LED Shop Lights That Last??

[Toad455]

I replaced all my shop lights in my 30 x 30 shop with Led bulbs. I have 8 fixtures that hold two 8ft bulbs each and another 8 fixtures that I flick on for painting only, so a total of 16 fixtures = 32 bulbs total. I bought the bulbs from Amazon and bypassed the ballast. They work great and are very bright, but after two years about half of them already quit. So, has anyone else used 8ft led's that last longer than a couple of years? I know I bought cheap ones but I'm not sure if there's any others that will last longer. Also, these have many small led lights along the full length of the bulb so when you turn the bulb you can direct the light, I really don't like that but it's not a show stopper. I would rather have solid light instead of all the small bulbs. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[midwest]

I am not yet a believer in the LED light bulb industry. I bought my house in 2012 and all the can lights were the CFL bulbs. after moving in I started replacing them with LED bulbs, as they CFL's went out. Back then the LEDs were more money than they are today and I didn't want to just replace them all at once. Most of the LED's have already gone out and had to be replaced and there are still a few of the CFL bulbs running strong after 12 years. Just because I am that way, I always right the date on the base of a bulb when I replace it, it is weird to see some bulbs only last a year or so and some that last 10-15 years. All I know is none of the LEDs have lasted as long as the original CFL's and I don't even know when they were put in before I bought the place.

 

[Vbb199]

Harbor freight's LED light fixtures seem to be pretty good. Ive had the same ones up for years now under the carport being exposed to elements and such

 

[Daron58]

I put the double row led’s in all of my old fixtures after removing the ballast, I bought em online from Prime lights or lighting over 4years ago and have yet had to change one of them fwiw, good luck to you

 

[Hunter79764]

For LED's, heat is the enemy, and driver boards are what fail. Anything that has a separate heat sink should last longer than something without, and tube replacements almost never work as well as something with a separate driver like a dedicated LED fixture. If they cram the driver into the base of a bulb, then it is placed in an environment with no circulation to get rid of the heat, they will fail quickly.
In general, I really like Feit Lighting products. The quality seems to be there on durability (I don't track dates, but I generally know where I have those vs applications in the house where I know I'm running cheap chinese for other reasons), and their light quality is consistently better than most others. CRI rating (0-100) is much more important than color temperature (2700-5000K mostly), and FEIT's stuff tends to be high CRI pretty much everywhere. In a shop, just go 4000 or 5000 K, it doesn't really matter too much, but the higher the CRI rating, the more natural the light feels and the better color rendering you will get. When most people complain about LED's poor light quality, it is usually much less about the temperature and more about the CRI. Most brands don't advertise CRI, but if they do, think of it like grades in school, an A (90+) is great, B (85) is probably fine, C (75) and you might start getting in trouble, and anything below 70 is an F if you actually want to work under the light. Old yellow streetlights are about 40, newer metal halides are 65, most fluorescent and LED's are 85, and good LED's are 95. Incandescent and Sunlight are both 100.

That's not a direct answer to your question, but hopefully helps.

 

[Hunter79764]

Oh, if you do get some that have individual elements but have a cover over them, you can lightly sand the cover to "frost" it and make it more pleasant. And, if you can get dimmable lights, run them at something like 80%. You will hardly notice a difference, but they will last twice as long, or more, as there is MUCH less heat to dissipate just by turning it down a little bit.
And this might be more Pet Peeve than any, but the "UFO" style lights are usually terrible. They have heat sinks, but only because they have to cram so much into such a tiny space. I'll take an unknown brand rectangular fixture with no heat sink over a round fixture with heat sink any day, unless I know for a fact it has been engineered properly. And 95% of them on the market haven't been.

 

[AuroraGirl]

For LED's, heat is the enemy, and driver boards are what fail. Anything that has a separate heat sink should last longer than something without, and tube replacements almost never work as well as something with a separate driver like a dedicated LED fixture. If they cram the driver into the base of a bulb, then it is placed in an environment with no circulation to get rid of the heat, they will fail quickly.
In general, I really like Feit Lighting products. The quality seems to be there on durability (I don't track dates, but I generally know where I have those vs applications in the house where I know I'm running cheap chinese for other reasons), and their light quality is consistently better than most others. CRI rating (0-100) is much more important than color temperature (2700-5000K mostly), and FEIT's stuff tends to be high CRI pretty much everywhere. In a shop, just go 4000 or 5000 K, it doesn't really matter too much, but the higher the CRI rating, the more natural the light feels and the better color rendering you will get. When most people complain about LED's poor light quality, it is usually much less about the temperature and more about the CRI. Most brands don't advertise CRI, but if they do, think of it like grades in school, an A (90+) is great, B (85) is probably fine, C (75) and you might start getting in trouble, and anything below 70 is an F if you actually want to work under the light. Old yellow streetlights are about 40, newer metal halides are 65, most fluorescent and LED's are 85, and good LED's are 95. Incandescent and Sunlight are both 100.

That's not a direct answer to your question, but hopefully helps.

ive had 4ft t8 one sided power tubes (about 50-60 in total numerically) in use for years now, none have failed. Id rather have cool lighting thats lower in CRI than warm icandescent lighting.

 

[Hunter79764]

ive had 4ft t8 one sided power tubes (about 50-60 in total numerically) in use for years now, none have failed. Id rather have cool lighting thats lower in CRI than warm icandescent lighting.

Side story that might have something to do with it (other than just having some quality units, and/or having them operating in cooler environments generally), there was certainly a peak in LED quality/longevity a few years back. Manufacturers had a very real realization that they were selling themselves out of a job, heading to a point known as "Socket Saturation", where every light that could be a long-lasting LED had been converted already, and no one would need lights for another 20 years... So many companies sold off their lighting divisions, and the market went sharply towards higher efficiency and higher output, rather than long life. This was of course aided by government regulation and Energy Star ratings, lobbied for BY the lighting industry, to force product lifespans shorter because it would be "better for the environment". Funny enough, it echoed a much earlier situation involving lighting manufacturers in the days before there was anti-cartel legislation, called the Phoebus Cartel, where all lighting manufacturers 100 years ago were in an actual cartel with the stated goal of making bulbs last exactly 1000 hours. It was wildly successful, and to this day, incandescent bulbs last right about 1000 hours even though the cartel has been dead for 80 years.

As for color temperature, it is mostly personal preference. I like 3000, my wife likes 5000, at work we typically use 4000 or 5000 interchangeably for shop environments, and 4000 in offices. Higher temperature does help sharpen vision, but requires more lumen output, especially for older eyes. Bathrooms and bedrooms I'd stick with lower temperature, kitchen or livingroom or playroom can go much higher. Especially if you have a bunch of natural light to begin with. But I think I'm rabbit trailing WAY too much here...

 

[AuroraGirl]

Side story that might have something to do with it (other than just having some quality units, and/or having them operating in cooler environments generally), there was certainly a peak in LED quality/longevity a few years back. Manufacturers had a very real realization that they were selling themselves out of a job, heading to a point known as "Socket Saturation", where every light that could be a long-lasting LED had been converted already, and no one would need lights for another 20 years... So many companies sold off their lighting divisions, and the market went sharply towards higher efficiency and higher output, rather than long life. This was of course aided by government regulation and Energy Star ratings, lobbied for BY the lighting industry, to force product lifespans shorter because it would be "better for the environment". Funny enough, it echoed a much earlier situation involving lighting manufacturers in the days before there was anti-cartel legislation, called the Phoebus Cartel, where all lighting manufacturers 100 years ago were in an actual cartel with the stated goal of making bulbs last exactly 1000 hours. It was wildly successful, and to this day, incandescent bulbs last right about 1000 hours even though the cartel has been dead for 80 years.

As for color temperature, it is mostly personal preference. I like 3000, my wife likes 5000, at work we typically use 4000 or 5000 interchangeably for shop environments, and 4000 in offices. Higher temperature does help sharpen vision, but requires more lumen output, especially for older eyes. Bathrooms and bedrooms I'd stick with lower temperature, kitchen or livingroom or playroom can go much higher. Especially if you have a bunch of natural light to begin with. But I think I'm rabbit trailing WAY too much here...

My favorite cartels are the ones who deal us everyday products
The mexican ones get way too much credit
Also the cartels goals being maintained implicitly means the cartel is still functioning.

Lol.

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so I just realized that I actually got 2 different daylights lol, 5k and 6k. but i didnt notice much since i just realized. I got them in 2019. they did go up in price, very reasonably so. I have them outside in my shed, so ungodly hot in summer and cold in winter.
The ones downstairs in house, some have been running 24/7 since i put them in 2019 heres evidence of how they light in my shed

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be careful with single ended power, if i put a glass tube in my fixtures while powered it will explode in my face

So little caution, notice, or just NEVER reverting is necessary

 

[bucket]

When it comes to just the regular LED light bulbs that go in place of an incandescent, you get what you pay for. The cheap ones just don't last.

For 8ft replacement lights, I have no idea and I'm here to learn, lol.

 

[Catbox]

I do not have 8 foot bulbs.
But I do have many many of the 4 foot single tube fixtures from Harbor Freight all over the garage.
They seem to have lasted for at least a few years inside the garage and mounted up under the eaves of the house in front of the garage.
For about $20 each, I will keep on using them.
I am going to be putting a couple under the eaves on a motion sensor in the backyard for those late night dog potty trips and bad guy detection.

 

[Doppleganger]

I have 8 4ft fixtures in my garage, 4 in my shed and 2 in my shop downstairs.....all Feit and all work and look great. IIRC I bought the majority of them at Costco's - ordered 4 online though Lowe's (iirc).

 

[Frankenchevy]

The best deal in shop lights I’ve found are at Costco. You get two double tube 4 footers (four total tubes) for $25. Haven’t had a single one go out in more than a decade.

Also have all 4” led can lights in my house. Never had on burn out there either.

Feit is pretty good in my experience for a cheaper company.

8 ft. 43W Cool White (4000K) Plug and Play or Ballast Bypass (Type AB) T8/T12 Replacement LED Linear Tube

Convert your existing fluorescent fixture to LED techNology with the Feit Electric LED tubes. It produces a similar light output using less electricity than a standard fluorescent. Get instant on to full brightness even in sub-zero temperatures, with relatively cool running performance.

www.feit.com

 

[Old Guy Bill]

I switched all my 8’ fluorescent fixtures in my shop to 8’ Lithonia LED fixtures.
They weren’t cheap, but something that will last never is..
I’ve got a basement full of 4’ fluorescent fixtures that will be next.

 

[legopnuematic]

I’ve bought four sets of 8 4’ fixtures from the Barrina brand, T5 equivalent. First set I ordered in Feb 2019. Have them in the basement Woodshop at home, in the garage at home, at the shop. Have not had any issues with any of them yet. Home garage sees the highest temperature/humidity swings and no problems.

Also have a variety of ones from farm stores and Costco, and Menards. Whatever the cheapest I can find generally. They have also been fine thus far.