Fluorescents out but LED glare annoying…

[AJMD429]

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The ballast went out on one of the few remaining fluorescent fixtures we have, and yet the inexpensive LED shop lights were incredibly glaring. Plus, they were not designed for permanent installation, but were rather a plug-in type thing.

Since it was going to be extra work to take the old fluorescent housing down, I just decided to mount the new ones in the fixture, and since the glare was pretty intense, even the old fixture diffuser didn’t mitigate that very well, so I mounted them aiming up towards the reflective white surface. Results wound up pretty good.

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[GunnyMack]

That's a good solution Doc!
There are fluorescent replacement LED tubes that can just go into the fixture. I put one in the bathroom, very happy with it.

[gcs]

You couldn't find a replacement ballast?

I just ditched my last fluorescent shoplight, the light was anemic, and the bulbs were inconsistent when lighting . replaced it with a single "bulb" LED shoplight from Harbor Freight that was on sale...
The difference was amazing, I could operate under that light now!, lol, I guess there's glare, but it's mounted overhead and I don't look at it so it's all good...

[marlinman93]

I have LED 4 ft. lights all over my shop and garage. I love them and plan on putting them over my reloading bench soon too! I bought the style that plug in also and plug fixture to fixture. I simply installed a switched duplex receptacle to the first light, and then ran one every 5 ft. apart daisy chained. Mine came with a pull chain switch also, but I didn't use it.
They are bright, but I actually appreciate the extra light over work areas.

[Old No7]

Gotta admit I really like the low-power consumption and low-heat-generated capabilities of LEDs.

That said, I worked for then GTE Sylvania Lighting and later OSRAM Sylvania Lighting from 1984 to 2003...

In 1984, we made 250,000 fluorescent lamps (ranging from 2' up to 8' lengths) per day at my first plant, running 5 or 6 days per week -- at 2 U.S. plants (the other one made 350k I think -- daily); plus we had 2 plants making incandescent bulbs, 1 plant making PAR & Halogen lamps, 1 plant that made HID Lighting (mercury, high-pressure sodium and metalarc) and finally, 1 more plant making automotive light bulbs -- and we were one of three light bulk makers at the time! We also had 2 glass plants, a tungsten & moly powders plant, and 2 base plants plus a couple of others I've forgotten about. I always used to wonder "Where do all these lamps go?" and that was easily answered when I landed in Boston one clear night and you could easily see all the artificial lights that were in use below.

Anybody remember the Kenner Easy Bake Oven???

Put in a light bulb, mix up the dough -- and you could make your own chocolate chip cookies or brownies!!!

That's because 85% (if I recall) of the energy consumed when to HEAT and not to LIGHT.

Oh the stories I could tell... But I'll stop there...

"Let there be light!"

Old No7

[Ysabel Kid]

I'm a fan of the LED lights too. Have slowly replaced all the T40 fluorescents in the basement and garage - even hung one in the attic! They just throw so much light. My night vision used to be excellent, but after my cataract surgeries, my night vision now sucks. I find that I need a lot of strong light to see small things, and especially to distinguish small print or dark things against a dark background. Makes shooting indoors in a poorly-lit range, using black on black sights (front and rear) against a black target a waste of ammunition - I just can't see the sights.

[AJMD429]

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The next step needs to happen, which is to replace what we call LED “bulbs” with actual LED bulbs, instead of ‘circuits with bulbs and transformers’ and so forth. Even though they last a long time that is still a lot of waste and overlap, when we could have most of our lighting circuits be much lower voltage, we would have to have higher amperage and bigger wires but that would be less waste than all the circuitry that’s in the complex bulbs we now use.

I put extra/duplicate conduit throughout my house (I built in 1988, and all wiring is in grounded metal conduit under the drywall and paneling cuz I have OCD) in anticipation of that, so I’m ready…

[Sixgun]

Hillbilly ingenuity……Doc, you need to spend more time with like minded people over at the Politically Incorrect thread…..

[marlinman93]

LED lamps have multiple reasons to make them better than incandescent or fluorescent lamps. Of course the biggest is savings on your electric bill. But a very close 2nd is the lifespan. That lifespan isn't just the savings of buying lamps, but in a commercial situation the cost of maintenance paid to an employee to change a burnt out lamp. That can be thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a LED lamp vs. others. Might not be a big deal in your home, but I sure like not having to stop and change lamps or ballasts when one isn't working.
Another advantage is in shops where temps are usually colder in winter months the LED lamps come right on, where fluorescent lamps flicker and struggle to ignite unless you paid up to get cold weather ballasts.
And finally there's the lighting levels. When I changed my shop to LED lights I used about 3/4 the number of lamps and got a higher level of lighting. So not just a savings per lamp, but a big reduction in number of fixtures needed to get a better lighting level. I bought mine online, and the seller gave stepped discounts based on the number purchased. I got 12 fixtures to do my shop and garage at just $13 each, and free shipping. Couldn't even buy a ballast for my old fixtures for what a new LED fixture cost.

[AJMD429]

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Yeah I'm betting fluorescents will be almost nonexistent within a couple years. Especially since 'replacement' bulbs that fit most fixtures for both incandescent AND fluorescent bulbs can be had in LED format.

The 'compact fluorescents' sucked, were unreliable, we had several catch fire, and their claimed lifespan was a joke.

[Old Savage]

New office lights

[piller]

LEDs can be found in soft white, daylight, and other wavelengths. I am careful because PillHer gets nauseated by the daylight ones.