LED v.s. Fluorescent lights in the garage

**Boudin** · 03-16-2017, 08:46 AM

9x Commercial Electric LED shop lights on ceiling ( from Home Depot about $40 each and can run 9 in series, regular plug ), 6x T5 LED fixtures on each wall ( eBay/amazon specials, regular plug, can run 6 in series) , dual par38s on photography stands if needed. The 6k color temperature works well on dark paint, the 4k color temperature is better with lighter colored paint. It's bright in my garage 😎 No problem with cold temps, but I live in South Louisiana.

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**Addison87** · 04-23-2017, 05:48 PM

I have 6 8ft fixtures with 4 4ft fluorescent bulbs in each fixture. 6500k daylight bulbs . In a 2 bay garage. It is just right for me. If im doing a final inspection on paint ill sometimes just turn them off and use only my Rupes pen light. Seems to work great for me .

**Addison87** · 04-23-2017, 05:56 PM

Also once I put a light gray exopy and clear coat on my floor it seemed to make things seem alot brighter and helped to reflect the light. Could be just me tho ☺

**Addison87** · 04-23-2017, 06:00 PM

Love the lights mounted on wall!!

**Addison87** · 04-23-2017, 06:19 PM

LED v.s. Fluorescent lights in the garage-img_5818-1_1491957450895_1-jpg

LED v.s. Fluorescent lights in the garage-dsc_0593_1491008404790_1-jpg

LED v.s. Fluorescent lights in the garage-img_0814_1492828284685_1-jpg

Hows cars look under the lights

**GiverMeLiberte2** · 04-29-2017, 12:59 AM

I would def go with LED personally. They last virtually forever, don't hum (maybe it's just me but it drives me nuts), are super bright and don't fade over time, don't take anytime to turn on and use less energy. I have tall ceilings in my garage and I installed a hot red light to match my Camaro. Here's the ones I used http://cheaphighbays.com/product.html?l=highbay-a

**asap2stacks** · 08-19-2017, 04:50 AM

6500k T8 lights work best or T5

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**RippyD** · 08-19-2017, 09:06 AM

Just went through this - had several florescent fixtures that were giving me problems. Looked like ballasts were going bad in a couple. I also needed more light. Costco had LED fixtures are a decent price so I bought a bunch of them. Total cost was about the same as getting more florescent and fixing the bad ones. The light is better overall and the fixtures are smaller so I could get them into dark areas more easily. These can be hard wired but also have regular plugs so it can save you wiring if you're not up for that.

The one downside is that they have a delay before coming in. No flicker like florescents, but it takes a second for them to come on which is a little annoying. No regrets, and they take practically no power so I don't care when the kids leave them on overnight.

**pilotpip** · 12-02-2017, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by RippyD

The one downside is that they have a delay before coming in. No flicker like florescents, but it takes a second for them to come on which is a little annoying. No regrets, and they take practically no power so I don't care when the kids leave them on overnight.

Are you using the pull chains or do you have them wired to a switch? If you have them on a switch, they make dedicated LED switches. It will eliminate the delay.

**RippyD** · 12-03-2017, 12:41 AM

Interesting - I'll look into that. They're all wired to a wall switch. But I have to admit I don't see how the switch could be an issue - it's just a typical single-pole light switch. All it does is make contact to complete the circuit. What would an LED switch do differently to eliminate the delay?

I assumed the delay was due to the circuitry in the lights.