Screw-in Compact Flourescent (CFL) bulbs for shop lighting

[Lynn Kasdorf]

I'm constructing a new room in my barn for a nice woodworking bench area, and for smaller machines like cutoff saw, bandsaws, drill presses, etc.

I am strongly considering using a bunch of CFL bulbs rather than normal fluorescent fixtures. I've really gotten sick of trying to keep FL fixtures running. I'll turn the lights on one day, and one fixture is out. So, I begin the bulb swap game. Is it the bulb, or the ballast, or maybe the connector? I'm just sick of it.

With simple screw-in CFLs, if one burns out, you screw in another. Done. And they have gotten very cheap, and you can get pretty big ones now. I think an array of the 17watt ones will work great with a white ceiling.

I'm just wondering if many of you folks use these for your shop lighting.

I've not yet done the watts/lumen calc to compare CFL with tubular FL. But- the up front costs will be lower- I already have tons of screw-in sockets, so no fixtures to buy.

Another advantage I see of using screw-in bulbs is that when LED bulbs get cheaper, I could use them too.

[Kevin W Johnson]

Just in case you're unaware, CFL's will last longer if you can mount them so that the glass portion is above the the ballast portion. Mounted the other way (glass below the ballast), the heat from the bulb kills the ballast prematurely. The 100w replacements use 23w, together with a white ceiling should work ok. I even saw some the other day that 150w replacements and used 42w IIRC.

[Chris Parks]

I'm constructing a new room in my barn for a nice woodworking bench area, and for smaller machines like cutoff saw, bandsaws, drill presses, etc. I am strongly considering using a bunch of CFL bulbs rather than normal fluorescent fixtures. I've really gotten sick of trying to keep FL fixtures running. I'll turn the lights on one day, and one fixture is out. So, I begin the bulb swap game. Is it the bulb, or the ballast, or maybe the connector? I'm just sick of it.

Welcome to my world, I made the same decision for the same reasons some time ago and have not regretted it. Admittedly you have to use a few more globes than you maybe thought at first but I would not go back to flouro tubes ever. In fact I had a flouro fitting go up in flames, one that was under a carport, that was interesting. The first I knew of it was the tubes dropping on the floor as the end fittings melted. I mounted my globes horizontally to save headroom and give them a bit more protection.

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Just in case you're unaware, CFL's will last longer if you can mount them so that the glass portion is above the the ballast portion. Mounted the other way (glass below the ballast), the heat from the bulb kills the ballast prematurely. The 100w replacements use 23w, together with a white ceiling should work ok. I even saw some the other day that 150w replacements and used 42w IIRC.

For ceiling lighting, that wouldn't really work would it?

I have thought about using aluminum pie tins and fashioning reflectors. I could slip these over the bulb and maybe they would shield the base from heat as well as reflecting light.

[Don Jarvie]

I see your point but still see fluorecents tubes are being worthwhile. I have fluorecents and then individual spot lights. If I was to do it again I would buy track lights that take CFLs and put them over my benches and other spots where additional lighting would be useful.

[Dave Houseal]

Not only do they do the job, they're a heck of a lot cheaper!

When I did the lighting in my shop I was looking at the 4' fixtures and decided that I could do single cfl bulbs for around $4 or $5 per fixture including bulb. I was considering 6 4' fixtures at a cost ranging from $15 for the really cheap ones up to $50 or so for the nice ones, and that was without bulbs.

I have a 24'x24' shop and I put in 12 fixtures spaced evenly around the shop and have what I consider great lighting. Hardly any shadows anywhere I stand because the fixtures are spread out evenly throughout the shop. When its cold it takes them a minute to brighten up, but you have the same issue with the tubes unless you buy the really expensive fixtures. I'm really glad I went with single bulb fixtures. No regrets here!

[Andy Fox]

What is your ceiling height? Unless it's over 9-10 ft, the CFL's seem like they'll be more vulnerable hanging from the ceiling than tubes in a fluorescent strip.

This thread has me thinking about CFL's, as I'll be putting in a basement shop soon. My ceiling height will only be 8 ft, but it would be nice to only have to put in cheap bulb fixtures.

Edit: Using LED's in the future sounds like a definite advantage to this approach!

[Dave Houseal]

I have 10ft in my garage. I have to keep the lights in mind when I'm moving a full sheet of ply around, but its not too bad. I'm thinking about getting the cages that mount around the bulbs for when I eventually forget.

If I were dealing with 8ft ceilings I might reconsider my choices, or at least how/ where I mounted them.

[Bryan Rocker]

I would think those little 3 or 4 light ceiling fan lights would work well, they would keep most of the heat away from the ballast. I purchased an LED bulb to try out in the kitchen, flood type bulb. For just less watts than a CFL it is way brighter than the CFL or even the halogen bulb next to it. It may be an expense but I am considering can lighting with LEDs that way the bulbs would close to flush and still provide a ton of light.......