Barn/Lights

The HP sodium lights use less electricity than the MV lights. The HP sodiums do take a couple of minutes to warm up, but then put out a nice, mellow-yellow light that I prefer over the bright-white of the MV lights.

That yellow HP sodium light is preferred by my neighbors as they say that our other neighbors's bright MV lights shine in their windows at night.

We have one of those HP sodium lights mounted up high in our barn and it works very well. If we need additional light anywhere (task lighting), plain old 100 watt bulbs in those regular ceiling-mount fictures (use to be ceramic but now are usually plastic) work well. You can put in those Phillips brand halogen bulbs to save money if you plan to operate the bulbs for extended periods of time.

The guy who's working on my barn also recommended those cheapy "halogen work lights" that have the bright halogen lamps in them. You see these for 5-6 dollars some times at discount hardware stores. They come with stands some times. He says he has some hooked up to a motion detector in his barn, so they come on right away when he enters. He then can switch on the sodium lamps. When they warm up, he shuts off the bright haolgen lamps if he doesn't need so much light. It depends on what he's doing whether or not he leaves on the bright halogen lights.

Just my 2¢.

This has a cold weather magnetic ballast and takes two 110 watt high output T12 tubes (costing about $5.00 each). Supposed to be good for -20 F.

If your ceiling is painted white you could probably light the whole place with one of these placed right in the center. Alternatively, put one over your work area and another to "fill in" the opposite corner.

On a lumens per dollar basis, giving due regard for the cost of electricity as well as purchase price, these fixtures are hard to beat if cold temperatures are a factor.

I have a 30 X 40 barn and live in Michigan. I stumbled on the attached fixtures. I was using 300W incandescent, but the electric bill was incredible. These are 65 W flourescent and will light in low temp and warm up to full brightness in a couple of minutes. Nice thing is they cost about $40 a piece.

JU

In PA, most of us use just a few 100 watt light bulbs in a ceramic (porcelon fixture, in most of our barns. Generally this is enough light for milking and overall "barn work".

Over the machining area, we use a light at each machine, such as grinders, drill press, etc.

Over the work bench area there will always be some sort of flourscent light fixture.

Rather than lighting the whole building, perhaps just a flourscent fixture over the work bench area will do.

So, just one (1) qualtity flourscent fixture will be better that a bunch of "low end" fixtures.

If you mount a standard porcelon fisture with the normat electrical box set-up, you can always mount a duplex out in the box to plug in flourscent fixtures later. Suspend the flourscent fixture by chains from the ceiling, or screw same to the ceiling.

I wouldn't put more tnan 8 lights (100 watt) on one wall switch coupled to a 15 amp breaker.

High quality (low temperature operation) flourscent fixtures are available at industrial lighing equipment stores. About 100 bucks each. We use this style in our COLD STORAGE ROOMS. Takes too long for the mercury vapor type to get bright.

Hope that this helps.