Barn lighting

Dave H (MI) · Oct 25, 2016

I know this has been discussed before...sorry. Did not want to jump on Ray's post below either. I now have electricity to the barn. Thinking LED would be the best light? They would be 16-20' above my head. I like things pretty bright when I am working. Any recommendations as to fixtures, lights and spacing would be appreciated. Only thing I can say is I cannot afford $200 fixtures unless one would light up the whole place!

C. Amick · Oct 25, 2016

There are fluorescent bulbs called "daylight bulbs" that might be worth considering.

marloweg · Oct 25, 2016

light from leds suck might just be me but cant see shi- when using leds

Philip d · Oct 25, 2016

LEDs are definitely the nicest way to go but might be the priciest too? We put a small led fixture in our old shop this week and if flicks right on like an incandescent and is very bright. In our milk barn we have t-5 fluorescents and they work really well too,if they fit the budget better than LEDs you'll still get great energy efficiency and instant lights.

Greg K · Oct 25, 2016

If you are thinking of something like a high Bay fluorescent using six t-5 bulbs (about $160/fixture) versus an equivalent LED the bang for the buck the fluorescent is the better bargain. If you are thinking just a bare bulb socket with an LED versus a CFL then I would go with the LED due to the instant on, same brightness regardless of temp, longevity (fluorescent lamps get dimmer over time), and many color choices. What are the dimensions of your building and what are you using it for? That will determine how many you need.

Steve@Advance · Oct 25, 2016

If you need low budget, you could go with porcelain fixtures, Y splitters, and standard LED lamps.

Not real pretty, but it is a low cost, low energy solution.

If you can bring the lights down without them being in the way, and get some type reflector above them, even if it is some foil backed foam insulation, that will help direct the light to the work area.

OliverGuy · Oct 25, 2016

Menards big high bay LEDs are $177. They are very bright. They just got put in my barn at 17' ceilings. I was going to go cheaper, but hopefully these last a long time and don't hardly pull any juice.

Dave H (MI) · Oct 25, 2016

I can go that route if they last darn near forever, but I'll have to buy one a month for a while. Least til I get into tax time! I is TAPPED OUT right now.

Dave H (MI) · Oct 25, 2016

I have to have them high enough I don't bang into them when working on the top of the combine...and I spend a lot of time working on the combine. I was wondering if LED floods would get me by for a while?

jeffcat · Oct 25, 2016

Same with LED bulbs, you want daylite bulbs. The color they make gives your eyes the same as out of doors. Almost a silver color.

Dave H (MI) · Oct 25, 2016

Building is 96' x 40', walls are 16'. I used scissor trusses so I use 19-20' as a rough estimate of height in center. It's a nice work space for larger equipment. I can get good light up on top of things but working on say, a baler, I would like to be able to see things clearly. I have florescent in the old shop, but it has 8' ceilings and the tubes are a pain in cold weather and I am changing a lot of them. Don't want to do that in the high ceiling any more than I have too.

Greg K · Oct 25, 2016

Well then, if you want pretty good even light I would put in 8 of the six bulb t-5 fluorescents. Maybe put 4 in front where you would wilork and regular type bulbs in the rear to keep the cost down. Just a thought.

mj · Oct 25, 2016

(quoted from post at 18:30:46 10/25/16) I know this has been discussed before...sorry. Did not want to jump on Ray's post below either. I now have electricity to the barn. Thinking LED would be the best light? They would be 16-20' above my head. I like things pretty bright when I am working. Any recommendations as to fixtures, lights and spacing would be appreciated. Only thing I can say is I cannot afford $200 fixtures unless one would light up the whole place!

I used 2-socket 'patio lights' in mine with any kind of bulbs that were handy. I wanted more light over the table saw so I used a 100w incandescent bulb with a reflector there. Screw in adapters in the light sockets accommodate a wide range of corded fixtures and the lights come on when you open the door (built-in motion detectors) or tell you where the 'missing' cat is by turning on the light after dark :lol: . I have several separate outlets that are hot all the time for working during the daytime. I've had this setup for about 15 years and am very happy with it. 8)

D beatty · Oct 26, 2016

What do you mean that they don't give off light? I have six LED fixtures (26 watts each) and they light up my 40x60 building. I have two cold start T 8 fixtures over work bench.

MarkB_MI · Oct 26, 2016

LED lighting is getting cheap enough it's real difficult to justify installing anything else. My only concern is that longevity of these lights hasn't yet been proven, so there's a risk of buying an expensive fixture only to have to replace it a few years down the road.

I would go with strip lights placed parallel to the side walls. You don't say the dimensions of your building, but my 30x40 shop has six eight-foot T8 fixtures placed to two rows 7.5 feet from each side wall, and they do the job well.

Looking at what's available at HD:
$43 will buy an <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-Tandem-4-Light-White-Electronic-Fluorescent-Ceiling-Strip-Light-TC-2-32-MV-NAHD/206040286">8 foot T8 fluorescent strip (no bulbs)</a>
$80 will buy an <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/EnviroLite-8-ft-4-Light-T8-LED-Industrial-Strip-Light-with-2000-Lumen-DLC-Flex-Tubes-EVST704T204001/206101301">8 foot T8 LED strip (w/bulbs)</a>

So the LEDs are almost double the cost of T8 fixtures. But if you use them a lot, they will pay for themselves.

Geo-TH,In · Oct 26, 2016

I like LEDs, but make sure they are 5000K . They rest are junk, yellow not bright white. I mounted mine on walls. Lights up everything.

FBH44 · Oct 26, 2016

One recommendation, light up the ends and the far corners VERY The whole barn will seem well-lit, and will not seem lit if the corners and ends are dark.

RJKeith · Oct 26, 2016

The biggest factor affecting LED longevity is heat. LED's are typically rated for between 50,000 and 100,000 hours. If the barn is in Arizona, expect less, if the barn is in Montana, they will probably last even longer. One other thing, after 100,000 hours when the LED goes out, plan to buy a new fixture, the technology is evolving rapidly so what you buy today will not be worth selling in 10 years.

Dave H (MI) · Oct 26, 2016

Makes sense. Use the corners as reflectors.

Dave H (MI) · Oct 26, 2016

I think I am going to do this for the short term at least and just on one end. I want to be able to see to get the combine in after dark and then climb down and get to a door. If it works OK for general elimination I may stick with it. Just add some better lights at the bench and in "service areas" where I do repairs. SO many choices! And I am worried about the concept of obsolescence. Dropping two grand on lights that get outlawed or replaced....

Leroy · Oct 27, 2016

I just bought a few LED for use outside this winter where I need the instant on of them but the light from them and the led flashlights is terable, yes they do make light but it is like a goast light like you would see in horror movies. Hard on the eyes.

Married2Allis · Oct 27, 2016

My lights are old school. Hate spending money light fixtures too, so have old-fashioned cheap incandescent bulbs overhead and a flourescent light over the workbench. Then use a 500 watt spotlight I move around to work on stuff.

Destroked 450 · Oct 27, 2016

I'd go with 2 or 4 tube cold start 4 ft fluorescent light fixtures for low cost and replace them with led strip lights in the same fixtures when the others start going out. We've had some ballast issues with some of the 6 tube fixtures we're using.

No matter what lights you end up with get day light bulbs, they put out better lighting than the standard soft white bulbs.

We started out using 100 watt incandescent bulbs in our poultry barns and went thru over 10 cases of bulbs in 4 years.
We changed to 26 watt cfl's lowering the electric bill over $100 per month and have changed out less than 2 cases of bulbs in 5 years.
In the last year we've tried a few of the newer style 12 watt LED's that give off better light and are preparing to change over to the LED's, should see a small decrease in utility bill but will have better control over light dimming and have better lighting for clean out work.

ed will · Oct 27, 2016

Hi, how do you get around in your shop anyway? Ed Will

Barn lighting

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