Need a giant light for your garage?

[Kaido]

Awesome:

http://www.cnet.com/products/big-ass-light-shop-led/

* $400 (online or at Home Depot)
* $40 occupancy sensor available at checkout
* $10 mounting kit available for hanging it up
* Plugs into standard 120V outlet (no need to hardwire it)
* 23" LED light with 13,000 lumen output (5000k color temp)
* 122-watt power draw ($15 a year if used for an average of 3 hours a day)
* 150,000 hour life (at 3 hours per day, that's 137 years)

TL;DR: Expensive giant shop light that lasts forever and costs you next to nothing to run.

 

[Greenman]

I could use that on the job I'm doing right now.

 

[imagoon]

Very nice however I picked up a pallet of 2x4 florescent lights from a surplus for myself. 6 of them light the garage quite well. That is cool though.

 

[cbrsurfr]

Pretty pricey. I bought a pair of these for my garage: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They work great, I have the brightest garage in the neighborhood.

 

[NutBucket]

That's a lot of money for a small light. Sure it's bright but shadows will be unavoidable.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

I could use that on the job I'm doing right now.

So much this. Light tubes suck!

 

[franksta]

I did some calculations on my own setup.

There are 9 total fixtures each with 4 T8 bulbs. I got a screaming hot deal when they were upgrading a school in TN so I paid USD 10 per fixture including bulbs and ballasts.

8.3A at 120V is roughly 1kW of power consumption. The rate for electricity is about USD 0.10 per kwh. My break even point vs this LED fixture is after about 3000 hours of use.

I have replaced one ballast at 20 bucks and bought a box of bulbs and replaced 2 or 3. I'd need to check the pack of bulbs I have for their rated output though.

EDIT: Light output for each bulb I have is rated at 2750 lumens. 36 bulbs totals 99,000 lumens. I'd need 7 and a half of these to be equivalent.

 

[slag]

I need some more fixtures for my garage but I'm cheap. I have two fixtures right now that each have 4 48 inch bulbs in them. I need about 4 more of these fixtures so I have adequate light.

 

[JimKiler]

I have a hard time believing they do 13,000 lumens. I see a CFL that does 68 watts (300w equivalent) at Home Depot for $15 but it does only 4100 lumens. I am sure this big ass light is bright enough, but 13,000 lumens seems too high.

 

[imagoon]

I did some calculations on my own setup.

There are 9 total fixtures each with 4 T8 bulbs. I got a screaming hot deal when they were upgrading a school in TN so I paid USD 10 per fixture including bulbs and ballasts.

8.3A at 120V is roughly 1kW of power consumption. The rate for electricity is about USD 0.10 per kwh. My break even point vs this LED fixture is after about 3000 hours of use.

I have replaced one ballast at 20 bucks and bought a box of bulbs and replaced 2 or 3. I'd need to check the pack of bulbs I have for their rated output though.

EDIT: Light output for each bulb I have is rated at 2750 lumens. 36 bulbs totals 99,000 lumens. I'd need 7 and a half of these to be equivalent.

This is basically what I did in my garage. 6 2'x4' 3 bulb T8s on the roof. Only Shadow I get it at the very front with a car hood up. I was thinking about wall mounting a couple of smaller 2 bulb 4' lights right on the wall to handle that.

Similar purchase method also. Surplus from an electrical contractor. Entire pallet was free had to pay to get a vehicle big enough to pick them up so 16 total fixtures for $50 with bulbs and ballasts.

 

[JCH13]

Meh... single point light sources make me a sad panda. If you're looking at something on a shelf your shadow will make seeing anything difficult.

 

[edro]

Orrr, you could pay $45 and get 3 of these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[JimKiler]

Orrr, you could pay $45 and get 3 of these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got the Home Depot version of that bulb which is 68 watts and 4800 lumens but my wife is protesting and wants me to return it. It is huge!

 

[Midwayman]

I'd much rather buy a bunch of cheap florescent fixtures. Distributed light is far far better. In fact I should go do that. I've been meaning to. 6 should do it for a 2 car garage.

 

[edro]

I got the Home Depot version of that bulb which is 68 watts and 4800 lumens but my wife is protesting and wants me to return it. It is huge!

Yeah, I have 2 of them in my garage. They are like a Foster's can.

Garages are often white, so you get a lot of bounced diffuse light from the walls and ceilings.

 

[JimKiler]

Yeah, I have 2 of them in my garage. They are like a Foster's can.

Garages are often white, so you get a lot of bounced diffuse light from the walls and ceilings.

our garage is green, my wife wanted it painted and I did not care what color as long as it was not white.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I'd much rather buy a bunch of cheap florescent fixtures. Distributed light is far far better. In fact I should go do that. I've been meaning to. 6 should do it for a 2 car garage.

Meh... single point light sources make me a sad panda. If you're looking at something on a shelf your shadow will make seeing anything difficult.

Both of these (although I'd probably look for LED setups with bulb prices and flexibility they could offer). I'm assuming you'll be working underneath cars at some point.

I have a hard time believing they do 13,000 lumens. I see a CFL that does 68 watts (300w equivalent) at Home Depot for $15 but it does only 4100 lumens. I am sure this big ass light is bright enough, but 13,000 lumens seems too high.

LEDs are pushing past 100lumens per watt easily now. 122w x 100 would be 12,200lumens.

 

[thomsbrain]

Pretty pricey. I bought a pair of these for my garage: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They work great, I have the brightest garage in the neighborhood.

I was just going to post those. Load 'em up with whatever CFLs you have lying around and you've got an awful lot of light for very little money.

 

[Midwayman]

I was just going to post those. Load 'em up with whatever CFLs you have lying around and you've got an awful lot of light for very little money.

Still point sources. Better off with large diffuse light.

 

[mvbighead]

Still point sources. Better off with large diffuse light.

All depends on the location. I have three standard outlets in my garage. I need light from them, but tend to get just a bit with a single bulb. If they were brighter, I'd likely be in better shape than I am now.

And at roughly $10 per unit, it costs very little to perform the upgrade. Quite a bit different than a $400 light fixture and MUCH easier to install.

 

[Midwayman]

All depends on the location. I have three standard outlets in my garage. I need light from them, but tend to get just a bit with a single bulb. If they were brighter, I'd likely be in better shape than I am now.

And at roughly $10 per unit, it costs very little to perform the upgrade. Quite a bit different than a $400 light fixture and MUCH easier to install.

No arguing that it's easier. However for just a bit more effort you can get bulb to 3 prong adapters or outlets with 3 prong outlets on them and install large florescent fixtures that plug into those. Its what I did in my basement when we were renting since I needed to be able to take them out and adding junction boxes was out of the question.