Workshop lighting - daylight bulbs?

[LancsRick]

I'm going to rewire a bit of my workshop tomorrow as well as installing more adequate lighting (when I moved in last year there's only a single light, and it's not adequate at all, so adding more fittings). I was wondering what the consensus in here is with regards to daylight bulbs vs "normal" bulbs?

 

[hammer n nails]

I have fluorescent strip lights and some spots for close work plus a desk/work light with a daylight bulb

 

[NickV]

I use fluorescent strip lights aswell but with with daylight bulbs in(well blue sprectrum bulbs which are close to daylight). I much prefer them and they really perk me up in the winter when I go in the workshop.

Nick

 

[No skills]

Go for the 'daylight' tubes in your main fixtures for sure, nicer to work under and will give better colour rendering/perception of your work pieces.

For close up lights (worklamps etc) it might be worth trying a couple of different colours, much as I like the higher kelvin lights I find that having them very close can give me headaches. It might not affect you at all, I'm just a bit sensitive like that

 

[tomatwark]

I use fluorescent strip lights aswell but with with daylight bulbs in(well blue sprectrum bulbs which are close to daylight). I much prefer them and they really perk me up in the winter when I go in the workshop.

Nick

I change the ones in my workshop to blue spectrum tubes last summer and it has really helped me through the winter, my eyes feel a lot less tired at the end of the day now.

Tom

 

[LancsRick]

Thanks for the advice guys. Having looked at the cost of going for 6500K fluorescent tubes, I'm going to stick in 3 normal bayonet fixtures, each with a fluorescent 360degree daylight bulb in there.

Many thanks for the views!

 

[Jake]

"Daylight" is just the wrong colour temperature for the level of lighting you can achieve domestically. If you moved some football stadium lighting in, it would work fine, but the brain adjusts its colour temperature expectations based on light levels. There is no hope in hell of getting enough lux to make daylight temps make sense with any sane amount of artificial light (by sane I mean under multiple kW). 4k or 4.5k is as high as you could possibly need.

 

[MickCheese]

"Daylight" is just the wrong colour temperature for the level of lighting you can achieve domestically. If you moved some football stadium lighting in, it would work fine, but the brain adjusts its colour temperature expectations based on light levels. There is no hope in hell of getting enough lux to make daylight temps make sense with any sane amount of artificial light (by sane I mean under multiple kW). 4k or 4.5k is as high as you could possibly need.

Now I am confused. I am thinking of changing my workshop lights and had considered daylight fittings.

I have four 5foot tubes at present in a workshop 20feet X 12feet and a fairly low ceiling and there is just not enough light, once I went past 40 and now past 50years my eyesight is not what it used to be so I need more light.

What should I go for and how many fitting should I fit? Should I consider mixing the fittings so I have some daylight and some ordinary? What would a professional workshop be fitted with?

Mick

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've got 4x 5' tubes for general work in a 18' x 20' workshop, then other locallised halogen and incandescent lamps over benches and the lathe. Saves wasting electricity lighting areas not being used.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Daylight tubes are indeed lower output, considerably so.

I have a lightbox, roughly 3ftx2ft with four 'Northlight' (daylight equiv.) tubes in it. It's great for colour matching, but it is NOT bright. In comparison, I've got an industrial fitting over my bench with 4x4ft 'pluslux' tubes in it that is far brighter.

It requires different, more expensive phosphors to get an approximation to daylight, which is why you only ever see the high output type in places like B+Q (or even high-pressure Sodium), despite them selling paint(!).

 

[No skills]

"Daylight" is just the wrong colour temperature for the level of lighting you can achieve domestically. If you moved some football stadium lighting in, it would work fine, but the brain adjusts its colour temperature expectations based on light levels. There is no hope in hell of getting enough lux to make daylight temps make sense with any sane amount of artificial light (by sane I mean under multiple kW). 4k or 4.5k is as high as you could possibly need.

Hi, have you got any links to online papers/info regarding this please?

 

[No skills]

Daylight tubes are indeed lower output, considerably so.

I just had a quick compare online with some osram tubes - at the same wattage there was a couple of hundred lumen difference between 3500k and 6500k, so yes lower but I would not say considerably.

Most of the new built B&Q's are using multiple fluro tube fixtures (where practicle) instead of HID lights, partly for cost saving but also so they can use daylight tubes to help with colour rendering, lets the customer see what paints/papers look like in 'daylight' home conditions.

 

[Jake]

"Daylight" is just the wrong colour temperature for the level of lighting you can achieve domestically. If you moved some football stadium lighting in, it would work fine, but the brain adjusts its colour temperature expectations based on light levels. There is no hope in hell of getting enough lux to make daylight temps make sense with any sane amount of artificial light (by sane I mean under multiple kW). 4k or 4.5k is as high as you could possibly need.

Hi, have you got any links to online papers/info regarding this please?

Often discussed on the likes of sci.engr.lighting. In terms of scientific papers,if that is what you are after, you'd have to do more digging than I have done. A search on "Kruithof curve" will give you the basics at least.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Daylight tubes are indeed lower output, considerably so.

I just had a quick compare online with some osram tubes - at the same wattage there was a couple of hundred lumen difference between 3500k and 6500k, so yes lower but I would not say considerably.

Most of the new built B&Q's are using multiple fluro tube fixtures (where practicle) instead of HID lights, partly for cost saving but also so they can use daylight tubes to help with colour rendering, lets the customer see what paints/papers look like in 'daylight' home conditions.

That's interesting: it looks like the efficiency has improved significantly. T'other issue was that daylight-balance tubes used to be very hard to obtain, and had normally to be bought in packs of 25 minimum. That may have changed now.

Regarding HID, my understanding was that they do give a pretty reasonable broad-spectrum approximation to daylight
(assuming 6.5-6.8kK, latter being overcast north light here). Isn't that why they're used in film and TV lighting?

I've never seen any attempt to balance lighting in any of the sheds, but the last time I actually looked purposefully at the luminaires was in one of our older B+Qs locally, not in the newest one. I don't shop at B+Q if I can avoid it.

I don't know how efficient fluorescents are compared to HID though. The latter kick out a lot of heat from the lamp directly (nothing compared to tungsten and t-halogen, mind). Perhaps it comes down to the cost of control gear.

Cheers,

E.

 

[No skills]

[/quote]

Often discussed on the likes of sci.engr.lighting. In terms of scientific papers,if that is what you are after, you'd have to do more digging than I have done. A search on "Kruithof curve" will give you the basics at least.[/quote]

Thanks, I will have a look.

 

[No skills]

Eric,

Daylight tubes seem ready available from online suppliers (at a quantity of your choice) so I imagine good retails will have them or get them for you should you wish - imo prices are lower than they used to be.

Metal halide lamps are available in many spectrums now and colour rendition has improved, its been years since I looked at halide lamp prices or specs really but higher kelvin lamps were dearer than lower kelvin.

I dont know how far they went (B&Q) with the retro fits, it was generally the bigger flashier stores that were revamped and new builds that were getting the fluro fittings.

There is some info about on high output t5 fluro v halide (lumen per watt etc) from the marine reef keeping hobby that I know of, not sure if theres anything mainstream tho. Old style hid ballasts are pretty wasteful/inefficient, newer electronic ballasts are much better but much more expensive. Electronic fluro ballasts are very good as well.

FWIW