Do you have a garage or warehouse with shop lights? I have great news for you! You can save thousands of dollars a year by switching to LED lights. It is so simple and easy to switch! And I am going to let you know just how much money you can save by doing so.
Change your garage from this:
To this:
LED Shop Lights VS Flourescent
The main difference between LED Shop Lights and Flourescent Shop lights is the energy usage. LED lights use about 1/3 of the amount of energy as fluorescent lights, sometime even less. This will save you a lot of money on your electric bill. LED lights also last longer than Florescent lights. Some manufacturers have stated that LED lights last up to 10 years. Many of the LED lights on our list below have a 7 year warranty.
How Much Money You Can Save With LED Shop Lights
I know you are wondering how much money you can actually save by installing LED lights in your warehouse or garage. Time for the fun part! Let’s do the math!
LED Shop Lights (Tubes)
10 fluorescent tube lights will consume 230 kwh per month. 10 LED tube lights will consume about 86 kwh per month. That’s an annual savings of 1,728 kwh per year, or about $170 per year!
High Bay LED Lights
Lets say you have an area that needs 10 LED High Bay lights installed. The LED lights will be 240 watt lights which are equivalent to 800 watt HPS or MH lights. Based on the wattage, if you use your lights for 8 hours a day, over 1 year the LED lights will use 7,008 kwh while the HPS lights will use a staggering 23,360 kwh! That is about $1,962 in energy savings a year! Your wallet with thank you. Not only that, the total cost for 10 LED high bay shop lights is roughly $100 per light, or $1,000. So you will be able to recoup the value of your investment within 6 months!
How Many LED Shop Lights Do I Need?
The number of lights you will need depends on 3 factors, the height of the ceiling, the area covered, and the brightness (or lumens) of the lights. Use the calculator below to find out how many lumens you will need per square foot.
The calculator above will tell you how many lumens you need. To find out how many lights you need, simply divide the lumen per light by the total amount of lumens needed. So if you are getting lights that are 4800 lumens each and you need 50,000 lumens total, you will need about 10 lights.
Now that you know how much money you can save by switching to LED lights and the number and lumens per light needed, you can begin shopping for your new LED lights. High Bay UFO LED can lights can be purchased from a variety of places – ebay, amazon, direct from the manufacturer, etc. There are also companies that specialize in LED retrofits that can help you choose the correct equipment for your space. These LED retrofit companies will also take care of installing the lights.
How To Install LED Shop Lights
But first, lets talk about the installation. When you buy the LED shop lights they come with a standard American 110v plug. This is great because all you need is an extension cord to plug them in. If you don’t live in the U.S. and need a 220v plug, you can purchase an adapter, or if you are savvy with electric wiring, you can modify the cord yourself. Each shop light will also include a steel hook to hang it from the rafters. So in most cases, all you will need to purchase is: the actual shop light, extension cords, chains or rope to hang.
LED Shop Light Comparison
Best LED Shop Lights Linkable
All of the LED Shop lights in the list above are linkable, meaning you can connect them to each other within a series to create one circuit. That way you will only have to plug in one of the lights and they will all be connected to that one light and will turn on when the switch is turned on.
Best LED Shop Light for Garage
There are many good LED shop lights for your garage. You will have to determine how you want the lights suspended or attached to the ceiling. you will also need to determine how you want to turn the lights on by switch or by pull cord. Below are a couple of good options for each style of light.
Pull Chain
This is the highest rated LED shop light with a pull chain that is suitable for garages. This is a pack of 4 fixtures with 8 lights. They have high brightness and will definitely reduce your electric bill. They are easy to install and come with cords so you can link the lights together and plug them into one socket.
On Off Switch
The lights above are the best LED shop lights with an on off switch. They are not expensive. These are a bit dimmer at 3600 lumens. They come with a 5 year warranty and are linkable.
Best LED Shop Light for Woodworking Shop
If you are wanting to light up a woodworking shop, you are going to need brighter lights than you would for a garage. Any type of precision drawings or work that is being performed will need better lighting. The lights listed below have a higher lumen rating so they would be excellent for a woodworking shop.
These lights are great for woodworking shops because they are super bright. They are nearly twice as bright as the other lights mentioned in this post. They are also twice as long at 8 feet in length. These lights are linkable and also come with the capability to be hard wired to a light switch.
Best LED Shop Lights Hard Wired
Hard wiring your lights to a light switch is another option (instead of plugging them into a wall outlet). Certain lights can be hard wired. Below are a few examples of lights that have the capability to be hard wired.
These lights can be flush mounted to the ceiling and easily hard wired to the wall switch. They are linkable with each other for simplifying the wiring and will allow you to save up to 65% on your lighting bill if you are replacing fluorescent lights with LED lights.
These lights also come with wiring to allow you to hardwire them to a light switch. They are super bright with 5000 lumen output. They will save you around 70% on your energy costs for similar fluorescent lights.
How to Wire LED Shop Lights
If you want to hard wire your LED Shop lights you’ll have to purchase lights with that capability. Most LED lights come with a plug that you plug into an outlet. With these, you would just have to plug them into an outlet and have an electrician wire the outlet to be connected to a light switch. LED shop lights such as those listed above come with a hardwire wire that has the wires needed to connect it to a switch. It will have a brown live wire, a blue neutral wire and a yellow grounding wire.
LED High Bay Lights
LED high bay lights work similar to the long tubular LED shop lights, they are just shaped differently. This is another option for your lighting needs. The video below shows some LED high bay lights being installed in a barn. High bay lights might be better for taller ceilings. They are also referred to as UFO lights or can lights.
Best LED High Bay Lights 2019
#1 Best LED High Bay Shop Light: Hyperlite LED Hight Bay Light
The LED shop light below had the best reviews by customers who purchased the light. These led shop lights are manufactured by Hyperlite, an Atlanta, Georgia based lighting distributor with 10 years experience. The company adheres to a strict quality management system. They also boast a 5 year warranty on all products.
#2 Best LED High Bay Shop Light Best Deal: Genpar High Bay LED Light 4 pack
Genpar makes other items besides LED lights, such as generators, gas engines and other industrial machinery. This 4 pack of high bay LED shop lights are perfect for those who need to buy in bulk. The 100w LED light is equivalent to a 400w HPS light.
#3 Best LED High Bay Shop Light
This warehouse led light also had really great reviews. It will replace a 600w HPS light. It is available in different light colors and comes with a pre-installed hook for easy installation.
#4 Best Dimmable LED Shop Light
This LED shop light is made by Sparkoe. If you are looking for dimmable lights, this is a great choice. It is 150W LED and is available in different light colors (warm or cold colors).
Conclusion
Now that you know how to install LED shop lights, how much money you can save by installing LED Shop lights, its time to take the plunge and switch to LEDs! I hope you find our calculator above useful to determine how many shop lights you need. Want to learn more about LEDs? Check out our LED information page. Have you switched your shop lights to LED? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
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