Layout Room Lighting

[alhoop]

I replaced 4 4 ft' fluorescent  bulbs with these (two per fixture - one fixture for each of my 8X12 foot rooms.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LPSHSGK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Photo 1 shows lighting with the 2 LED bulbs, photo 2 shows lighting with 2  fluorescent bulbs .

Notice difference in lighting around the smokestack base and siding on the buidings.

I don't have the means to test light output - read the review by bgrizzle.

Al

[nickelplate759]

Besides difference in brightness, these two light sources clearly have different CRIs and color temperatures.   According to Amazon, your LEDs claim a CRI of 80 (100 is perfect, and I'm not aware of any fluorescent or LED source that can achieve this), which is only mediocre to begin with, but it's clearly better than the fluorescent you used.  If you ever can get 90+ CRI (it's often expensive, and always less efficient than lower CRIs) they're really nice!

Color temp also matters. Your LEDs are 4000 Kelvin, which is a little warmer (more red & yellow) than most fluorescents, but not as warm as incandescents and halogens, which are typically 2700 to 3000 Kelvin.    Your fluorescents probably have a higher color temperature (look bluer).

None of this explains why your flourescents make the trailers and VW microbus invisible!


Regards,
George

[Baronjutter]

I just installed these LED work lights, they're AMAZING.  Only $35 at costco too.  Had to ship them up from the US (they were selling them for $120 here in canada, take OFF you hosers!) but even after expensive shipping it was still way cheaper. 

[Chris333]

Do they even need a fixture or can they just run off 12volts?

[C855B]

That's a pretty good price, Al.

Chris, they are 120VAC and require you to modify the fixture wiring.

I've had 16 of these in the workshop at the layout building for a year. Here's the post about 'em in the layout engineering thread: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=26087.msg380131#msg380131 .

[peteski]

While not for layout lighting (I don't have one), I use Philips Kitchen and Bath fluorescent bulbs in several locations.  They are warm white (3000K) and IIRC have CRI of 85 (which is decent for standard home bulbs from Home Depot).

[Chris333]

Still not sure why you need fixtures for these?  I mean they only shine one way so you don't need the reflector. You are gonna tear out the ballast.

Do the tubes have a 12v transformer built in?

Can you just wire 120v up to the tube ends without buying fixtures?

Note: Ballast/starter of existing fixtures must be bypassed. Tombstones must be of the non-shunted type.
Power is to be applied to one end of the tube only (labeled),
1 pin to Live/Hot and the other pin to Neutral;
pins on the other end of the tube are for physically securing the tube only.

[Chris333]

BLAH  never mind. Looks like you can just buy the "tombstones" and wire direct.  Might try them out.

[alhoop]

BLAH  never mind. Looks like you can just buy the "tombstones" and wire direct.  Might try them out.

Will that pass inspection?
Al

[Chris333]

Inspector? 

So I go down and un-screw one of my CFLs that are spaced 12" apart and they say 800 lumens each. So every 4 feet there are 5 bulbs, that is 4000 lumens. These LEDs say 2200 lumens x2 every 4 feet is 4400.

My bulbs are 5000k, so the 4000k might look better, but I can mix and match bulbs to get a different color.

21 14w bulbs go around my layout so 294watts. If I used 10 of these tubes it would be 220watts.

Plus while working on only one part of the layout I can unscrew bulbs that aren't needed, I really like that.

I paid $80 for the socket set:
http://www.partylights.com/Commercial-String-Lights/Commercial-Medium-String-Lights/48-Medium-Base-Stringer-Black
Plus about $1.50 per bulb so $31.50. $112 alltogether. The LED tubes alone would be about $165 for 10. (who knows what the fixtures would cost)

Guess I'll stick with my CFL's 

[Chris333]

T8 fixtures and tubes would be about $150 (5 fixtures and 10 tubes) and would be 5700 lunems every 4 feet (5000k tubes) and it would be 320watts.

[C855B]

... Guess I'll stick with my CFL's 

If you already have things covered neatly with a festoon string, what's the pressure to go to tubes? Your LED options in terms of color temperature, CRI and, frankly, cost per lumen are far better with regular medium base screw-in bulbs (E27) than they are with tubes. Prices for mainstream household LED bulbs are plummeting - I picked-up a couple of Sylvania/OSRAM 60W equivalents for $2.50 each at Lowe's a couple of weeks ago. It may have been a promotional, but the "on sale" pricing seems to be sticking these days.

Frankly, I think LED tubes in the T-8 format are a PITA. There are three different and incompatible wiring formats - 110V across the two pins at one end vs. neutral on one end and hot on the other vs. designs that attempt to work, usually not well, with an unmodified ballast. So you have to commit your fixtures to a format, and recall the wiring scheme when replacing (save your paperwork!). Yes, plan to replace - "50,000 hours" doesn't account for burn-in failures, I had one out of the 16 die after about six months.

[Chris333]

Oh, I didn't even think about screw in LED's...