Maybe you don’t need sunglasses when you walk into the farm shop at Wise and Wise Farms, Delphi, but then again, it is very bright in there these days! The shop lighting just went through an upgrade that delivers more light at less cost.

Wise and Wise Farms includes Fred and Linda Wise, their son Jeff, and Jeff’s son Tyler, among others. When their shop was built less than 20 years ago, they installed used, older-technology lights that helped hold down the cost of the project. Recently, however, they decided it was time to upgrade to a different type of lighting.

“We now have 27 LED lights in the main part of the shop,” Tyler explains. “It’s a more pleasant light for working than what the old fixtures generated. And it really is brighter now in the shop.”

Russell Garrison, a longtime employee, was heavily involved in replacing the light fixtures. The old lights had a deep base that caused them to hang down from the ceiling a foot or so, he notes. The new lights fit much tighter to the ceiling.

The biggest change is that the new LED lights require far less electricity to operate, Garrison says. The 150-watt LEDs produce as much light as 600-watt bulbs of the old style. The LED lights are expected to last much longer, too.

The main farm shop adjoins a second, smaller shop use for specialized jobs. Garrison and crew also replaced nine fixtures in that shop.

While installing LED lights requires a higher initial investment, the payback is in lower electric bills and less maintenance and replacement over time, Tyler says.

If you think your shop is ready for new lights, check out LED lighting options. Some utility companies offer incentives for upgrading to more energy-efficient systems. It may be worth a call to your local electricity supplier.

RETIRED: These older-style lights were originally installed in the Wise farm shop, but they've recently been replaced with brighter, more-efficient LED lights.