love some for my barn but struggle to justify £155/fitting....

 

[brightspark]

Has anyone tried any of the ebay high bay fittings? I'd love some for my barn but struggle to justify £155/fitting....

just fit 50 watt led floodlights

 

[sparkysy]

^^^^^
We have fitted the 50w floods in Barns before they work well and give a good spread of light! And should be about £55 a fitting for a good quality one with at least a 2 year guarantee!

 

[Rig Pig]

I bought some eBay led spotlights, they lasted around 6 months, the florescent lights in my workshop were second hand when I got them and 6 years later they are still going strong! So think long and hard about swapping them out for cheap leds, the more expensive ones may be better.

 

[brightspark]

luceco 50w fittings 2 year warranty I've fitted 50 of them and only had 3 go faulty in 3 years

 

[knighty]

I'd agree on getting decent ones... but... I put up two 10w led flood lights at work, one in the factory and one in the yard, not to see/work under, just some extra light for the CCTV.... they've been up about 4 years now, turned on 24/7 and haven't missed a beat

guess there's a bit of a gamble with cheap ones, maybe I just got lucky