Best lighting for a workshop?

[Beau]

No one has mentioned Sodium lights yet. I guess there's a reason for that! I only bring them up because a friend of mine says he put two in a large barn and lit the place up like daylight and they were cheap to run. I have to point out that this friend is not known for his reliability, hence asking you guys!

Councils are replacing sodiums streetlights with led which suggests they are cheaper to run not that everything councils do makes sense :roll:

Metal halide is another option but again pretty sure they are not up with LED and fluo for efficiency.

 

[skipdiver]

Funnily enough, when i did my workshop refit, which involved boarding and painting the walls, i clonked 2 of my flourescent tubes and smashed them. Got 2 new ones and they are much brighter than before, despite being the same bulbs. Some of that will no doubt be the reflected light from the newly painted boarding but they seem brighter over and above that, which i think is down to old bulbs losing their sparkle over time? I was going to change to LED strips but i don't think i'll bother now. It's also quite confusing with LED strips when you read up on them and there is talk of removing the ballast from the light and some bulbs not having the correct safety rating. As ever, there are unscrupulous souls out there selling sub standard bulbs to the unwary.

 

[deema]

Sodiums loose luminescence very quickly, so what was bright initially quickly dims. From an efficiency perspective they are a poor choice, with a poor colour of light.

Flurecent tubes also loose their brightness with time, as do most light sources with the exception of LEDs that hold their brightness for longer with little dimming.

Without taking a LED light unit apart and knowing how to work out if the driving current has been maximised, there is no real way to know if a LED is being over driven. If it is, you will know when it prematurley fails! This is why there is some bad reviews / experiences with LEDs. The only real way to ensure you have a quality product, is to buy a quality brand from a reputable dealer / outlet to avoid fakes.

 

[Beau]

No one has mentioned Sodium lights yet. I guess there's a reason for that! I only bring them up because a friend of mine says he put two in a large barn and lit the place up like daylight and they were cheap to run. I have to point out that this friend is not known for his reliability, hence asking you guys!

Seems your unreliable friend is onto something http://lighting-guide.wikidot.com/f6-ge ... n-of-light