Positioning of workshop lights

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

I need to change the lights in my workshop and was going to go for the tube replacement type, but then noticed the dimensions on batten LEDs giving the thickness as only 1".

My ceilings are quite low so, as they say,"every little helps".

I've ordered a single replacement batten light to see what the effect is but wondered if there are any rules for positioning lights near machines to get the ideal illumination.

My existing lights are 5 ft but 4 ft LEDs seem to be a better price, especially for the half dozen or so that I would need.

Do we have any lighting engineers or people who know more about this subject?

Brian

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember19781]

[This posting has been removed]

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Many thanks for that Bill, that looks to be just what I need.

Brian

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

in my cellar workshop with restricted ceiling height I mounted several 600×600 panels (each 30W-40W max) close to the ceiling – they replaced a number of spot lamps so stuck the drivers into to hole where the 50W lamp used to be – get much more uniform illumination – have a couple of small spots on stalks for use on mill + lathe

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

I got these from amazon because my striplight is a bit dim for me old eyes

They are too bright to look at, 200w equivalent 23w LEDs

They have been really good, one lights the workshop and one floodlights the machines

You can move them about to suit yourself on a worklight cable or have a permanent fixture

[egaParticipant @ega]

I think it was a post on this site that alerted me to the availability of LED replacements for conventional fluorescent tubes (I mean the kind with a dummy starter that removes the ballast from the circuit). These have proved very successful and I would like to add more; does anyone know whether one can mix and match the two types on the same installation, please?

[The Novice EngineerParticipant @thenoviceengineer]

I too like the flat panels , the back of the Garage is only 6ft high and these put plenty of light over the machine and bench.

[JC54Participant @jc54]

Evening EGA, I mixed old type and LED in the workshop with no problem, couldn't afford to replace all at once.

John

[egaParticipant @ega]

Posted by JC54 on 23/03/2020 23:27:29:

Evening EGA, I mixed old type and LED in the workshop with no problem, couldn't afford to replace all at once.

John

Thanks for this indication. I plan to replace when the old ones fail in the hope that in the meantime prices will fall.

A bonus from the ones I have fitted is that the previous lamps were tripping the circuit breaker at switch on, a problem completely solved by the LEDs.

[Enough!Participant @enough]

In this instance, does "mixing" mean mixing tube types within the exact same fixture or simply having some fixtures fluorescent and others LED?

If the former, I'm surprised though I've never tried it. If the latter, I don't see why it should make any difference except visually.

FWIW, I changed all my fluorescent tubes to LEDs a while back. (they didn't seem that expensive to me, have you looked around?). Then I changed them all back again because I found them hard on the eyes.

I was having some eye trouble at the time and thought they might be causing it. I don't really think so now and I may change back but use fewer of them.

Whatever … you might want to proceed slowly and try out different colour temperatures and see how they suit you.

Edited By Bandersnatch on 24/03/2020 00:33:47

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Posted by Brian H on 22/03/2020 09:01:39:

wondered if there are any rules for positioning lights near machines to get the ideal illumination.

I would say vertically above a lathe spindle otherwise further away risks the tip of the tool being shadowed by the job and closer to the front will get a shadow from your head when you look closer.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

**LINK**

Recommended.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

The only expertise I have in lighting is in making mistakes..

Once when i fitted tracking spots around an operating table where the ceiling was low… lovely illumination but headaches from the heat.

My second error was doing the same thing with daylight flourescent strips… too many made it far too harsh and had to remove half of them.

Shed has 4 6ft led cool whites and is really nice in a 20ftx12ft space with 8ft ceiling.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

had to remove half of them.

I’ve adopted an arrangement where I have general illumination from strips and extra lights both sides of each machine. Works for me as I’m not generally working more than one machine at a time. All going LED.

[egaParticipant @ega]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 24/03/2020 00:27:08:

In this instance, does "mixing" mean mixing tube types within the exact same fixture or simply having some fixtures fluorescent and others LED?

If the former, I'm surprised though I've never tried it. If the latter, I don't see why it should make any difference except visually.

…

Sorry I wasn't clear. It was the latter I had in mind, the example being my woodwork shop where I have three conventional fittings, each with one tube, wired, presumably, in parallel and all controlled by the same light switch.

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Thanks, ega. Then I agree you can mix them. I've done exactly that in the past.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

I bought ten of these for my garage to supplement the main strip light and machine lights already there.

They are light as a feather and take minutes to fit. I've put them in a three-sides-of-a-square formation over my bench where my milling machine sits and likewise over my main work bench. Only neg. is they do seem to have gone up in price a lot since I bought them. Hopefully they last as long as the manufacturers claim.

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

The 5 ft one that I ordered from cgcoutlet arrived today and I'm very impressed. I have wired it in to try it and have fitted a 3 pin plug to it so that I can use it in various locations in the workshop to assess where the best placements are.

I noticed that on some sites a pack of 6 or 10 4ft units work out at a better price so may consider fitting 4 ft ones but more of them.

The 5 ft that i ordered was in natural white and this gives plenty of light without hurting the eyes.

Brian

Edited By Brian H on 24/03/2020 20:02:46

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