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Converting a business to LED lighting

Angate

Jun 12, 2014
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I own a small business and am looking to do some re-working of my lighting.


Currently I have 13 T12 (8 foot) two bulb fixtures. They are producing about 1300 lumens per fixture and draw between 150 and 180 watts each (mostly in the awful ballast).


My idea is to replace my current lights with some custom LED fictures. I have 15 2x4ft recessed lights that use 4 T8 bulbs. I am thinking of stripping them down to their shells, chroming the inside and shining LEDs up from the inside to have it reflect back down through the diffuser panel. I would like to build a single power supply to distribute power to all the lights from one location. I figure doing this will result in the best efficiency rather than having a separate power supply for each light.


The LEDs I am looking at are: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Luminus-Devices/SSR-90-W65S-R11-N3102/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMu4Prknbu83y7%2f8aKLsyF9P%2fAgRGaTeU%2fo%3d


They are 1000 lumens each and I would use 2 per fixture. That is way more lumens per fixture than current, but I suspect that the indirect light combined with the diffuser panel will result in a good bit less out of the fixture.


Does this sound like a feasible idea? It is going to be a $2000 USD ish project. I will be making a demo unit for proof of concept but don't want to even spend that money if the idea seems stupid to more experienced electronics enthusiasts.
 

Angate

Jun 12, 2014
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I have looked into other conversion options that are out of the box style. The bulbs are $40-$80 USD each, plus most of the energy use is in waste by the ballasts. I would be looking at $120-$200+ per fixture no matter what. If I use the resesed lights that have 4 bulbs each and a balast, It would cost ($65 x 4) + $55 per fixture. $315 per fixture that way and it will still cost more than 3 times the energy draw I think I could get with the system I am looking at building.
 

BobK

Jan 5, 2010
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That sounds pretty expensive when you can get 800 lumen A19 bulbs at Home Depot for $5 each.

Bob
 

Angate

Jun 12, 2014
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The consumer light bulbs aren't meant to light such a large open space, especially from the height my ceilings are. Everything for businesses is more expensive also. I am looking to do this to have it pay off over a 2-3 year period and start positive pay offs for 10 or more years I will be in my space. My current lights run around 2100 watts total, the lights I am looking at building are about 270 total at the LED, plus PSU overhead.
 

davpankhur

Jun 5, 2014
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Not sure that a single power supply is a good idea, I use a lot of leds and the led beads rarely ever die, the power drivers are usually the weakest link and die first - so if your power driver fails, your room might get a little dark.
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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The consumer light bulbs aren't meant to light such a large open space, especially from the height my ceilings are.

I totally agree. There are some who would say that a lumen is a lumen is a lumen. It is not so!

If you read the packet you will find that the lumens used for measuring commercial lighting are bigger and stronger than the ones used for domestic lighting measurement.

This causes the oft-seen issue of lighting not reaching the floor in commercial premises where people have tried to cut corners by using domestic lighting. The dark region, which may extend for up to a metre from the floor is a clear safety hazard. The easiest test for this is to lie on the floor and look up at the light fittings. If the lights appear to go out as you lay down, your lights are using lumens that are too weak for your ceiling height.

I recommend the use of domestic (3 metre) lumens only for domestic use with low ceilings. Premium (3.5 metre) lumens are preferred if you have higher ceilings or large rooms where light might not reach the corners of the room. Only commercial (5 metre) or premium commercial (6 metre) lumens should be used in commercial premises and public buildings. This is normally specified in your insurance and/or safety regulations.

Some retailers will attempt to sell you so-called "lumen extenders" to force the light to extend closer to the corners in rooms. Whilst these work to some extent, the quality of the lumens produced in this manner is well known to vary inversely with their strength.

[/sarcsm]
 

BobK

Jan 5, 2010
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Thanks, Steve, I tried to respond a couple of times, but just could not stomach it.

Bob
 
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