Improving lighting

[JPG]

KISS

cut ballast wires leaving pigtails from tombstones.

Tape off one pigtail at each tombstone.

Cut power wires to ballast.

Attach power wires to remaining tombstone wires one at each end.

[algale]

I ended up ordering some new fixtures from the big orange box store. Two bulbs each. Each fixture rated at 4500 lumens/5000K. The bulbs are not replaceable, but with a life of 50,000 hours, I'll be long dead before they need replacing. Up to 10 units can be plugged into each other, daisy chain style. $26 each.

I'm looking forward to taking the old bulbs and fixtures down to the county transfer station.

[Ed in Tampa]

KISS

cut ballast wires leaving pigtails from tombstones.

Tape off one pigtail at each tombstone.

Cut power wires to ballast.

Attach power wires to remaining tombstone wires one at each end.

That depends on your lamp fixture. Some have two wires to each tombstone, some have two shunted tombstones and two wires each to the other two tombstones, others have shunted tombstones and one wire to all four. Assuming a two tube fixture.
Easiest is get a complete kit with tubes and new tombstones. The tombstones slide in and out though I did have one fixture that used a tiny screw to hold the tombstones in place. I have five fixtures with two tubes a piece in a 490 sq ft area. Could use two more on one side but that side is my storage area so existing light is more than enough

[JPG]

OK! It was the cheap approach, not the simplest.

With the tubes I got it does not matter re shunt/wire count.

One power connection to each end of the tube(s).

[RCZ]

Erik, thanks for posting this guidance for lighting design. Like your shop, my ceiling is about 9.5' and I adjusted the spacing of the fixtures like you did. I just ran the numbers and see I ended up with about 1.4 times the lumens the formula calls for. That ended up being "just right" for my eyes, although others have commented that my shop is like an operating room (level of illumination, not cleanliness ) . I think I would have been close to the target of 93 lumens per sq ft, but ended up adding one more light because I needed a bit more. So, for most people, your formula is a good frame of reference.

The first is that you need between 500-1,000 lumens per square meter for good lighting (see the attached table -- note that 1,000 lumens per square meter is approximately 93 lumens per sqft). Another piece of advice was to adjust the spacing of the lights such that they overlap at the height you typically work at. To understand this you need to know the height of your ceiling, 9.5' in my case, and the hight of your typical work surface, about 3' in my case.

-Erik

[algale]

I received my 5 new LED light fixtures. Removed the old and installed the new in about an hour. Oh, what a difference! I know these LED fixtures haven't been around that long, but I wish I had this much light in the shop years ago!! Going to make it so much easier to see what I'm going!!! And silent!!! Not even a faint hum!

[BuckeyeDennis]

I received my 5 new LED light fixtures. Removed the old and installed the new in about an hour. Oh, what a difference! I know these LED fixtures haven't been around that long, but I wish I had this much light in the shop years ago!! Going to make it so much easier to see what I'm going!!! And silent!!! Not even a faint hum!

Al, would you mind posting HD's part number for these lights? I couldn't find them on their website. I already have tons of light (~110 lumens/ft^2) in my workshop, but I need to replace some dying fluorescent fixtures in my garage.

[algale]

I received my 5 new LED light fixtures. Removed the old and installed the new in about an hour. Oh, what a difference! I know these LED fixtures haven't been around that long, but I wish I had this much light in the shop years ago!! Going to make it so much easier to see what I'm going!!! And silent!!! Not even a faint hum!

Al, would you mind posting HD's part number for these lights? I couldn't find them on their website. I already have tons of light (~110 lumens/ft^2) in my workshop, but I need to replace some dying fluorescent fixtures in my garage.

Dennis,

It's a Spitzer 42-watt 4 ft white linkable LED shop light, Model #407501

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Spitzer-42- ... /313731218

Hope this helps!