StuartO Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Years since I did anything with garage lighting (home garage rather than MH garage) but my pair of twin fluorescents are dying. Do I replace like with like or is there a better idea these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 You can get LED 'tube' lights if you want, if you only very occasionally use the lights, thenwhatever is cheapest to buy should suffice IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I have spare tubes so replace with the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy mccord Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I have a double garage with no windows, previously had 4 banks of double fluorescent tubes, I swopped to 4 sets of twin led tubes, the difference is staggering, its almost like an operating theatre brightness , price was pretty good, bought from amazon totally recommend them Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adiebt Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Just installed 8 LED “ daylight “ down lighters in mine , night is now day ! Fitted with hoods so u can still insulate and board the roof space . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 andy mccord - 2020-07-13 2:40 PM I have a double garage with no windows, previously had 4 banks of double fluorescent tubes, I swopped to 4 sets of twin led tubes, the difference is staggering, its almost like an operating theatre brightness , price was pretty good, bought from amazon totally recommend them Andy Which particular type/brand did you fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Also you can usually swap out the present tubes and starters and replace them with LED 'tubes', this was done in my workshop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaven Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Definitely go with LED tubes. The difference is staggering, plus they’re instantly ‘on’. No annoying flickering start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Duck Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 blaven - 2020-07-13 7:15 PM Definitely go with LED tubes. The difference is staggering, plus they’re instantly ‘on’. No annoying flickering start. Agree 100%. I was able to swap the the old tubes and starters for LED versions (from Screwfix) and, as you say, the difference was staggering. The change over took less time than it took to type this. FD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 We moved house in November 2014 to a new build. I specified LED tubes in the garage and utility room not fluorescent. We've no halogen bulbs anywhere in the house. Excellent performance. Strongly recommend LED tubes, good clear light across a double garage with just two 6 ft tubes. Instant on and off as well. A no brainer :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy mccord Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 I fitted these from amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BYFBPEE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rael Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 We had LED 'fluorescents' installed in our storeroom when we had our house renovated. There are no windows in the store, but the LEDs provide excellent light. They are the same (or very similar) to the ones linked above in the previous post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 Many thanks everyone, all very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 A quick trawl on internet suggests that if you convert to LED you CAN and possibly MUST remove (which involves a bit of rewiring and reconnecting inside the fitting with strip connector(s) ) the ballast (a capacitor as I understand it) from the fluorescent fitting.I am not sure if this is essential or just beneficial but it appears that there is a specific Philips LED Tube which works without modification. The ballast consumes a little bit of electricity but this may not be significant if the lights are not used much. You may need to research this a bit more to make sure that any LED tubes you buy are compatible with or without removing the ballast. Screwfix have the Phiilps LED Tubes £14.99 for 1500 mm size. LED. Incidentally I did something similar in my last van when the three miniature fluorescents became troublesome. This involved soldering and completely removing wiring from the ballast etc but was quite easy and hugely improved the light output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 The Mairie of the little French town in which we live has launched a programme to replace all the minor street lights in the town with new LED ones. It has dramatically reduced the amount of light going upwards,and it creates a very pleasant atmosphere around the town at night. I'm told the savings are quite significant. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Have now completed easy conversion using Osram Tubes from local Barwell. Tube comes with a replacement starter. Easy change over and lights are very much brighter (I chose daylight colour 6000k). One oddity is that tube is not completely rigid and consequently bows slightly in the middle but £37.94 well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 I am both surprised and concerned that in this green age, no one has considered or mentioned enviromental impact. I have recently been through similar exercises in my garages. In one garage the fittings have not been touched for many years, and while not having failed the two most frequently used tubes were showing signs of cathode burning. I think that the fittings are over 40 years old. I ascribe the long service life of the tubes to the use of impulse starters which I can recommend, although at about £5 each they are not cheap. As like Will86 I had spare tubes, I elected to change the two aging tubes. I also cleaned the remaing tubes and fittings. The improvement is very noticeable. In the second garage which is only about 25 years old, I had a couple of tube failures, and one waterproof fitting had a degrading cover. I opted to replace the faulty tubes, and will probably eventually have to replace the waterproof fitting. Two replacement tubes and a spare from Wickes cost £13.47. Two additional impulse starters from Ebay cost £9.92. It is my considered opinion that replacing the installation with new LED fittings would have a much greater enviromental impact, than the small future energy saving made by the change. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 I have bought led tubular lighting units and I’m half way through fitting them. Each unit is 5 feet long and is rated at 45 watts but gives more light output than a double 6 ft fluorescent tube unit. I’m installing six units (three rows of two) to provide better illumination across the whole double garage. Thanks again for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 6x45w LED! better get some welding googles. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 And they cost me £27 per unit too, so perhaps a bit OTT compared with the way most people light their garages! At least I'm supporting the economy! :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 Final point from me. The led units I bought were of course manuafactured in China and they came with cable connectors which were similar to cholcolate box connectors but with press button cable entries - which were pretty flimsy and useless as well as illegal in UK circuits because there is no outer secondary insulation. I repalced then with proper 5 amp junction boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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