Has anyone installed LED lighting in their shop?

[Aleks Hunter]

Fromthe world's leading lighting experts: The lighting Research Center at RPI's chool of Architecture.
Overview http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/resources/new...cement8511.pdf
The real info, on LED replacements based on real science by real scientists, no anectodes, Everything that is currently available and reviewed that you ever wanted to know about LEDs:
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/soli...edProjects.asp

[Art Mann]

I looked through the links provided and noticed one glaring omission. I couldn't find any cost comparisons between fluorescent lighting and equivalent lighting. I suspect the reason is that the scholars already know the answer to that question and it isn't favorable to LEDs.

[Aleks Hunter]

That depends on what you mean by "cost." Do you mean the simple retail price paid by the consumer plus the energy consumption over the life of the lamps, or are you talking about the entire real cost which has to include the environmental damage that has come about due to the amount of mercury spewed by improperly disposed of fluorescent tubes?

[Art Mann]

The environmental impact of fluorescent bulbs was not what the original poster asked about. If you want to discuss that, I think the off topic forum would be the place to start. I will warn you that the disuscussion will turn political in very short order and it will probably be locked fairly quickly.

[Jerome Hanby]

I looked through the links provided and noticed one glaring omission. I couldn't find any cost comparisons between fluorescent lighting and equivalent lighting. I suspect the reason is that the scholars already know the answer to that question and it isn't favorable to LEDs.

The big problem with trying to do a comparison is what are you comparing. On the fluorescent side, that's pretty easy, you are almost certainly talking T8 bulbs and electronic ballasts. On the LED side are you talking about plug in replacements (for current 120 VAC bulbs) where the MTBF is totally wrapped up in the crappy individual power supplies in each bulb, a system with discrete high output LEDs driven by a high quality PWM controller where all the pieces are replaceable, or something in between? If I'm making the comparison, I'd decide which side I wanted to "win" and choose the LED system accordingly. Of course that makes the comparison useless, but you get the point.

Personally, I want to perform a given piece of work one time then spend as little time on maintenance as I can. DC driven LEDs using a controller that drives them with Pulse Width Modulation would be a great system, but I like my shop very bright. I don't think I could justify the expense of going LED there. But for the home, I think it might be a winner.

[Art Mann]

I tried to keep my comments in the context of the original poster's question, which is shop lighting. It seems he is wanting to install light fixtures where none currently exist. My observation is that current offerings for LED lighting are so expensive compared to fluorescent lighting that the energy savings will never justify their purchase. There are other intangible issues that have been brought up, including light color quality and environmental issues. Some people may choose LEDs for these reasons, but you can't put a universally applicable dollar value on these things.

[James R. Williams]

I posted the original question which has been answered, but appreciate all the additional comments that have been posted as I am interested in LED and general lighting overall. It's definitely a complicated issue.
Thanks.
Jim