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Posted by Mike Hartigan on February 14, 2007, 10:46 pm
> I am considering an addition to my garage and have started to think about
> what I would like to have for lighting when I complete the construction.
> Like most people I want a brightly lite area with low up front cost and low
> electrical consumption. Plus a system that works well in cold weather. This
> structure may not be heated at all times and I would like to flip the switch
> and have the lights to work instantly with out a major delay and extented
> flicker. I have been told that my best choice in fluorescent lighting would
> be 4 foot T-8's with high power ballasts?
I replaced a pair of fluorescent shop lights in my garage a couple of
years ago because of the problems with the cold. I was replacing the
tubes at least twice a year (fortunately, 40W T-12 are a dime a
dozen, so it wasn't a biggie, financially speaking). The new
fixtures were really nothing special. They were advertised as having
solid state ballasts and will work in temps down to -15. They use
32W T-8 tubes. They're instant on (hard to get used to at first),
which means no starters. They're about 2/3 of the way through their
third winter, and they're still doing just what they're supposed to
be doing. And I haven't replaced a tube yet. They were only
marginally more expensive than the standard, generic, low-tech
models. As I recall, I paid about $10 for each fixture plus about $2
each for the tubes.
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