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Integrated LED Shop Lights

'84 Bronco II

'84 Bronco II

El Chingón
Joined
May 19, 2020
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293
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2,300
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NM
I am getting ready to do the lighting in my shop and it seems like the vast majority of commercial lighting is "integrated LED" which I assume means that you will need to replace the entire fixture if it ever burns out. I am a bit Leary since I have had several LED bulbs burn out in my house in less than 5 years despite the ~20-30 year claims you usually see for LEDs.

Does anyone have experience with these fixtures or recommendations for alternatives? I am not doing fluorescent. Here is an example of what I am looking at: Integrated LEDs
 
Buy cheap, buy online. Get a couple extra to put on the shelf in case one or two dies and your ocd will flare up if the light fixtures don't match.

LED tech and manufacturing cost keeps getting better and better. Whatever you buy today will be outrageously priced in a couple years. I buy them as I need them over time, they all throw light where I need it and kinda look similar, so good enough for me. Of all the ones I have purchased, I never had one quit working.
 
clodhopper said:
Buy cheap, buy online. Get a couple extra to put on the shelf in case one or two dies and your ocd will flare up if the light fixtures don't match.

LED tech and manufacturing cost keeps getting better and better. Whatever you buy today will be outrageously priced in a couple years. I buy them as I need them over time, they all throw light where I need it and kinda look similar, so good enough for me. Of all the ones I have purchased, I never had one quit working.
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All this.

I have the honeywell's you posted in my current shop, about 2yrs old and no problems. I did Feit leds from Costco in my previous shop 2014-2015 back when the led bandwagon was really getting started... new owner says everything is still working.

As mentioned, buy 2-3 to keep on a shelf for spares.
 
All those fixtures have in them is a led light strip. You can buy entire spools of the led strips if you really wanted to take one apart and just replace the light strip (or make your own lights). At 20 or 30 bucks for a whole new light fixture it's probably not worth the time.



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I have Honeywell lights in my shop, along with some other brand that Sam's Club carried before the Honeywell lights. They have been in place for ~5 yrs. I did have a couple go out (driver went bad), but haven't had an issue otherwise. One was actually replaced under warranty (~ 5 yr warranty) with no issues.

The one thing I don't like about the version of the Honeywell lights that I have is that they are three brightness levels. The way the electric in my 60+ year old shop was set up, all the lights (12 x 4' lights) are on pull chain switches, so it is a bit of a nuisance to have to pull the cord 3x to get the light to turn off every time. I have no idea who thought you need different amounts of brightness, I want 100% eye-searing 5000K light or nothing :grinpimp: ; but it doesn't say anything about that in the ones you linked, so maybe they removed that "beneficial feature" from the newer versions.

If you already have fluorescent lights, there is possibly some cost savings to switch over to the LED bulbs that fit the existing fixture, but you have the hassle of removing/rewiring to eliminate the ballast. If you don't have them already, then the integrated lights are the way to go.
 
I installed Tamlighting 21k LED high bay integrated LED's in my shop about 2 years ago. No they were not cheap ($190 ea iirc) but haven't had any issues in the short time I have had them up. I recently installed some cheap Amazon specials in my motorhome bay and one burned out within the first week. I know some will disagree with me, but I believe you get what you pay for in most cases...
 
giles45shop said:
I have Honeywell lights in my shop, along with some other brand that Sam's Club carried before the Honeywell lights. They have been in place for ~5 yrs. I did have a couple go out (driver went bad), but haven't had an issue otherwise. One was actually replaced under warranty (~ 5 yr warranty) with no issues.

The one thing I don't like about the version of the Honeywell lights that I have is that they are three brightness levels. The way the electric in my 60+ year old shop was set up, all the lights (12 x 4' lights) are on pull chain switches, so it is a bit of a nuisance to have to pull the cord 3x to get the light to turn off every time. I have no idea who thought you need different amounts of brightness, I want 100% eye-searing 5000K light or nothing :grinpimp: ; but it doesn't say anything about that in the ones you linked, so maybe they removed that "beneficial feature" from the newer versions.

If you already have fluorescent lights, there is possibly some cost savings to switch over to the LED bulbs that fit the existing fixture, but you have the hassle of removing/rewiring to eliminate the ballast. If you don't have them already, then the integrated lights are the way to go.
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I have some honeywells, they are a bit funky on the chain hangers only and no hard mount. I think others have just drilled through the housing and put them up with drywall screws, which works. I also have bought Barrina, Hykolity, Olafus, Sunco and another one that doesn't seem to have a brand. They are all basically the same thing, maybe some different plug wire arrangements, slightly different housing/hangers, but the lights are all very similar. I have looked at some higher end stuff and it was similar too.

This is one type of product that I don't necessarily thing you get what you pay for. I would guess they all come out of the same few factories in china and go into different boxes at different prices.

Some of mine have pull chains, they honeywells for sure. I don't the chains. I wire in a socket to a wall switch somewhere, and just leave the light fixture switched on all the time. Turn the lights on and off with the wall switch. Done this in my shop, barn, hay shed and some outbuildings that I access in the dark. The lights are cheap enough that I don't worry about them getting busted or whatever.
 
Ebs said:
All those fixtures have in them is a led light strip. You can buy entire spools of the led strips if you really wanted to take one apart and just replace the light strip (or make your own lights). At 20 or 30 bucks for a whole new light fixture it's probably not worth the time.



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I messed around with light strips years ago. I set up outdoor lighting for a patio area at a previous house, did a solar panel/battery/light system for an off grid storage shipping container, and a couple other things. However, anymore the savings isn't there anymore. Once you figure in the power supplies, having to build a mounting system and whatnot, it makes more sense to me to just buy the cheap azz ready to go lights.

strips are still awesome for unique accent lighting, difficult places like under cabinet stuff and similar.
 
I just went with Maxlite LSS2XT8USE4803 fixtures (https://www.maxlite.com/products/t8-lamp-ready-fixtures/LSS2XT8USE4803) with T8 LED bulbs (https://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc.com/ZY-T8-18W1200-BIXX-p/zy-t8-18w1200-bixx.htm) in 4000K.

These seem to be recommended across some forums online. I researched quite a bit and the price/performance seemed reasonable so I pulled the trigger. Still in the process of putting them up, so I won't be able to speak to them first hand for a couple of weeks.
 
Buy spares in case some crap out and they're discontinued. Kinda apples to oranges, but I dropped some $$$ on integrated under cabinet lights in my kitchen a ~5 years back that link together like the ones you're looking at. Several have started flashing the last few years and they discontinued the fucking things so I'll have to replace them all.
 
Curbkrawler said:
I installed Tamlighting 21k LED high bay integrated LED's in my shop about 2 years ago. No they were not cheap ($190 ea iirc) but haven't had any issues in the short time I have had them up. I recently installed some cheap Amazon specials in my motorhome bay and one burned out within the first week. I know some will disagree with me, but I believe you get what you pay for in most cases...
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Those are awesome, but you gotta have the ceiling height for them.
 
45acp said:
Those are awesome, but you gotta have the ceiling height for them.
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Very true. I think I’ve got mine mounted 15’ from the floor. They are amazing with how much light they produce. I have 10 total in the 60x40 section of shop and I would guess they are 3-4 times brighter than my dad’s 16 8’ fluorescent fixtures (14’ from floor) he has in his 40x30. You can’t work under a hood in his without a corded shop light.
 
I put 3 of these 4’ fixtures from Lowes in my bathroom and steps area and they put out good light. I think they were about $100 each.
 
Curbkrawler said:
I installed Tamlighting 21k LED high bay integrated LED's
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I like the look/specs on some of their I Beam High Bay LEDs, but how the hell do you find a price or buy them? They only sell through City Electric Supply?
 
Lee said:
I like the look/specs on some of their I Beam High Bay LEDs, but how the hell do you find a price or buy them? They only sell through City Electric Supply?
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That’s where I bought mine from. I didn’t realize they weren’t sold elsewhere...
 
Thanks for the responses! I have never bought a light fixture before :homer: , so I appreciate all the input.
 
I bought a bunch of integrated lights like you posted but from Costco. I think they had them for two fixtures for $30-35 or so when I got them. You can daisy chain them together so you don't need a bunch of outlets. I put mine in about 5-6 years ago and all of them are still working with no issues like flickering or going out.
 
I'm closing on a new house with a real shop at the end of the month and I'm pretty set on doing the single 4' or 8' integrated fixtures. I like these because you can equally space them - instead of having a double bulb fixture every 8', you can put a single every 4' and spread the light out more evenly.

And they've gotten stupid cheap. The 4' ones are down to $5 apiece now.

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Look for high CRI at least above 85 and tint around 4000K. The CRI is what makes the colors appear as they should, cheap low CRI leds will have a black and white effect. The K is the color, 5000K will look blue, 4000K is about perfect, 3000K will look orange or yellow.
 
There's a whole lighting thread on garagejournal.com , including cost analysis. Last I heard the cheapest way was get bare LED ready 4' twin-bulb fixtures and T8 LED bulbs like RPhil did. I already have 4' and 8' fixtures, so it was cheapest to us ballast-bypass retrofit LED bulbs.
 
I just bought a 10 pack of these for my new 30x40 pole barn. I only used 9 of them and it’s bright as fawk. The mounting clips are a little janky but I just threw a couple zip ties around each for a backup.

Barrina LED Shop Light, 8FT 72W 9000LM 5000K, Daylight White, V Shape, Clear Cover, Hight Output, Linkable Shop Lights, T8 LED Tube Lights, LED Shop Lights for Garage 8 Foot with Plug (Pack of 10) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RKZFD5Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wxdwFb1ZXEA9A?tag=91812054244-20
 
bgaidan said:
I'm closing on a new house with a real shop at the end of the month and I'm pretty set on doing the single 4' or 8' integrated fixtures. I like these because you can equally space them - instead of having a double bulb fixture every 8', you can put a single every 4' and spread the light out more evenly.

And they've gotten stupid cheap. The 4' ones are down to $5 apiece now.

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This is what I have used for pole barns, animal shelters, and pretty much anywhere I think might have some weather impact or strike impact. If it gets smashed, just replace it. The only ones I have had to replace were the ones in a hay shed that a tornado stole from me. At ~$5 each, you can put up extra units if you are worried about it not being bright enough. I have Barrina and Hykolity brand units. Lights are identical, and while the plug systems are slightly different, the light units would still all plug together.
 
Got mine installed. A couple before/afters below. Thrilled with the output.

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45acp said:
Looks good! Damn i wish i had your ceiling height.
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Got lucky with this house. Wanted space for a detached space, but it isn't in the cards right now. So thankfully this attached garage is sizeable enough. Excursion fits with plenty of room to spare. We will see how happy my wife is if/when I put a two post in there.
 
I built my shop 20+ years ago and went with eight foot HO fluorescent fixtures at the time. It was the best option for a bunch of light and not affected by cold temperatures.

Now 20+ years later bulbs are burning out and ballasts are going as well. Went with the "ballast bypass" replacement bulbs. I know that doesn't make much sense for anyone putting in new lighting, but it made it a lot easier for me than replacing all the fixtures.

A couple HF magnetic work lights gave me the extra light I needed to see WTF I was doing. Helps to have a metal panel ceiling.

Added a 3A circuit breaker to each fixture since the LEDs take a lot less amperage than the fluorescents and ballasts. Probably not needed, but err on the side of caution and all that.

LED on the right, old fluorescent on the left, and a "just need to walk around" fixture with a LED bulb in it on the far left. I put those fixtures in to give just enough light if I was going in to get something and didn't need all the "high intensity" lighting.

I'm really pleased with the results. Even though the fluorescents are the same color temperature as the LEDs, the LEDs are much whiter and much brighter. Twenty years of use on the fluorescents probably has something to do with that, though.

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