09-21-2014, 05:11 PM
Today's project was upgrading the horrific lighting in my shop. The old T12 fluorescent fixtures have slowly gotten dimmer over the years as my eyesight has gotten poorer to the point where it felt like I was working in a cave.
After a bit of research, I decided that switching to the newer T8 style bulb was the most logical option. The old 40 watt T12 bulbs used more energy but produced less light than the 32 watt T8's, especially with the aging ballasts in the fixtures, plus the newer technology in the T8's make colors more vivid in the light. The old T12 bulbs I was using had a color rendering index of 62, but the new T8's have a CRI of 82. A CRI of 80 or above makes the colors really pop. I also went to a bulb with a slightly higher color temperature of 5000K vs. the 4100K bulbs I was using. 5k is close to the color temperature of sunlight at noon.
I decided to go with two bulb fixtures with wrap around lenses to evenly distribute the light and solid state instant start ballasts. They were $29 at the Depot and the bulbs were about $4 ea. The fixtures are Lithonia 4 foot, 2 lamp wraps, #987210 and the bulbs are Phillips F32T8/TL850 Alro II's.
The results were startling. I wish I had taken a before and after shot, but believe me, it is like night and day. I can't believe that I waited so long to do the upgrade. Now I need to clean the shop because the clutter is much more apparent.
Tom
![[Image: IMAG0466_1_.jpg]](http://photos.imageevent.com/tomgriffin/generalstuff/large/IMAG0466_1_.jpg)
![[Image: IMAG0467_1_.jpg]](http://photos.imageevent.com/tomgriffin/generalstuff/large/IMAG0467_1_.jpg)
After a bit of research, I decided that switching to the newer T8 style bulb was the most logical option. The old 40 watt T12 bulbs used more energy but produced less light than the 32 watt T8's, especially with the aging ballasts in the fixtures, plus the newer technology in the T8's make colors more vivid in the light. The old T12 bulbs I was using had a color rendering index of 62, but the new T8's have a CRI of 82. A CRI of 80 or above makes the colors really pop. I also went to a bulb with a slightly higher color temperature of 5000K vs. the 4100K bulbs I was using. 5k is close to the color temperature of sunlight at noon.
I decided to go with two bulb fixtures with wrap around lenses to evenly distribute the light and solid state instant start ballasts. They were $29 at the Depot and the bulbs were about $4 ea. The fixtures are Lithonia 4 foot, 2 lamp wraps, #987210 and the bulbs are Phillips F32T8/TL850 Alro II's.
The results were startling. I wish I had taken a before and after shot, but believe me, it is like night and day. I can't believe that I waited so long to do the upgrade. Now I need to clean the shop because the clutter is much more apparent.
Tom
![[Image: TomsTechLogo-Profile.png]](http://tomstechniques.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/TomsTechLogo-Profile.png)