On Wed, Mar 23, 2005 at 06:16:35PM -0800, Chas. Schlismann wrote:
>
> Hi guys,
> Looking to improve the lighting in an approx. 28' x 36' area of my shop.
> Requirements: start in cold (heat is off unless we're working); brightness;
> diffuse light; daylight color temp. (or close-cooler is better for my eyes);
> reasonable operating cost. Yes, I want it all.
>
> Seeing as l.e.d. lighting is nigh ubiquitous, I would think there must be
> something out there for shop lighting but I sure can't locate it. I could go
> fluorescent, even HO tubes (good brightness, but use a lot of power). Or the
> small tubes (T8?).
I'm afraid LEDs are not yet cost effective for general-purpose lighting. One
of the challenges is that, individually, an LED still isn't very bright so you
need a large array of LEDs to achieve a level of brightness comparable to that
of a fluorescent or incandescent light. The LumiLEDs company has made some
advances here and I think their Luxeons are up to about 3W or maybe even 5W
each now but you'd still need a large number of these. Probably be a few more
years before we start seeing LEDs for general-purpose lighting (you can buy
LED spotlights today but they're pricey and only suitable for accent lighting).
Also, keep in mind that electronic-ballasted fluorescents are still generally
around twice as efficient as LEDs though LEDs are gaining. A couple months ago,
the best white LEDs offered only around 40 lumens/watt. A T8-style fluorescent
tube is close to 100 lumens/watt.
Jimmie
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