New shop lighting
The nature of present day lighting has been irritating me for some time.
The standard in woodworking shops has seemed to be fluorescent lamps. I have a couple of those fixtures near the tablesaw. I don't care though, for the kind of light at the work and I don't like the cost in energy. Lately I've been all worked up about being green.
I really would like to see some advancement in LED lighting, but I haven't seen anything that seems practical and I'm running short on time to work out something myself.
Yes, I have the background and tools to do that, but not enough time, what with everything that's going on.
A new development has spurred me on. I had a new overhead door installed, and unlike the old one, there were no windows in it.
Result: a black hole in that end of the shop.
So I determined to use present technology to get a better result.
CFLs are a pretty good interim technology and the costs are coming down while quality and efficiency seems to have improved greatly. So I decided I wanted to use that approach.
But I don't like the idea of having about half the light absorbed by the reflector in a standard fixture. Redesign!
So I built a prototype with glass mirror reflector panels. In it are two very bright 26 watt CFLs
Like this:
I had to be careful about size because there's only 7 inches clearance above the OH door when it opens.
So the result:
The shop with only the fluorescents above the tablesaw.
And then the new lamp is lighted:
I'm more than satisfied with the results. The light quality is more like daylight, and that should help when finishing. It is more light than I'd get from a 2 tube 4 foot fluorescent fixture. And, the total power load is 52 watts.
I think I lke it.
At least until we can have some good LED fixtures.
Don
The nature of present day lighting has been irritating me for some time.
The standard in woodworking shops has seemed to be fluorescent lamps. I have a couple of those fixtures near the tablesaw. I don't care though, for the kind of light at the work and I don't like the cost in energy. Lately I've been all worked up about being green.
I really would like to see some advancement in LED lighting, but I haven't seen anything that seems practical and I'm running short on time to work out something myself.
Yes, I have the background and tools to do that, but not enough time, what with everything that's going on.
A new development has spurred me on. I had a new overhead door installed, and unlike the old one, there were no windows in it.
Result: a black hole in that end of the shop.
So I determined to use present technology to get a better result.
CFLs are a pretty good interim technology and the costs are coming down while quality and efficiency seems to have improved greatly. So I decided I wanted to use that approach.
But I don't like the idea of having about half the light absorbed by the reflector in a standard fixture. Redesign!
So I built a prototype with glass mirror reflector panels. In it are two very bright 26 watt CFLs
Like this:
I had to be careful about size because there's only 7 inches clearance above the OH door when it opens.
So the result:
The shop with only the fluorescents above the tablesaw.
And then the new lamp is lighted:
I'm more than satisfied with the results. The light quality is more like daylight, and that should help when finishing. It is more light than I'd get from a 2 tube 4 foot fluorescent fixture. And, the total power load is 52 watts.
I think I lke it.
At least until we can have some good LED fixtures.
Don