George’s Upgrade to LED Lights

The lighting in our instructor George’s shop was due for an upgrade to LED lights. This video isn’t meant to be a comprehensive how-to, but more of an overview of the decisions George made when choosing his new LED workshop lights.

Looking at upgrading

George’s shop has 8′ fixtures that take two T12 bulbs, and 2′ x 4′ fixtures in a drop ceiling. When George first explored LED workshop lights he would have had to completely replace the 8′ fixtures with new LED fixtures. Very expensive. Today, 8′ LED bulbs that DON’T require a fixture change are available. When you install them you remove (and recycle) the ballast. Rewiring is pretty simple.

The drop ceiling side of the shop

On the drop ceiling side of the shop, which uses 2′ x 4′ fixtures, George did an experiment. In a couple fixtures he swapped out the fluorescent bulbs for LEDs. This requires a high speed ballast. He also completely swapped out a couple fluorescent fixtures for 2′ x 4′ LED fixtures. In the final analysis, he prefers the light that comes from these fixtures.

The gain

LEDs use less electricity than fluorescents, and are better able to fire up in cold environments. They’re also dimmable, if you get the right bulb, though that isn’t much of a benefit for a shop. Plus, LED bulbs should outlast all of us.

For your shop

Do some research, crunch the numbers, and see if an upgrade to LEDs is a bright idea for you.