workshop lighting

[NOTTNICK]

Hi

Don't buy cheap, buy recomended because buying twice is more expensive. Cheap units can have a flicker and not produce a good spread of lumens. Personaly I have used LED bulb arrays for overall lighting and use local lighting with mag bases or clamps to light up the task in hand, this takes away shadows.

I agree, I have six 600x600 flat panel LED arrays in my 30 m2 workshop. The flat light is so good with minimal shadows and then local lights for close up. Panels weren't that cheap but worth every penny. It really transformed things when I got them installed.

 

[Noho12C]

We just moved to our new house, which has a double garage. After "fixing" the walls (repointing & paiting) and the floor, I am now thinking about the lighting. There is a mix of light bulbs and fluorescent tubes.
I would like to install some LED battens. However, how do you install several of those ? Are they linkable ? or do you pull a cable for each of those ? And did you do the cabling yourself or did you call an electrician for that ? (im a bit clueless when it comes to electricity...)

 

[billw]

We just moved to our new house, which has a double garage. After "fixing" the walls (repointing & paiting) and the floor, I am now thinking about the lighting. There is a mix of light bulbs and fluorescent tubes.
I would like to install some LED battens. However, how do you install several of those ? Are they linkable ? or do you pull a cable for each of those ? And did you do the cabling yourself or did you call an electrician for that ? (im a bit clueless when it comes to electricity...)

I wired all my LED stuff up myself and I'm still alive to tell the tale. I just connected one to the next and then into the mains supply.

 

[Noho12C]

Thanks. But how did you connect one led to the other ?
It seems some are designed for that (= linkable - have a dedicated plug for it) while some arent.

 

[Sandyn]

LED lighting needs a 'driver' this can be built in to the light, so will just be mains input. Others use a constant current or constant voltage driver, but are external. Some lamps have dedicated supplies, so may have a custom connector type.
Some commercial lighting have DALI databus system so they can all be controlled together. Some LED systems can transfer Data (LiFi).
Basically a single LED chip drops about 3.5V across it.

A constant voltage supply regulated the voltage, but the current changes depending on the load. A constant current regulates the current, but the voltages changes depending on the load.
A LED requires a regulated current. It is just a forward biased diode, so if you don't control the current in some way, it will just burn out.

 

[Spectric]

And did you do the cabling yourself or did you call an electrician for that ? (im a bit clueless when it comes to electricity...)

If you are looking at a fixed installation then based on your statement I would get an electrician in. If you are going to fit these lights and plug them in then you should be ok, and LED lighting only requires minimal current compared to when we used 200 and 500 watt halogen although I do miss the warmth. The important point is that the fuse in the plug protects the downstream cable so your lighting wiring may well be 1.5mm so use a 10 amp fuse.

 

[billw]

Thanks. But how did you connect one led to the other ?
It seems some are designed for that (= linkable - have a dedicated plug for it) while some arent.

The panels came with an adaptor that you plug into them, that leads to a L/N cable that I just wired up using a roll of electrical cable and those plastic connectors wrapped in electrical tape. It's not pretty, but it works. I'll grab a photo next time I'm in there.

 

[Noho12C]

Thanks, found some illustrations on internet. Seems to make sense.
I think I'll order couple to panels and few battens and see from here how confident I am to install those by myself.
In case of doubt I'll call an electrician to sort that out ..

 

[tradesman]

small neat and easy to install - very handy -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LNBRQSV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[hugov]

I have two of these Philips CoreLine WT120C LED60S/840 150cm in my (somewhat long) single garage workshop (although they were ~40% cheaper when I bought them 2 years ago). I went with a name brand and somewhat over-specced industrial ones since I've had bad experiences with cheap LEDs in the past. These ones are extremely robust mechanically (I have low ceilings and have been known to whack them when manoeuvring long bits of timber), have a good quality of light (4000K with a decent CRI), zero flicker, fully sealed against dust (didn't want any fire risk), and they generally seem very well made so I expect they'll last for many years.

 

[Spectric]

Remember that any light from above is prone to shadows, and should be classed as background lighting. You need low local light for it to be really useful and good lighting on a wall behind your workbench is much more help than ceiling mounted lights. Also magnetic base lights are very good as you can just place them where you need them when you need them.

 

[hugov]

Yes, although my workshop walls and ceiling are white so with those ceiling LED battens I get a fairly good diffuse light everywhere without major shadows. I do also have some LED strip under a cabinet on the wall above the workbench.

 

[jameswood]

I have a centre row of 4 x LAP Twin 4ft LED Batten White 43W 4400lm from Screwfix which are great except they cast a shadow just where you don't want it, usually when measuring/marking out. I would encourage others to put two rows of panels or battens, one down each side of their shops rather than one row down the middle. The general consensus on this forum is for panels.

I went for the same screwfix LED 4400lm battens (£110 for four) & arranged them in two rows as you said. I experimented with different layouts using a piece of software called Dialux which predicted a fairly uniform lighting level for this arrangement, whereas a single row ended up with dark spots and I imagine would cast shadows. Very happy with the results, no harsh shadows on one side of the workpiece when in the vice, whole garage is nicely lit. Although I still have an ikea anglepoise lamp screwed to the bench, that I can stretch right over the vice (Ikea Tertial lamp @ £9)

Interesting thread folks, thanks.

 

[Robbo60]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083TCNFZH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1I think these are great. go into standard BC fitting (ES also available) I just put an in line switch and plugged into extension cable

 

[mikej460]

I went for the same screwfix LED 4400lm battens (£110 for four) & arranged them in two rows as you said. I experimented with different layouts using a piece of software called Dialux which predicted a fairly uniform lighting level for this arrangement, whereas a single row ended up with dark spots and I imagine would cast shadows. Very happy with the results, no harsh shadows on one side of the workpiece when in the vice, whole garage is nicely lit. Although I still have an ikea anglepoise lamp screwed to the bench, that I can stretch right over the vice (Ikea Tertial lamp @ £9)

Interesting thread folks, thanks.

Very useful cheers James