Shop lighting

[Bobby Branton]

Alright guys, Educate me on shop lighting. My shop started out as a small one like most with two outlets and a couple fluorescent lights. Over the years I've added dozens of these cheap 4 ft fluorescent plug in types and my meter seem to spin a lot faster when I cut the lights on these days. Any suggestions???

Bobby

 

[jhiggins]

Bobby, those cheapo plug-in fluorescents eat a lot of electricity. I would cost you a few bucks to install, or have installed new fixtures, with "T-8" ballasts and bulbs. These are brighter, and way more energy efficient since they are regulated with a chip. The industry standard now is an 8 foot fixture with 4-48" bulbs. The typical price for one of these fixtures is about $50 is you buy from an electrical supplier.

I have a small shop, but I managed to shave about $900 off my bill last year. Definitely worth the investment.

 

[Danbo]

Bobby, go to Sears Hardware and get yourself a couple of their Halogen shoplights. Same size fixture and style of the florescents, but contains 2 really bright(and much more efficient)Halogen bulbs. Cost is only $20 per fixture. Much brighter than what you are using and costs less to run.