New Lights vs Replace Bulbs

[kaya842]

Several of our existing 4ft shop lights have bulbs out and we need to get that fixed. We have 5 shop lights (currently stalls are under them, long term plan is to move stalls not lights) all of which are old (pre existing when we moved in nearly 5 years ago). I was planning to take them down, clean the tops, and repaint the “insides” bright white as they all have rust spots and look dingy. Well when I went to find LED replacement bulbs I found I could get a 4 pack of brand new lights (whole enchilada) for $100 or a 20 pack of bulbs (we need 10 currently) for $100. The only rub is the 4 pack of lights is rated for indoor use not outdoor. The lights won’t be getting wet (no wash rack) but will be subject to whatever outside temp. Will that be okay for our use? Are there better, comparable fixtures for the money?

https://www.samsclub.com/p/honeywell-5000-lumen-4-foot-led-metal-shop-light-4-pack/P03013379

[LCDR]

Last year, I converted my barn fluorescents to use LED tubes… As long as the fixtures don’t get rained on you should be fine. I bought all my LED tubes on Amazon. Four foot tubes, 3,100 lumens, 24 watts,.damp environment. It is really nice to have instant on and full light even in freezing weather, unlike fluorescents.

[CHT]

The lights should say what temperature range they will tolerate.

I don’t know if I would use indoor lights as barns are humid and prone to larger temperature ranges than most houses/buildings.

We replaced our tube lights with round LED lights. I quite like how much brighter the new lights are…and I think they look cool. The ones we got can be daisy chained if we ever want to add more without doing complicated wiring.

[kaya842]

We have some half round LED strip lights in the other part of the barn (where 1 stall is and the rest eventually will migrate to) and like the brightness but the first set went out in just under 2 years with only very occasional use - this is our private barn with just 2 horses, not like the lights are on all the time for boarders. Heck, in the summer they rarely get used. I’m up for other styles just don’t want to be replacing them again in a few years. The ones from the Sams link above have a 5 yr warranty. They also have this style. No notes on either about temperature range that I can find.

https://www.samsclub.com/p/honeywell-2-pk-5000lm-led-4-linkable-shop-light/P03019869?xid=pdp_carousel_rich-relevance.rr0_1

[LCDR]

Another note on replacing fluorescent shop light tubes with LED tubes. The conversion of a fluorescent fixture to be able to use LED bulbs is very easy. I did all of mine myself (I have 50 fixtures total). All you need is a set of wire cutter/strippers and a big container of wire twist connectors. Plus ladders and time. Removing the ballasts from each fixture is not necessary. The conversion eliminates the ballast, but there is no need to take it out of each fixture, just leave it behind. The LED bulbs fit right into the old fluorescent tube mounts.

I did notice that the light distribution changed a bit. With fluorescent tubes the light radiates from the entire tube, so there is light going upwards and sideways in addition to downwards. The LED tubes have a strip of LED lights inside, so their light distribution is primarily in one direction. So you will see shadows in the ceiling area rather than reflected light, and the overall lighting may look a little dimmer due this.

Full disclaimer- if you do this there are two separate ways to convert the lights and two types of LED tubes. I picked the simplest way. But check and see which type of conversion and tubes work best for you.