shop lighting...

[marty shultz]

for those of you who are building/remodeling your shop you may consider installing sky lights. I put 8 in my shop and on sunny days I really don't need to turn the lights on.

[James R. Williams]

Hello,
I'm looking for recommendations for places to purchase T8 fixtures without breaking the bank. Looks like most say to stay away from the box stores.
thanks.
Jim

[Leo Graywacz]

I had no issues with any of the fixtures that I bought at HD. T8 32 watt bulbs. It was the Shop light, or work light or something like that. Had a pull chain and a nice sized reflector. About $20 and came with bulbs.

Personally I'd go with T5 54 watt HO. Cost more but you get a lot more light and are cheaper to operate.

[Steve Milito]

I found a source for 8' tandems (4 x 4' bulbs) with name brand ballasts for $35.00 with free shipping on orders over $750.
Box stores fixtures were about $40 so you need to achieve the free shipping to see any cost savings.
FWIW: the least expensive source for bulbs was actually buying a full crate through HD.

[Steve Milito]

I had no issues with any of the fixtures that I bought at HD. T8 32 watt bulbs. It was the Shop light, or work light or something like that. Had a pull chain and a nice sized reflector. About $20 and came with bulbs.

Personally I'd go with T5 54 watt HO. Cost more but you get a lot more light and are cheaper to operate.

I've found that T8 32 watt lamps are the most cost effective lighting unless you absolutely need the HO for apps such as indoor gardening.

[Leo Graywacz]

Never saw a T5 32. I've seen T5 28w which put out about 2900 lumens which is more than 1/2 the light of a 54 watt (2900 vs 5000). You'd need 8 fixtures for every 5 of the 54 watt. Initially you'd pay a lot more, but eventually you might make up the money in savings.

T5 32w is a circular lamp.

[Steve Milito]

Never saw a T5 32. I've seen T5 28w which put out about 2900 lumens which is more than 1/2 the light of a 54 watt (2900 vs 5000). You'd need 8 fixtures for every 5 of the 54 watt. Initially you'd pay a lot more, but eventually you might make up the money in savings.

T5 32w is a circular lamp.

T5 32 watt was a typo, I meant T8. The efficiency (lumens / watt) of T5 and T8 are very similar. Thus, it's very difficult to make up for the difference in bulb and fixture costs by having operational cost savings. You need more T8 bulbs to achieve the same luminosity but the fixtures and bulbs are less expensive.

[James R. Williams]

Does anyone know if there are issues plugging a fluorescent fixture into a GFCI receptacle? I am planning to hard wire most fixtures, but thought I would install some receptacles in the ceiling for possible addition of hanging fixtures. The NEC requires GFCI receptacles in a garage.
Thanks.
Jim

[Leo Graywacz]

As long as there is no fault in the lighting they should work fine.

[Bill Adamsen]

Didn't need the GFCI protection, but an electrician suggested using the outlet and plug (as opposed to "hard wiring") so that the units could be easily swapped out if needed. I had to put the handy box there anyway ... so that made this seem like a more functional approach. Could easily have used GFCI outlets - don't see why there would be an issue. The outlet made installation very easy.

LightingConnect.jpg

Does anyone know if there are issues plugging a fluorescent fixture into a GFCI receptacle? I am planning to hard wire most fixtures, but thought I would install some receptacles in the ceiling for possible addition of hanging fixtures. The NEC requires GFCI receptacles in a garage.
Thanks.
Jim