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Old 12-14-14, 09:04 AM   #21
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Quote from bennelson Blog:
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Next, I pulled out my Kill-a-Watt energy meter and tested each set of bulbs. Both measured zero with the fixture off. (Always nice to check on phantom loads!) Testing the Fluorescents, they clocked in at 58 watts energy use for the pair. (This energy meter only measures to the watt, no fraction or decimal.) That’s 29 watts each – LESS THAN the rated 32 watts listed on the bulb. I then tested the LED tubes – 39 watts for both, or 19.5 watts each – just a hair MORE than the 19 watts on the label. So although the LED bulbs use only two-thirds (67.24%) the energy of the fluorescent, I was surprised that the fluorescent tubes did use less energy than I thought. I’ll call this one a tie – the LEDs did come in as the winner on energy use, but the fluorescents were more energy efficient than I expected them to be!
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I tested a set of 4'ft T8's earlier this week with the KillAWatt meter and got the same results , 57-58w , If they were as good as they rated them they would output 64w for the bulbs plus 10% for the ballast it should read 70w. They appear to be using a Asian marketing trick to sell us. take the 10% off the 58w and you have true bulb output of 52w or 26w each.

easy prey for the LED's


Last edited by ecomodded; 12-14-14 at 09:13 AM..
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Old 12-14-14, 09:46 AM   #22
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NOTE TO FLORESCENT LIGHTING HOLD_OUTS:
The 8 foot fluorescent tubes are much more energy efficient than the 4 foot tubes. The energy burden is paid at the ends of the tube, while the illumination benefit is multiplied by the foot.

HINT: If you're going to poke the LED guys in the eyes with a sharp stick, your stick should be 8 feet long.

-AC
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Old 12-14-14, 10:30 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Servicetech View Post
Don't get me wrong, I love LED. It's just the cost doesn't justify the energy savings. In an unheated garage where it's likely very little time is spent,.... T8's are already very efficient, ...... at normal room tempatures.
After testing this pair of LED tubes I just got, I don't think that I would buy more based ONLY on energy savings. Surprisingly, energy savings was the only category I tested that the fluorescents did better than I thought they would.

I probably spend more time in my garage than Servicetech does. Yes, I certainly have the lights on in there less than in my house. However, in the winter in an unheated garage, T8s perform TERRIBLY! As in, they barely put out any light at all until fully warmed up, and even then, they don't output as much light as they would at room temperature.

I like these LED tubes because THEY ARE BETTER LIGHTS which perform MUCH BETTER in the situation that I am using them in. Instant on, very bright, nice color temperature. The point is, I have a well lit garage with LEDs, and I don't with fluorescents.

There are lots of reasons to buy good products for reasons other than purely a financial return-on-investment.

How does that expression go? "A good tool, you pay for once - a bad tool, every time you use it."
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Last edited by bennelson; 12-14-14 at 10:38 AM..
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Old 12-14-14, 10:51 AM   #24
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No heat when you are working in the garage? i have a small heater that I set to 60f or so when I'm working out there.

Note on the 8', I have an old T12 magnetic ballast for my garage. Noisy ballast and flickers when cold. once it warms up it's plenty bright. I don't think they even make a T8 bulb for 8', I've never seen one. If the ballast on my 8' ever bites the dust I'm considering a T8 or T5 high output fixture to replace it.
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Old 12-14-14, 11:20 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Servicetech View Post
No heat when you are working in the garage?
Servicetech, I am very glad that you have a really nice, insulated and heated garage in which fluorescent bulbs seem to perform so efficiently for you.

No, my garage happens to be unheated, and uninsulated. I could run an electric space heater, but even then, it would have to be running a LONG time at full power to make a real difference.

I've been working on a project over at my parent's house recently (This one) because there is an insulated shop over there with with an LP furnace.
Unless the furnace was running continuously, 4' T8 fluorescents STILL have a fair amount of warm-up time, and even at room temperature aren't as bright as the LEDs.

I can't justify continuously heating an outbuilding (whether with LP or electric heat) simply to have fluorescent bulbs at room temperature to operate properly.

Yes, ideally, I'd love a well built, insulated and heated garage, for lots of reasons, but that's not what I have right now. Even if I did, I still think the LED tube is just a better light than the fluorescent.
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Old 12-14-14, 12:04 PM   #26
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The 8ft tubes are nice because they have a large bright area , away from both end caps , you get less lumen's as you near the ends of the tube.

The 8ft. are actually rated exactly double the lumen of the 4ft. tubes.

Some Philips 8ft here being rated at 5600 lumen , a 4ft produces 2700 lumens.

http://www.usa.lighting.philips.com/...ds/p-3554d.pdf
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Old 12-14-14, 12:22 PM   #27
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It's not that my garage is well insulated, just that I live 800 miles south of you. A 10k heater will warm my garage to something reasonable to work in. I have radiant barrier in the attic and have considered insulating the door.

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