I can confirm that LEDs are winter friendly. That is why they are used for Christmas lights. And even though the packaging might say "good to -10", we here in Manitoba can confirm that they will work to -35. I put some home depot LED lamp assemblies in an unheated shed I put up last summer, and they are instant on and extremely bright.
As to the shop lights, that is a good price. But if you already have 4 foot fluorescent lighting, and you happen to have the modern electronic ballasts, then you can simply change the bulbs over to the LED bulbs available at Lowes or Home depot. They run $7 each if I recall.
I work in the same building that I came to when I first got posted to Shilo in 1996. Up until about 6 months ago, it still had the same lighting too. It was primarily those old yellowish sulfur ceiling lamps. In one fell swoop, the electricians came in and replaced all 36 with the much smaller LED high bay lights. It was like night and day, and the electrical usage dropped by about 75%. I run 8 foot fluorescent in my quonset, and will be changing to the LED high bay lighting this summer. My current 8 foot fluorescent lights are sub zero rated, but still not perfect for quick starting when the shop is cold. The LEDs are instant on, and much much brighter. Here is a link to some on ebay (or else go on ebay and search for high bay LED): https://www.ebay.ca/itm/cUL-100W-LED...9pjL:rk:2:pf:0
They are made in China, but stocked and shipped here in Canada. They are available in several different wattage equivalents. Prices have dropped drastically in the last few years. The electricians told me that some they installed a few years ago were $800 a light. The similar ones they installed in our building were $300 a light. On ebay, the equivalent is about $130 a light. |
