Shop Lighting ?

Gahagan

Gahagan

Well-Known Member
Ok I am building a shop and am in the market for lighting. I have the opportunity to purchase these (lithonia txd lowbay 23" 400 watt warehouse lighting) for the price of Lowes floresent strip lights. Would these work good or should I go with the strip lights?
 
If the price is right, and you have the power requirements coverd....sure! If I remember correctly, those are either halogen, or sodium vapor lights (not sure). They give off great light, but the bulbs are awful expensive to replace. Don't just count on one type of lighting in your shop! I learned my lesson a decade ago.....I had all floresents in the shop, built all my knives for a show, and when I got to the show (which had sodium vapor lights) all kinds of things I had missed showed up! I ended up only putting about 1/2 the knives I took on the table.....the other were too embarassing! :)

The majority of the lights in my shop are that old T12 floresents, but I have halogen, sodium vapor, and incandesent drop arm lights over my finish bench......different types of light show different things.
 
I have all kinds of lighting too, but I still go outside for final inspection. Just this past week I brought a blade outside and found scratches near the tip that didn't show under the flourescents or incandescent. I need to bring the sun into my shop.
 
Nothing like natural light for sure. usually in the dead of summer I have the best amount of natural light in my shop, and I hate when the clocks change making it get dark earlier. I have fluorescent lighting in my shop but I also have those aluminum domed incandescent fixtures with the spring clamps all over my shop with two pointing right at the face of my grinding wheel. personally, I'd pass on those lights you pictured only because of the amount of power their going to consume.
 
I have no experience with the lights you are looking at but I recently switched from T12 fluorescents to T8. They are more efficient and I like that I get to choose from a variety of bulbs - cool - warm - full spectrum etc. The fluorescents are also polarized, so turning 90 degrees gives you a whole different perspective (ie different set of scratches). Wish I could offer a comparison between the stuff you are considering. Good post.
 
Thanks. I was also considering a mix and match scenario. Maybe part of the shop with the large lights and another part with the fluorescent.
 
I have both of those in are warehouse if I had a choice I would take the one on the left long before the one on the right, If its not raised like the one on left. They do make two different sizes cant tell if those are the same. The lower ones use different bulbs. The bulbs we got were from a electrician shop so never saw a bill so cant help you with price sorry.
 
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I know this may be a little late, but I'm an electrician and this is something that I do quite a bit, so i thought i would weigh in. I'm not sure on your ceiling height. but here are a few options.

this is what I have above my work bench, it's really nice light. It's LED the light color is 4000K (bright white) and it doesn't flicker, like florescent sometimes do. This is indirect lighting and there is no obnoxious glare, like form a metal halide. down side of this it's expensive. I got mine for free because of the volume of lights we buy where i work, and i'm not sure if I would pay what they are asking to light my whole work area. so that's why I have 1.
http://www.cree.com/Lighting/Products/Indoor/High-Low-Bay/CS-Series

This is good option if you are around 10 ft or more. this is pretty inexpensive for what you get out of it you can mount these at 9ft but they have such a high light output, they may be irritating any lower, they put off a really even light, and are somewhat inexpensive to change the lamps and lithonia is not the only manufacture on this style of light.

http://www.lithonia.com/commercial/ibz.html#.VGOxMvnF98E

I would go with the strip light before the 400 watt
Also your local power company my have programs to help you pay for some of this lighting
 
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