What is LED shop lighting?
LED shop lights are considered as the new LED version of fluorescent shop lights.
Shop lights are often used in garages and workshops, where a simple yet economical light is needed to illuminate a small space such as a work table.
Traditional fluorescent lights are designed for 1.2-meter fluorescent tubes, which offer longer life, lower power consumption, and color temperatures balanced in daylight compared to incandescent lamps. This made them very attractive for workshop lighting. With the introduction of LED technology, performance surpasses fluorescent lamps, making LED versions of retail lighting a technical matter.
LED shop lights have a longer life and higher efficiency than their fluorescent counterparts. Still, they have mostly taken the same linear fluorescent form factor and are generally available in 1.20m lengths with a very similar fixture style 4 feet shop light is very commonly used nowadays for shop lighting.
The advantages of retail lighting are many, but the most important are:
- Economical – an LED shop light can be purchased for under $15
- Easy to install – an LED shop light does not require complex wiring or electrical knowledge
- Adjustable – the height and position of a shop light can be adjusted quickly. Typical 1.2-meter fluorescent/LED tube lights are often mounted at the ceilings, which makes them difficult to install and fix permanently.
- Waste less light – an LED shop light can be placed precisely where light is needed, so less light is wasted illuminating non-essential areas, further saving electrical costs.
As seen, the standard fluorescent lights emit light at a 360-degree angle. However, the LED tubes direct the light downwards. In a retail fixture, this makes the actual efficiency of LED retail lighting even higher than fluorescent retail lights, which lose some of the upward light.
What kind of LED shop lighting are available in the market?
Today there are two main types of LED shop lighting: integrated LED shop lighting and retrofitting LED shop lighting.
Integrated LED shop lighting lets LED chips and electronics be mounted directly in the luminaire (i.e., integrated), so there is no more “light” to replace. With a longer lifespan of LED technology, the intention is that the lamp continues to emit sufficient light until the luminaire itself is taken out of service.
In contrast, LED shop lighting renovations separate the bulb from the fixture, making them replaceable. This usually involves using a fluorescent tube and replacing the fluorescent tube with an LED tube. A fluorescent shop light will almost always have a fluorescent ballast built-in.
In principle, integrated LED shop lighting is preferred. After all, these lamps are designed around LEDs, the latest technology. As a result, they usually do not include “lamp holders” and instead integrate the LED radiators into the luminaire.
By definition, the retrofit approach to LED lights tries to bypass the old design of fluorescents. This means that the mechanical and electrical compatibility of the LED tube is limited as it must fit into the shop fixture initially designed for fluorescent lamps. This seems to be a drawback in terms of performance and product options.