Lighting options in new cow shed

[AlfM]

We are putting up a 30 m x 50 m cubicle shed but are still undecided how to light it. We are after a white light, which is instant, and with no shadows.
Currently all fluroescent tubes and apart from being a bit unfashionable this is pretty much the lighting we are after. So is there anything out there that can achieve the same effect?
If LED is your answer then how many do you need and how to you position them to not create shadows?

 

[Blue.]

I have mainly flourecent daylight bulbs but one passageway I used 20watt led floodlights,have one in each bay above the passage,it's the best light in the shed,will do more when I get round to it.

 

[S J H]

I've put fluroscents in a new shed, and I wouldn't want to use anything else, it's clean quick light with no shadows.

 

[Badshot]

I had an email from spaldings the other day telling me there are defra grants for led lighting available, worth asking maybe?

 

[AlfM]

I had an email from spaldings the other day telling me there are defra grants for led lighting available, worth asking maybe?

There is a grant but crumbs you have to go into some detail to get it, complete plans, current elec use, inside leg measurement etc. from memory I think you have to put in £3.5 k and they put in £2 k??

 

[AlfM]

I have mainly flourecent daylight bulbs but one passageway I used 20watt led floodlights,have one in each bay above the passage,it's the best light in the shed,will do more when I get round to it.

So how are they mounted? As high as possible facing straight down? And what is the spread of light like? One per 20 foot bay?

 

[Badshot]

There is a grant but crumbs you have to go into some detail to get it, complete plans, current elec use, inside leg measurement etc. from memory I think you have to put in £3.5 k and they put in £2 k??

Ouch.

 

[Blue.]

So how are they mounted? As high as possible facing straight down? And what is the spread of light like? One per 20 foot bay?

They are screwed to the purlin facing down,probably 20' on my outside scrape passage,spread of light is good,one per 20' bay.

I did have a picture but can't find it now.

 

[COWCARE SYSTEMS]

We are putting up a 30 m x 50 m cubicle shed but are still undecided how to light it. We are after a white light, which is instant, and with no shadows.
Currently all fluroescent tubes and apart from being a bit unfashionable this is pretty much the lighting we are after. So is there anything out there that can achieve the same effect?
If LED is your answer then how many do you need and how to you position them to not create shadows?

Send me an email to [email protected] and ill send you a lighting calculation for your new shed

 

[zyklon]

Fluorescents are the only job for cattle sheds. Stick one in each bay on each half of the shed. So a 8 bay x 5 bay would have 16 Twin 58w Flourescents at a total of 1856w.

I have seen sheds like that size with just one twin Flourescent in each bay hanging from chain down the middle of the shed. Lit the shed evenly and light was good enough.

Do you really need it lit up like daylight cause we only spend less than 20mins in our big sheds twice a day to give a quick clean during milking and then we turn them off.

Oh, stay away from High frequency flourescents in sheds. Expensive crap and they don't last. Our local wholesalers wouldn't sell us HF if they knew we were fitting them in agricultural sheds.

LED versions of these are great but some tend to only have a working life of 1500/2000hrs depending on brand which is strange.

 

[AlfM]

Send me an email to [email protected] and ill send you a lighting calculation for your new shed

Only just seen this. Will email you in next couple of days.

 

[simon-0116]

Whats wrong with hf fluorescent if they ip 65 rated and fitted correctly - zyklon.

 

[roscoe erf]

got sodium in mine once they warm up there fine white light or orange

 

[zyklon]

The control gear in HF flourescents just don't last and when they give bother, you have to replace the whole light as it costs more to replace the gear than to buy a new light. With a switch start, over 15-20yrs, you only need to replace the starter or a tube. These HF lights, the ballast dies before the tube. Some last less than a year, 15 months or longer.

Great for instant start and flicker free which is great in an office but irrelevant in a cattle shed. If you have lots of money to spend, buy quality HF IP rated fluorescents. Anything under £50 we have tried for a twin doesn't last. Some sparky friends say they need to be running for a few hours everyday to keep the right but that's debatable.

We replaced our HF Flourescents with £25 Switch Starter old school Fluorescents. Identicle to look at but the switch ones will last for years.

 

[Blue.]

The control gear in HF flourescents just don't last and when they give bother, you have to replace the whole light as it costs more to replace the gear than to buy a new light. With a switch start, over 15-20yrs, you only need to replace the starter or a tube. These HF lights, the ballast dies before the tube. Some last less than a year, 15 months or longer.

Great for instant start and flicker free which is great in an office but irrelevant in a cattle shed. If you have lots of money to spend, buy quality HF IP rated fluorescents. Anything under £50 we have tried for a twin doesn't last. Some sparky friends say they need to be running for a few hours everyday to keep the right but that's debatable.

We replaced our HF Flourescents with £25 Switch Starter old school Fluorescents. Identicle to look at but the switch ones will last for years.

Found the same myself.

 

[Timbo]

Do NOT use LF conventional fluro's in a workshop where you are using power tools.

 

[simon-0116]

Never found that with hf strips but agree they can fail. Conventinal tubes arent as efficent as t5 tubes with hf ballasts though