On Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 8:21:25 PM UTC-5, whit3rd wrote:
On Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 2:13:48 PM UTC-7, wrote:
I just use 4 foot fluorescent lights in my shop area. I have 37 of the two bulb 4 foot fixtures in the basement. Once in a great while the fluorescent bulbs die. But its rare. And the bulbs cost $1 each or something like that.
Yep, fluorescent is still a winner on parts/availability/maturity, and was never far
behind LED in power consumption. I suspect the various (low-voltage DC, high-voltage AC,
dimmable, not dimmable, flickering, flicker-free, etc.) LED options mean that one
can never re-lamp or re-power a fixture, if a lamp or power brick dies, you need... a new
fixture. With screw-in LED bulbs, you replace both a power supply and an LED, AND
a heatsink, instead of just a glass tube/bulb with fittings on the end(s); replacing the light
emitters is going to be easier on the wallet if you go fluorescent.

Case-lot purchases of fluorescent tubes are $2 each, but if you just buy a couple off-the-shelf,
it's closer to $5 each. I've replaced some T12 ballast/tube fixtures with T8 electronic
ballast and T8 tubes; less mercury in those smaller tubes, and quite bright. The sheet metal
of the fixtures might be 40 years old.

Menards sells individual bulbs for $1.77 and $2.22, and more expensive ones too. Maybe they are cheaper if you buy a whole box.

https://www.menards.com/main/electri...tid=-1&ipos=10

https://www.menards.com/main/electri...?tid=-1&ipos=8