Shop lighting, what does the hive suggest?

My garage (40'x24'x9') is currently illuminated by 4' long fluorescent tube lights. There are two rows of four fixtures with two bulbs in each fixture for a total of 16 bulbs. Some of the lights work pretty good, some come and go. I like a nice bright garage, so what is the answer for lighting? Should I just replace all the bulbs and call it good? Replace them all with with something better? If so what?

My only requirements are low profile, the ceiling isn't very high (9') so I don't want anything hanging down more than a few inches, It has to work whether it is cold or hot, and inexpensive, I don't want to invest a ton of money in this project. So what is the go to answer on this? Where is the bang-for-the-buck in garage lighting? Thanks.

I've heard a lot of good things about LED replacement tubes. They don't need a ballast to run, either, meaning they should increase reliability.

On the flip side of that, I scored a pile of twelve 8' fixtures that I got from a friend who upgraded to LEDs. I'm going to hang them all in my 24x30' garage, so I know what you mean about liking a bright shop.

I was just about to ask a similar question. The other day I noticed that Home Depot had four foot LEDs for $39. I have a bunch of eight foot fluorescents that put out good light but I hate the way they hum. I was thinking about taking a chance on a couple of the LEDs. I didn't see any eight foot LEDs. Not sure if they even exist.

LED's. I was thinking about getting the LED tubes until I found the stash of flourescent tubes the prior owners of our house left. I probably will never have to buy another--but if I do, I'll buy an LED to replace it.

Costco has a nice shop light with two LED 4' tubes on it for $25 or so each. I bought a pile of them. They're very low profile (1.5" or so high) and can mount flush against the ceiling or hanging on chain or wires. (Short wires provided.) They plug in but you can also hack the plug off and wire nut it in if you're willing. (Use a strain relief.)

On the web site they show a 2-pack for $60 but I think they're cheaper in store.

https://www.costco.com/4%E2%80%99-Linkable-LED-Shop-Light-with-Pull-Chain,-2-pack.product.100284402.html

They're very bright and are unaffected by cold and are instant on. I'm a fan.

Have two of the Costco 4 footers in my garage and am very pleased. No flickering, no humming, and fire right up.

We just installed a dozen 8' LED retrofit bulbs in our shop a couple weeks ago. You'll need to take apart the fixtures and remove the ballasts though. Much better light than the tubes they replaced.

LED replacement tubes from Costco if you like your current fixtures. LED replacement fixtures from Costco if you don't.

/Costco

I got my LED fixtures from Sam's Club. Love 'em.

Lowes sells 4' long Utilitech LED shop lights that are super low profile for about 40 bucks a piece.

Pic of them in my old garage.

My plan is to run a few strips of these hooked up to a PC power supply...

2835SMD LEDs are quite bright, especially on strips like these with 600/strip.

I wish LEDs had been available/cheap/common enough in the tube format for me to stumble on when I was doing the garage. I've got LED cans around the perimeter, with fluorescent tubes in the middle.

I don't really have any objection to any, but feel like LEDs are the better light and I was surprised that I like the quality of light from the cans. Warmer than I was expecting.

The main caveat seems to be that some portion of the population is sensitive to the flicker of LEDs run from AC, though I gather some have a capacitor or something and don't do it, or don't do it as badly.

AWSX1686 wrote: My plan is to run a few strips of these hooked up to a PC power supply... 2835SMD LEDs are quite bright, especially on strips like these with 600/strip.

Oooo, I'm starting to come up with some interesting ideas.

dculberson wrote: Costco has a nice shop light with two LED 4' tubes on it for $25 or so each. I bought a pile of them. They're very low profile (1.5" or so high) and can mount flush against the ceiling or hanging on chain or wires. (Short wires provided.) They plug in but you can also hack the plug off and wire nut it in if you're willing. (Use a strain relief.) On the web site they show a 2-pack for $60 but I think they're cheaper in store. https://www.costco.com/4%E2%80%99-Linkable-LED-Shop-Light-with-Pull-Chain,-2-pack.product.100284402.html They're very bright and are unaffected by cold and are instant on. I'm a fan.

+1 on these. I'm a huge fan. I put 12 of them in my 25x30 pole barn and it's mega-bright in there even in the dead of winter, something I couldn't say when I had flourescent fixtures. Also, the ballasts in the flourescents used to interfere with the radio, and the LEDs don't. Even though they have some absurdly long warranty, I assume they will start to crap out, but they are cheap and easy to replace.

In reply to Tom Suddard:

At that point, regarding the amount of lighting per a sq. ft. it seizes to be a garage and is known as a grow operation

Keep your eyes peeled. Home Depot is still kinda new to the game of LED drop-ins so they switch suppliers all the time. Seems like once a month they have a skid of 2x4 drop in panels (to replace drop ceiling tube fixtures) for cheap. One of my customers did that. I think he bought 8 panels for $39 each and then just hung them with redneck engineering.

But LED is really the only way to go. T8s are just old tech. CFLs don't like cold. LED all the way.

I just put two 20' strips of these in my shop last year.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-intergrated-led-tube-light-t8-8ft-2400mm-65w-led-fluorescent-lamp-/291996562237?hash=item43fc59f33d:g:PmsAAOSwAPlXhkBl

It's like daylight in there now.

My 30x40x14' shop had three double 8' fluorescent overhead and six double 4' for task lights. I replaced all the fluorescent bulbs with eBay led replacements for under $200 delivered.

I grabbed a 4 footer from Costco one day for under $20. I used it to replace the 40 year old fluorescent light I bought in grad school.

Keith Tanner wrote:

AWSX1686 wrote: My plan is to run a few strips of these hooked up to a PC power supply... 2835SMD LEDs are quite bright, especially on strips like these with 600/strip.

Oooo, I'm starting to come up with some interesting ideas.

Infinite ideas!

I will be using a few on my truck shortly... I'll have to make a post once it's done.

My LED's always work, my florescent lights don't in single digit temps. That said, my LED's are not tubes, they are screw in incandescent replacements, and the particular ones i got shine outwards in every direction, but not downwards.

AWSX1686 wrote: My plan is to run a few strips of these hooked up to a PC power supply... 2835SMD LEDs are quite bright, especially on strips like these with 600/strip.

I have a bunch of the Costco/Sams 4' lights in my basement shop and they are great. If I had a finished ceiling I would have used the 2835SMD strips since they take up virtually no space.

I have the Costco ones, 2 in the garage and 2 in a bedroom that was converter into a work/lab room....much better lighting than the fluorecent's and less than $25 each...planning on getting a few more for the garage.

AWSX1686 wrote: My plan is to run a few strips of these hooked up to a PC power supply... 2835SMD LEDs are quite bright, especially on strips like these with 600/strip.

Wow, hard to beat 9000 lumens for $13.

I had 1,500 watts of T5HO in my last shop and you could tan in it. I will do LEDs next time I have a chance.

BrokenYugo wrote:

AWSX1686 wrote: My plan is to run a few strips of these hooked up to a PC power supply... 2835SMD LEDs are quite bright, especially on strips like these with 600/strip.

Wow, hard to beat 9000 lumens for $13.

Yup! I just put in the order for 7 of them for my garage. Will post pics upon install. :)