Fluorescent lighting systems represent the most economical and flexible solution to lighting your motorcycle, hot rod or boat shop. Get Lit™ Lighting offers an array of fluorescent lighting fixtures designed specifically with you, the shop owner, in mind. Get Lit™ fixtures are built to be tough, safe and energy efficient. The lighting system installed in your shop affects more than just your energy budget. The quality of light also influences the comfort and productivity of your workplace. To top it off, our variety of colors and styles ensures a perfect match to the look and feel of your shop.

Most shops have T12 fluorescent lighting fixtures. T12 lamps are 1-1/2 inches in diameter and typically 4 feet or 8 feet in length. Each standard 4 foot T12 fluorescent lamp consumes 40 watts of power, while energy saving T12 lamps burn 34 watts. Eight foot T12 lamps have very high wattage ratings, 60 watts for standard lamps and 95 watts for high output lamps. Most shops will contain a mixture of these lamp types, meaning several types of lamps must be kept in maintenance stocks.

For most applications, Get Lit™ recommends installation of T8 lighting fixtures. T8 lamps are 1 inch in diameter and standardized at a 4-foot length, eliminating the need to stock different types of lamps. Power consumption is only 32 watts each. T8 lamps produce a noticeably warmer, more natural light than T12 lamps, making colors appear nearly as they would under daylight. T8 and T12 lamps both last an average of 20,000 hours, but T8 lamps remain brighter over their lives than T12 lamps.

All fluorescent lamps are powered by ballasts. Most old T12 fixtures contain magnetic ballasts. These ballasts produce a great deal of waste heat, and generate light flicker and audible noise, which can cause eye strain and make concentration difficult. Older magnetic ballasts contain cancer-causing PCB chemicals, a personal and environmental hazard. The T8 fixtures available from Get Lit™ run on energy-efficient electronic ballasts, which convert power into light more efficiently than magnetic ballasts, producing less waste heat. Electronic ballasts also run at higher frequencies, eliminating distracting lamp flicker and noise. One electronic ballast can power up to four T8 lamps. Magnetic ballasts power only two lamps, meaning each 4-lamp T12 fixture needs two magnetic ballasts, each consuming additional power. Finally, electronic ballasts are safe for the environment, and never contain harmful PCB’s.

For an energy savings example, consider a common type of shop fixture containing two 8-foot 95-watt T12 lamps and a 2-lamp high output magnetic ballast. These fixtures consume an average of 227 watts each. Get Lit™ Lighting sells an 8-foot fixture running four 4-foot T8 lamps, burning only 112 watts, as a replacement for this common energy-wasting fixture.

Many shops also have high intensity discharge (HID) lighting fixtures in areas where high visibility is needed. These fixtures run at very high wattages, with typical bulbs rated between 400 and 1000 watts. HID ballasts frequently take as long as 8 minutes to warm up, resulting in a significant delay before maximum light output is achieved. Get Lit™ recommends T5 fluorescent fixtures as a more practical alternative to HID lighting. Fluorescent lighting systems start instantly, eliminating warm up delays. T5 lamps are 5/8 inch in diameter, and this narrow profile provides more light output per surface area than T12 or T8 lamps, while the efficiency remains virtually the same compared to T8 lamps. Both standard and high output T5 lamps are available to meet your specific lighting needs. Standard T5 lamps are rated at 28 watts High output T5 lamps are twice as bright as standard T5 lamps, and are rated at 54 watts.