Considering an 8' LED light

[asallwey]

My old 2-tube florescent 8 footer is starting to fade on me and I'm wondering if LED's would be too bright. The shop is a basement, so the light is maybe 1.5' over my head. I have converted a 4' 2-tube unit to led over one of my machines and it works good. And it really throws a lot more light around the room. I'm concerned that the 8 footer would be too bright, given that the ceiling is low.

So, anyone put an 8 footer in their basement? Or in a room with a 7' ceiling?

[Doozer]

I think 4 foot bulbs are cheaper and more readily available.
That make me think two four footers would be the way to go.

-D

[lbender]

That make me think two four footers would be the way to go.

I have to agree with Doozer on this one. Two four foot lights may or may not be cheaper, but they certainly are more flexible.
And as a last resort, you can turn on only one if it's too bright with both.

[Arcane]

I think 4 foot bulbs are cheaper and more readily available.
That make me think two four footers would be the way to go.

-D

A little bit back when an 8 foot fixture of mine puked the ballast, I first went to Home depot (on the way by) and looked for 8 foot LED replacement tubes; they didn't have any but they did have lots of 4 footers...and lots of 8 foot fluorescent tubes. Go figure.

[reggie_obe]

So, anyone put an 8 footer in their basement? Or in a room with a 7' ceiling?

Finished ceiling or 7' to the open joists? You can gain a little headroom and improve the spread of light by tucking the new fixtures up between the joists.

[asallwey]

Finished ceiling or 7' to the open joists? You can gain a little headroom and improve the spread of light by tucking the new fixtures up between the joists.

Basically a finished ceiling, it's the concrete slab of my garage above.

I'm kind of thinking the 8' led would be too bright, heck even the florescent really lights up the place. It's a supplemental light for when I want/need more, not the primary lighting.

[JoeLee]

I had a couple of 8' LED's. These were the ones that would work off the existing ballast or could be wired direct. The first thing I didn't like was that the tubes sagged in the fixture. The light was pretty bright over the bench, almost too bright and did not illuminate much of the surrounding area of the shop like the florescent bulbs did. Then for some reason one bulb went out and one stayed lit. The bulb that went out was good but for some reason the fixture wouldn't light both bulbs. I put the florescent tubes back in.

JL...............

[Paul Alciatore]

You can get a four tube, four foot fixture and then just use as many LED bulbs as needed.

With that low ceiling you can easily add some extra switches in the fixtures to control how many bulbs are on if they only come with four bulbs.

Or two, two tube fixtures.

Unlike the fluorescents which are wired in pairs, you can install or turn on the LED bulbs as you need them.

[Paul Alciatore]

I converted a large number of four foot fixtures in my home and shop. I see little reason to continue to use the ballasts as they consume power and create heat. And sooner or later they will fail and you will need to replace or remove them anyway.

My LED tubes also would work with or without the ballast. I removed all the ballasts and wired the bulbs directly to the AC power (115V). With a total of 39 LED replacement tubes, I have not had a single problem in well over two years. And the light is excellent.

Get rid of the ballast and I bet those LEDs will work just fine.

I had a couple of 8' LED's. These were the ones that would work off the existing ballast or could be wired direct. The first thing I didn't like was that the tubes sagged in the fixture. The light was pretty bright over the bench, almost too bright and did not illuminate much of the surrounding area of the shop like the florescent bulbs did. Then for some reason one bulb went out and one stayed lit. The bulb that went out was good but for some reason the fixture wouldn't light both bulbs. I put the florescent tubes back in.

JL...............

[JoeLee]

I converted a large number of four foot fixtures in my home and shop. I see little reason to continue to use the ballasts as they consume power and create heat. And sooner or later they will fail and you will need to replace or remove them anyway.

My LED tubes also would work with or without the ballast. I removed all the ballasts and wired the bulbs directly to the AC power (115V). With a total of 39 LED replacement tubes, I have not had a single problem in well over two years. And the light is excellent.

Get rid of the ballast and I bet those LEDs will work just fine.

Over the past couple years I've read a lot of pros & cons about LED tubes from posts on this forum. The way they cast light across the shop was one of the complaints. It's almost straight down as only half of the bulb is clear. Mine being the single pin type they could be rotated to throw light in any direction.
I have two 8' fixtures above my main work bench which is about 22' long. The lights are about 5' above the bench. The florescent tubes cast a fair amount of light across the shop where as the LED tubes did not. Being so close over head I actually found the brightness annoying as wall. Since this was more or less an experiment I didn't want to do any re-wiring. Glad I didn't.

JL..............

[MrWhoopee]

Agree with Doozer , get two 4 footers. The ones I got daisy chain together and came with the wiring if you want to do it that way.

https://www.amazon.com/Barrina-Integrated-Daylight-Warehouse-Workshop/dp/B07G2Q4VZN

[mattthemuppet]

I'd personally recommend getting the single tube 4ft daisy chain fixtures. I recommended them to my friend who does a lot of car work in his garage and he really likes them. He bought an 8 pack from Amazon, 5000K, frosted and 20W (I think) for around $65. Lots of very even illumination, no harsh shadows, no glare, super easy to install. I think it's better to have more lower power LED light sources than fewer high power ones. We don't view light output linearly and having a bright light next to low light is really hard to deal with.

[asallwey]

JoeLee, thanks for comments about brightness, that's what I was wondering about. I think I'll keep my florescent 8' tubes. I had 1 spare bulb which I just used, so I'm good to go.

The other comments about replacing the 8' with 4' is not in the game plan. I already have several 4', a couple which have been converted to led.

[Rich Carlstedt]

I only use 8' two tube flourescent's in my shop ( 5 fixtures -23' x 23') Sloped ceiling
So Last year , one unit failed and I got a two bulb LED 8 foot fixture from Menards for $ 75 ~
The unit produces the same amount of light - volume wise ---Except it is more focused downward
The light is 10 feet off the floor so it would be more dispersed than your 8' ceiling
I find LED do not reflect light as much as a fluorescent and under bench spaces are darker .
I don't think I would want all the lights to be LED, as reflected light is needed in a shop

Rich

[OaklandGB]

Just my opinion and personal experience:

LEDs do a much better job of lighting. "Too bright" can be avoided by starting with smaller lights, the 48" models are available everywhere. My garage shop florescent lamps started to fail a couple of years ago, and seemed to be consuming replacement bulbs somewhat frequently, so I just replaced them one at a time. I was impressed with the LED lights and now I just have 6 of them to cover a 2.5 car garage with exposed rafters, very nicely. They have hardly any amperage draw and don't buzz or flicker. Also, the trash services are starting to put florescent bulbs on their "unacceptable" list.

My new place has an old shop in an outbuilding with 5 florescent lamps, 2 of which are currently inoperable. As I gradually move my equipment there, I plan is to move all of my LEDs to that new place as they do a great job of lighting. I will rewire the place to provide ample access to plugs controlled by wall switch.

Cool or cold weather is not an issue with LEDs, they come on bright, and stay bright.

I guess I just appreciate the brighter lighting.,