Best LED Light for your Garage or Workshop: 8 Lights reviewed head-to-head and hands-on

I reviewed 8 lights (2 from Lithonia Lighting, 3 from Commercial Electric, 3 from Amazon: Barrina, Hykolity, and Hyperikon) to see what the best 4 foot LED shop light is. After unboxing each of them, mounting them, turning them on, and comparing them side-by-side, this is my take on the best overall and best in several subcategories.

The 8 LED lights reviewed in this video are:

Lithonia Lighting MNSL L46 1LL 120V 40K 80CRI - one lamp
Lithonia Lighting MNSL L48 2LL MVOLT 40K 80 CRI - two lamp, high lumen output
Commercial Electric 1001 391 348
Commercial Electric 1004 060 730 - color changing
Commercial Electric 1001 391 103 - high lumen output

This video may contain affiliate links.

Shop Warrior is a product of Glass Pixel Company.

[robertsyourrelative]

I bought a bunch of Barrina light and they came with meter-long cords. I wanted some half-meter cords. I called their Customer Service (very easy) and not only did they say no-problem but they sent me 8 free 4ft lights with half-meter cords, free. I couldn't believe it. Some of the best customer service I have ever experienced. I have been using them for about two years and not one failure.

[conoy]

We have a heated garage and we use it often to eat in for larger gatherings, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. Having light temperature options could be nice as you can switch to a warmer color during gatherings so it's not so harsh.

[David-hmic]

The selectable color temperature of the Commercial Electric light you eliminated right away would be appreciated. I would not change the color periodically; just set it once and leave it there. The advantage is that many lights are not available in the color temperature I prefer which is 3000K-3500K. The benefit is that that color temperature blends well with quartz lights. I was a professional photographer for many years so that's important to me. Overall, this was a discussion of specs and prices and not a useful review of the lights. I got the same information by reading the sellers' websites.

[hawkiconoclast]

To answer your question on that switch: Photographers such as myself would like that color temp switch option. Good vid, thanks

[mastertech]

You may want to know there are a lot of complaints on Home Depot reviews on the Commercial Electric lamps. They simply don't work out of the box or burn out with in a few weeks/months. I've gone through my share of bad lamps. I just have one installed in my closet! Don't use it a lot, but have gone through 4 lamps in the last year... I just keep sending them back to Home Depot. My old florescent light was there for 20 years! Decided to replace all my lights with LED's & that's when my troubles started.
After the last light burnt out, I decided to open up the LED strip & try to determine the problem. After opening, I found a high voltage DC switching power supply board on the strip. On my 3 Ft power strip, there are 170 LED's: 2 LEDs at a time are connected in parallel & these (85 packets) are connected in series. The board outputs 282V DC, so it's not recommended fooling with these! On my last defect light, the board only output 166 VDC! Not enough to light up so many LED's. There is a chip on board that drives the switching power supply... that may be the problem. Anyway, too costly to try to repair or modify the board. For $15 & a 5 year warranty, just swap it out!

[lunacyworks]

Had to laugh at the light you eliminated! My #1 requirement is to be able to change the color Temp ever so often. This is because part of the space is used for various purposes. The 3k is for normal passing thru use. The 4k for daily use without too much harshness, and 5k when doing precise work and need sharp and clarity, it also helps when trying to do color matching. On area i found this helpful is in part of the garage is a laundry machine and this allows the light to be switched to 5k to help with spotting stains etc.

[lovevwltd]

The colour temp switch would be very helpful for those detailing paint on cars.

[shawnleegregory]

I bought the color changing ones you threw out first (they were the only kind that Home Depot had in store). I’m glad I did because my wife did not like the initial color they put out! It was good to be able to change the color and make the wife happy. I linked 7 of them together in my two-car garage and they look fantastic.

[howardhelms]

I have 36 feet of Hyper light on each side of my garage ceiling with white tin fantastic lighting. Has been in stalled for two years with now problems. Great light for the price

[otistheyellowdog]

Thanks! I appreciate you sharing this. It feels better to go into a project when you are well informed.

[ZunarZulfiqar]

Thanks so much for making this video. Literally, exactly the information I was looking for. I wanted a quality hefty light as I want to make custom wooden enclosures for them and didn't want to use a crapy light. I like the Hyperikon because of its size. Would you happen to know of any other lights similarly sized but built with higher-end materials?

[NegatingSilence]

I just spent 4 hours trying to decide what colour temperature to get for the basement and the best thing I could use is a light that changes based on circumstances. Now I know which one to get.

[elili]

The Amazon one does not hold well in the garage if you live in a hot place. Last around 6 months and then they start flickering then going out.

[brentjohnson]

Thanks for the review. do you know if either of your top pics have RF noise or radio? These would be going into a radio room with 2 way radios.

[randy]

I was waiting for you to turn on the lights for comparison.

[jimporter]

The manufacturer made it changeable to save on the need to make single Kelvin lights which then need to be shipped, stored etc, overall a cost saving for them. Some marketer or buyer sees it as being a customer benefit/feature rather than a manufacturer/retailer benefit/feature and charges more for it.

[freddiedavis]

Question, how can I dim the Commmercial electric LED Strip light? I installed 12 lights and want to dim tgem.

[johngeorge]

I really like my Hyperlites in my new shop.

[duanecalhoon]

I had an issue with my barrina lights, they replaced them very quick with no bad issues, , , they are super bright in my 1500sq shop

[captnjaygreybeard]

Any recommendations on linkable, fixtures with replaceable tube led tube lights?
Or they don't exist because they want to sell them, lol.