LED Tubes in the workshop

I was very sceptical of replacing the fluorescent tubes in my workshop with Led replacement tubes because until recently they were very expensive, I found a supplier who was selling four foot tubes, with the led fuse to replace the fluorescent starter for £4.55 plus vat. I decided to take the plunge and fit six in my workshop, fed up with the way fluorescents struggle to start and flicker in a cold workshop until they warm up. The light output is nothing short of brilliant and of course they are at full output in what seems milliseconds, the only problem that I had was that one of the light units was a high frequency unit and you need to alter the internal wiring in order to fit an Led tube. I had to find out what alteration was needed, thinking it must be something complicated, it wasn’t all I had to do was open the light unit remove the high frequency choke unit and this left just wiring the incoming live and neutral to the respective pins on the tube caps and link the caps together. The tubes I fitted are made by Energizer and quote a 30,000 hour life expectancy, I realise this an averaged figure and in reality some tubes may fail before this point but I am more than happy with the outcome, brighter lights and half the energy consumed. Dave W

Interesting, been thinking of doing the same for some time but waiting for fluorescent ones to fail,

Bill D.

I am thinking of changing to LED workshop lighting myself. I think you would not be stepping on the toes of ME policy if you gave us a steer to the identity of your supplier who I doubt is in competition with this site's advertisers.

Jim

I swapped all the flou's in my shop to LED tubes but found them hard on the eyes and swapped most back again. However, it transpired that I was coming down with a bad case of cataracts so that might have been a factor. Warmer tubes might have been better.

My experience with LEDs in both tubes and standard lightbulbs is that the reports of their life is greatly exaggerated.

I've gone for LED as fluorescents need changing, make sure you get the right colour temperature, the first (bulb) I got was a blue colour, so called daylight, no good at all.

I bought two units from Li*l. Pleased with them. These were complete lights. One replaced a flourescent strip light in the kitchen - and the domestic engineer has been most pleased. Instant illumination, brighter, lower wattage (an advantage for me). Now over twelve months and no problem with them. T’other is in the workshop and more will definitely follow if they are offered again.

Most people change to LED tubes when the old discharge tubes are getting past it. They then are impressed with the increased illumination. They fail to realise they would have got the same effect if they had fitted new fluorescent tubes.

I did that test and found the LED tubes didn't give any brighter illumination than the fluorescent tubes. The LED tubes are certainly are more energy efficient so that is a big plus. Lifetime is usually less than claimed, usually two reasons for that. LED lifetime is critically dependent on temperature , so if they get warm the lifetime drops on alarmingly. The second reason is that some manufacturers claim the lifetime to be that of the LEDs, NOT the driver electronics. Usually the driver electronics fail before the LEDs!

Andrew.

I replaced all the fluorescents in my workshop with the 600mm square panels. The headroom was somewhat limited with the fluorescent fittings but the panels are very thin so I gained a couple of inches. I fitted the daylight panels and I find them ideal, not harsh at all. I've replaced all the lights in the house with daylight LED bulbs and find them far better than the warm white ones. I can actually see to read now!

John

Edited By John Baguley on 08/04/2021 19:54:30

The supplier that I obtained the LED’s from is a company called International Lamps Ltd. They have a website internationallamps.co.uk, I use them for obtaining the UV lamps for my ponds, always competitively priced and supply reputable brands like Phillips. Dave W

Changed my workshop lighting to LED a couple of months ago. Replaced old 4ft fluorescents with 5ft LED. Can now see clearly that the workshop needs cleaning! Didn't bother with fittings just 3D printed end brackets and covers. Tubes only need power at one end.

Tubes from TLC Electrical delivered for about £10.50 each. Different colour temperatures available went for the warm white.

John

What material did you use? More to the point what's its flammability rating?

When I had the new garage/workshop built I chose to light it with some 48W 600mm x 600mm flat panel LED lights of the sort that you see in suspended ceilings.
I picked natural light simulation, rather than cool or warm; it's not harsh on the eyes and gives an excellent bright light over the whole place.

6 panels used to cover the 5.5x6.5m area, in 3 separate circuits of 2.

Bill

Hi Dave,

I too replaced the fluorescent tubes in my workshop several years ago with Led replacement tubes for the same reasons as you. Mine were not as cheap as yours but they do last longer than the fluorescent tubes, I haven't replaced any of the LED's yet.

Thor

Brackets and covers printed in PETG. Printing temperature 230C, Transition temperature 85C, Auto-ignition temperature 454C. PETG is considered as combustible but will not readily ignite.

The LED tubes do not get hot, even the end with the electronics remains cool. Of course the lights are not on unless I am in residence. So I believe a relatively safe choice of material. Only slight worry is that it becomes brittle with UV exposure so may crack and fall off the ceiling, don't know if LED tubes emit UV.

This is a link to the ** LED tubes **  I purchased. The data sheets for the tubes are on the linked page.

John

Edit: Add link

Edited By Journeyman on 09/04/2021 08:37:25

TLC data sheet says No UV

That's all right then, they should stay up

John

LED tubes intended to replace fluorescents of the same physical size have roughly the same output in Lumens but something else is going on that makes the LEDs seem brighter. Not sure what, maybe:

• LEDs do full power instantly whereas fluorescents take time to warm up. (One of mine about 5 minutes!) So I think LEDs are quick enough to catch the eye out and cause a dazzle, whereas fluorescents start a little dim giving the eye time to adjust as they come up to full brilliance - less dazzle.
• The colour temperature is a bit different - I generally go for daylight, and subjectively I believe daylight LEDs are a little whiter than daylight fluorescents. Neither is quite like real daylight!
• Light is projected somewhat differently by LEDs and fluorescents due to their internal structure. I think LEDs are more directional, which might help concentrate light where it's needed. My fluorescents put a fair amount of light out sideways, but the fittings aren't optically wonderful!
• There's a fair amount of invisible Ultra Violet in fluorescent light. Perhaps the iris narrows in response, reducing the amount of visible light allowed into the eye, so the tube appears dimmer than it actually is?
• Fluorescents develop minor faults as they age; apart from dimming, they flicker at the ends, and the the brain is race-tuned to detect tiny movements out of the corner of our eyes - predator sneaking up! I wonder if this reduces concentration, causing the scene in hand to look slightly dim.

I've happily used fluorescents for years, they're good! But I do think LEDs seem brighter, whatever the reason. It's not just power output, because the Lumens are so close.

Dave

I thought about replacing tubes with LEDs but the ceiling in my workshop is low and I found the complete new LED units much better because they are thinner. They are also very light in weight.

I bought these from an ebay seller and am very pleased with them and they were very easy to install.

Brian

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I just supplied a friend with some new 5 foot fully enclosed fittings to try in his workshop. These are from the Electrical wholesalers & are not cheap. I think they were £55 each, but IP65 fully enclosed. He had the LED tubes already fitted. These are the complete fitting that do not have a tube. It is a 5 foot long LED strip. The results are the strip types are far brighter than the tube type. Without the diffuser fitted you cannot look at the light as it is quite blinding.

I changed mine in my workshop that i had not long installed. These were the 5 foot fluorescent ones. I can confirm the difference from a new fluorescent to an LED strip type is amazing.

From a retired Electrical contractor. Results for comparison.

Original 5 foot fittings with tri phosphor lamps, After 1/2 hour warm up time. With less than 40 hrs of use. At 1 metre from concrete painted floor. 440 Lux.

LED 5 foot strip type new fittings taken at 1 meter from concrete painted surface. 617 Lux.

Anyone wishing to change theirs, consider the strip type over the tubes. I say this a s some of the tube types are the old tech LED. The round bulb looking type. The strip ones are the little yellow square ones. Sorry forgot the names for them. Some say corn types etc. Hope this helps anyone deciding.

Steve.