Shop Lighting.

Leo G

I have a woodworking shop, 1300sq ft, 25' x 52' with maximum ceiling height of 26'. Right now I have 2 400 watt HPS fixtures (CRI 22, 50,000 lumens). It provides adequate lighting but the color sucks. I want to switch over to high bay fluorescents. Looking for something in the 5000-6000K temp range w/a a hi CRI rating. I've looked at the 6 light fixtures using t-5, 54 watt bulbs and they seem to be the way to go. Now the question. How many of these types of fixtures would I need to get the equivalent brightness of the 800 watts of HPS light I currently have?

Thanks.

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Kgmz

The rule of thumb I found out when researching this for a warehouse we are building is 1 tube for each 100 watts of metal halide. A 4 tube T5 fixture will replace a 400 watt MH.

Now this isn't based on the actual lumens, but on how much better the light is with a T5.

So I would say replace yours with (4) 4 tube fixtures or (3) 6 tube fixtures.

Leo G

That's what I was afraid of. It'll be a better light but no real energy savings. I guess those HPS bulbs are pretty efficient for light output per watt input. The lights I was looking at draw 280 watts for a 6 bulb fixture. The manufacturer recommended 4 sets of these fixtures and was trying to convince me of the energy savings I would get. Can't figure out how 280x4 is less wattage than 480x2. It certainly will be a much nicer color light. I hate these orange bulbs.

Thanks

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Kgmz

Its hard to beat HPS lights for energy efficiency. The only thing that beats them are low pressure sodium lights, but they are a lot more money and still don't have white light.

Thats why most T5 manufacturers compare their products to metal halide high bay lights. But that is also comparing white light to white light.

mahlere

christ leo...this is going on a year....and the information hasn't changed.....

mdshunk

There are some HPS lamps with high CRI's and higher than normal color temperatures. You might get one and put it in one fixture for comparison. They're called White Sodium lamps, SON lamps, or White SON lamps (same thing). They have a CRI about 85, and they're about 3000 degrees K. The 5000-6000 degree K lamps you propose are remarkably blue in color, and I wouldn't recommend that color temperature to anyone. Personal choice, I suppose.

Try a White SON lamp in one of the fixtures and see if you like it or not. This is what many of the grocery stores use in the produce section to make the fruit and vegetables look better.

mahlere

recommended them a year ago as well

Leo G

Only saw the 100w versions MD. Looking for 400 watters. Do you have a link/source?




Shut up Mahlere

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mahlere

gave you the info for that a year ago too...cheap is funny...

Leo G

Liar.

You recommended a conversion bulb.

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mahlere

even sent you the link to venture lighting with the model # of the 400w lamp you needed...

ok, so not quite a year ago....but on 7.30.08 at 9:26pm, i gave you that information...

Leo G

I remember the company name, but don't remember it being a White Sodium lamp.

I remember it being a MH light and I was trying to get away from HID because of the restrike time. My shop can get a lot of little 1/2 second power interruptions at times, screws with the HID lights and sometimes my computer but rarely anything else. Just had it happen last week. Pushing a board through the saw and the power blinked, the lights went out but it wasn't enough time for the magnetic starter to shut down. Had a few fluorescents going so it didn't go to black out conditions. But I don't always have the fluorescents running. Only when I need to see....

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mdshunk

Add a -T to the lamp for the bigger SON lamps.

Leo G

OK, I finally gave in. I got 2 of the 6 lamp fixtures w/a 10' mounting kit (F54T5HO). This should put the lights at about 16-18' above the floor. Now all I have to do is get them mounted and wired. That should only take a couple of months Hopefully it will be enough lighting. The color should be 1000% better.

Strange though. It says the lamps are 54 watts each (6 of them) and the ballast only draws 280 watts. Does this have something to do with the power factor? How does it do this?

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Leo G

Half way there. I got one of them mounted. Did it after 5pm, 1 @ the 24' section of the ceiling. I put it up using the box that the HPS was using and disconnected the HPS. My shop is narrow and long and it was easier to put the fixture up so the length of the fixture was going the narrow way. I have steel beams on the ceiling the go the short way and it was easiest to just slide the ladder from left to right rather than take it down, walk it 6' and raise it up again. When I was done I noticed a small dim spot because of the orientation of the fixture. So I rotated the fixture while I was on the ladder and the spot disappeared. So this morning I went in and looked at the fixture and shook my head. I decided that I needed to switch the orientation 90º. So up and down the ladder I went. After an hour I was done. Unfortunately 4 of the 12 bulbs were damaged during shipment and they neglected to put one of the hanging kits in with the shipment. I got the replacement bulbs today, all intact. And the Hanging kits should come in Monday or Tuesday. I am disappointed that I am delayed in putting the lights up but they are making good with there service with no questions asked. I purchased 2 fixtures and I believe I will need to purchase another to get a good even lighting in the shop. We will see after I get the second fixture installed. Right now I have half the shop lit by the fluorescents and the other half by the HPS. I like the white light -- a lot. My buddy came into the shop and couldn't believe how bright they were. I think he might be planning to get a fixture or two himself.

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Leo G

I no longer live in the land of orange.

I have shut down the HPS lighting and now have the two fixtures up. The 5900K lighting is very nice. Bright white, good color rendition. When I had one fluorescent and one HPS running I was pretty sure I was going to need a third fluorescent. So, when I flicked the switch for the first time and the two lights popped on (and warmed up) I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't immediately think I would need a third one. So I will work with it for a week and then make the assessment. If I do get a third fixture, the place will be really bright. And, I will still be using about 120w less total power. That's about 1KWh a day savings. Ooooooooo 12¢ a day

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Leo G

Although this isn't a 1 to 1 comparision it is pretty close. I didn't get around to shooting a before picture of the shop before I put the new lighting in. But I have the bay next door with the HPS lighting, (2100K temp) and have taken a photo of that. The 2nd photo is with the all fluorescent lighting, a mixture of 5000K and 5900K temperatures. There is no photoshop color correction in either photo.

As you can see, there is little difference


Before



After

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K2

Nice Leo.

I think that orange light is sometimes used as a torture technique. Even the bugs don't like it..

Leo G

I still can't believe the light output you get from the HPS lights. They are just incredibly bright. I truly believe that it would take 12 of the T5 54w HO bulbs to put out the same light as 1 of the 400w HPS lights. I put in two of the 6 light fixtures, 15' above the floor. I also have four 75 watt T12 8' bulbs and 12 4'-32W T8 bulbs and I think that they throw a bit more light than the two 400 watt HPS bulbs. But I tell you the color difference is fantastic. A lot easier to focus. But it is a different type of glare that I have to deal with also. Totally glad I did it. I will be anxiously waiting my electric bill. I don't expect it to change much.

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Kgmz

Looks good and how could you stand those old lights for so long.

Are you still only using 2 fixtures?



After re-reading the entire thread, I see a mistake in my first post. I said to use (4) 4 tube or (3) 6 tube fixtures, should have been (3) 4 tube or (2) 6 tube. I got confused when you later said 800 watts, and doubled that for the 100 watt per tube rule. Correction is same rule plus a liitle extra.

We are building a new shop/warehouse this summer, 50' x 100' divided into a 50' x 50' and two 25' x 50's. Figure I'll use all of it at first and then drop down to the 50 x 50 and rent the other 2 spaces out, plus I have room to add more buildings as needed for myself or to rent. And we will be using the T5 lights in them.