# Shop lighting, anyone use the T5 lighting???



## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

So we are getting close to the wiring of our shop and I have been very impressed with the T5 light output that I found for sale at HD and Lowes. Our 40 by 80 will need 10 of these 8' light fixtures and they don't come with lights. I was pricing it out and it looks as though we will have around 1250 invested in all of the fixtures and lights. But I have learned through what we do with custom cabinets that we need as much or more / better light in our shop then what is on the job sites we work on. In the past we would have pour lighting in our shop and so imperfections would maybe go unnoticed until we got to the new home where lighting would be better and all of a sudden, it was like, that looked so much better at the shop 

So now we have a sanding table we built that features a T5 light fixture where we are able to inspect finished doors/face frames and such.

So does anyone have any experience with the newer T5 lighting available at the HD/lowes stores? I know they put out a very nice amount of light. And with the high end finish type of work we do, being able to see well is very important.


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## oldsalty2 (Dec 30, 2013)

I'm a different Jerry…I'm Jerry from Savannah, Ga. and just today I was in the local Lowes and HD looking at overhead lights for my new shop as construction is starting this week. Lowes(local) does not carry the T5, they still carry the T12s and T8s. The local HD does have the T5s on display as well as the T8s and you can see the difference. I'm leaning toward the T5s but would like some input from other Ljs if any have experience with T5s.
Jerry Fath, Savannah, Ga


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I am curious about other's experience with the T5 lighting also. But I will say that I built our sanding table last year using a T5 light fixture and it does put out a massive amount of light as compared to the old style shop lights. My wife says the sanding table is her new 'happy place' since it is so bright and happy


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

When I built my shop 14 years ago this month, I looked and looked for lighting. I finally went to a local distributor (Locke Supply). We talked and I told him I wanted lights like we had in our manufacturing center where I worked. He explained about those lights were 35 feet off the floor and the light had more distance to spread. HE finally said lets have Hunnziker Brothers tell us what you should have. This is something they do for no cost and they are my supplier. I sent them a sketch of my 30×40 shop and where I planned to place my machines. They sent back a sketch and said I needed 5 T8"s. From them the cost was about $750 as I recall. I ran across what I thought was a deal so I bought some used lights. If 10 T5 lights can fully light your 40×80- shop, they would be dangerous up close…Like major sunburn. LOL Of course more lights can be added as needed, but lighting is as important as anything you have in your shop. Buy good and buy plenty. I am going to follow this when you finish I would be interested in what you got and how you like them. I have been following the welding of the frame. Thanks for posting.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I work for a general contractor and we replace, retro-fit thousands of lights for various industrial customers.
In a nutshell, the light from a fluorescent tube radiates in all directions. What does not radiate toward the floor/work area must be reflected back in that direction. the smaller the tube, the less it gets in the way of this reflecting process.

There are two types of T5 tubes. Standard and HO (High Output) You want the HO tubes. 
A 45" long T5-54HO will produce more than twice the useable light of a 48" T8-32 or a T12-34 or 40. The last two numerical digits are the watts, by the way. So a four tube T5-54HO fixture will have 216 watts of light which is whiter, and brighter than any T8 or T12. This 216 watt fixture will easily outperform even a 1000 watt Metal Halide fixture. 
You can also get true daylight color output so you have true color rendition.

I have seen a trend in recent years where nearly all industrial customers are increasing the lighting in their facilities. The payback is very fast with increased quality and lower energy costs. We put lights in one local automotive supplier's facility where they wanted 800 lumens average. The facility formerly had 30 lumens and was considered normally lit.

One other cost that often gets overlooked is that the life expectancy of the T5 light is over 3 or 4 times as long as the T12 or T8 in some applications. Main advantage here is the ability to cycle on and off frequently without shortening the lifespan of the tube.

So, having said all that, I am building a new shop; just started today. I am putting T5s in my shop. Only other light I would consider would be LEDs, but they are still too expensive for my taste, and they will be available as retro-fit tubes to replace T5s at a reasonable cost eventually. They are available now but at $50 per tube.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

Wow, now that's some great info. Thanks for the details.

Grandpa, I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for following.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

We use T5's in our shop. I estimate about 30 8' bulbs in a 2100 sq ft space and with white walls, everything is nice and bright. They are on about 50 hours a week and the bulbs needed replacing about 5 years after install.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Crank-

$50 for a single tube? I hope you get it back on longevity. At those costs I'd look deeper at LED lights. I use three 4' double light fluorescents in my miniscule shop, with T8 bulbs. Or did I miss something? Is the T5 tube $50, or is the LED replacement $50?


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

He meant the LED replacements for T5 bulbs were $50 each.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Yes, the LED replacement tubes are $50.
They are supposed to last 20 years, but without the green energy programs to offset the cost they still don't make sense. 
Of course, there are programs where the government will subsidize the cost of T5 as well as LED lights if you have existing lights to improve upon. But I don't want to go there because I get my drawers in a wad every time I think about the A-holes in charge of our government. You wouldn't believe some of the crap I have seen paid for with our tax dollars in the name of "Green" energy.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

I am changing all my fluorescents to LED for these reasons:

power consumption, LEDs are the most efficient and will get better with more R/D, our power rates are almost criminal
safety from broken fluorescents, mercury and other chemicals, some of which are also hazardous
longer life, today the average life of an LED lamp in 20+ years
heat, LEDs generate much less to no heat compared to fluorescents
no ballast hum which drives me crazy as I have a sensitivity to this frequency
LEDs can be dimmed very easily


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## LakeLover (Feb 2, 2013)

Go to a real lighting store. These guys know what is good and bad. In the long run you will save $.

Forget the Borgs for lighting needs.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

Cree is a very good source on all types of LED lighting

They have done more with LED lighting than any company in the U.S. and their lamps are also available at Home Depot, if that is any kind of endorsement!


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

Check this out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Bay-T5HO-4-Lamp-Fluorescent-Lighting-Fixtures-High-Output-Chrome-Reflector-/380641553990

4 x T5HO, 48", $110/fixture no bulbs, free shipping. They sell the bulbs for $3/ea, so that would be $122/fixture, but they only sell the bulbs in case lots of 25/cs. They say 250 sq ft/fixture, but I expect that's for high bay.

Fixture is made in Mississippi.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

Was just in HD today pricing replacement lighting for my garage and shop. The shop will need 4×2 bulb fixtures, for the HO fixture sans bulbs = $40 each. The garage will need 2×4 bulb fixtures (8' 2x T12 equivalent) for those HO fixtures sans bulbs = $70 each. For the HO bulbs (54 watts) they only offer cool white and don't won't sell the full box of 15 for discount off the ~ $10/ea price. Does anyone have experience buying the fixtures and/or the bulbs from any online vendors (like amazon)?


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

*bigblockyeti* there are T8 LED tubes available for direct replacement of fluorescent lamps on the web.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Yeti - I would avoid the 8 foot tubes all together.

I used 8 foot fixtures, but rather than 2 8 foot tubes - it has 4, 4 foot tubes.

The bulbs are much more manageable and 2 4 footers is much cheaper than 1 8 footer.

Generally it will have a 4 lamp 0.88 ballast factor ballast…. meaning rather than 64 watts (2 X 32W) each row is 56 watts.

So the 4 lamp fixture is going to run about 115 Watts, and generate 12,000 lumens. by reference a 100 Watt incandescent bulb makes ~1500 lumens


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

How high are the light fixtures above the floor? Lowering them can increase the brightness. Your 3200 sf shop would indicate to me the lights are installed too high. I think a good height would be between 8 and 10 ft, but that may mean more light fixtures for better light distribution.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

Recently put a 4" T5 HO fixture in. It is awesome, think it said 23,000 hr bulb life.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

I use these 6 bulb fixtures http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-Industrial-6-Light-High-Bay-Grey-Hanging-Fixture-IB-632-MVH/202193185

With these daylight 6500k bulbs http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-4-ft-T8-32-Watt-Daylight-Deluxe-6500K-ALTO-Linear-Fluorescent-Light-Bulb-10-Pack-422949/203466585?N=5yc1vZbm3zZ1z0vvriZ1z132on

They are like the sun!


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I have decided to go LED! I have three 5 meter strips left from a project and I'm going to budget replacing each of the eight 48" bulbs with one strip. The five additional strips I'll need are $7.96 ea and 8 power supplies @ $4.37 ea. (free shipping on both) gives me a cost of $12.33 per bulb not considering the three strips I already have. Each strip pulls 24 watts and I can only guestimate that light output is similar to one of the 40W T-12 bulbs I'll be replacing. I built one of these lights already by ripping 1" off an 8' 2×6, painting it white (for a glossy adhesion surface) and sticking the strip to the 1 1/2" wide surface along with a T50 staple every 6" or so in case the adhesive failed. This worked out pretty well, the light is instant in any temperature. Given this stuff is coming from China, I have no idea what the actual light output is in terms of lumens, but I know before my shop warms a little, it will be much better than the old T-12's in there now. My only concern is the cool white light vs. the warm white I can get for $11.88 per roll, the warm I think might be better, don't know? The picture is of the aforementioned light (cool white), I'm going to try two strips on an 8' 1×3 to replicate the four existing fixtures. Any thoughts or advise?


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