Garage Lighting with LED's

[Jason Edge]

I recently pulled out all 14 of my 2' x 4' fluorescent fixtures with 4 T-12 bulbs and replaced  with 22  4' LED light strips in my 3 bay garage and thought I would share.  My garage has truss type ceiling beams and had installed the 2' x 4' fluorescent fixtures between the span. Since I use the upper truss area for storage they took up a lot of real estate.  With the LED strips, the fit perfectly on the bottom edge of the 4" bottom of the trusses and regained a lot of overhead space!

The LEDs I used were Utilitech Pro 48" with a double row LED. The part # is 0595685 with 3600 lumens & 4000 light color rated at 40 watts. I installed a couple of these where I had one fixture just to see how they would work out and they were much brighter than the old Fluorescent fixtures. Now with all the old fixtures gone and the new LED strips in place it provides much brighter even light, with no flicker and no bulbs out. These were $44.98 each, or about $42 each with their 5% discount.  I could have definitely spread the lights out more, and would have still be brighter than the old fluorescent fixtures, however, I am really love the extra bright light. 

Doing the math my 22 LED strips put out almost 80,000 lumens.  Combined they pull 880 watts (22 x 40watts), which is considerably less than the 1792 watts (32 watts x 4 x 14) for the 14 4-bulb fluorescent fixtures.  So considerably brighter, while pulling 1/2 the current, and freeing up a lot of space, these were a big upgrade for me.  I've got about $1000 invested in the 22 LED's and think that was some of the best money I have spent in a while.

Lowes also sells a 2' long version of this light and a single row 2' and 4' version. I installed a double 2' version over our kitchen sink in our 1912 home, and installed a simple pull switch at the end of the light fixture, replacing Halogen's, and my wife simply loves it!  I have pretty much swapped out all incandescent and Halogens bulbs with LED's around the house.

Here is a picture in the garage and the LED's I used:

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Do you have a before and after of the amount of light?

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How do these lights work in a cold weather environment Jason?

[Jason Edge]

I would assume no difference as that is one of the main stated advantages of LEDs, even down into sub zero temps. I can't confirm with the garage lights because I don't let the garage get below 60 degrees F. Unlike CFL's they are instantly on. I run LED Christmas lights outside every year, and have been using LED lights in the unheated storage buildings and see zero affect from the cold. I know fluorescent lights are susceptible to cold, but I've pretty much eliminated all my incandescent and fluorescent lights with LED of some type.  For some advantages of LED's check out this link: http://www.continental-lighting.com/led-basics/advantages-disadvant...