A hexagonal LED garage light isn't just about the price shown on the product sheet. It involves three aspects: purchase, installation, and subsequent consumption. Here are all three, in euros, without rounding favorably.
For a 30 m² garage equipped with about twenty panels, expect an initial investment, approximately two hours of installation for two people, and consumption in the order of €15 to €25 per year for DIY use.
The real cost of use, calculated
This is the part that worries people and, in reality, weighs the least. A hexagonal panel consumes between 30 and 45 W. The calculation is simple: total power × hours of use × price per kilowatt-hour.
| Installation | Total power | 2 h/week | 1 h/day | 4 h/day (pro) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 hexagons | ≈ 280 W | €4 / year | €15 / year | €59 / year |
| 14 hexagons | ≈ 490 W | €7 / year | €26 / year | €103 / year |
| 21 hexagons | ≈ 735 W | €11 / year | €39 / year | €155 / year |
Calculation basis: €0.29 per kWh. Adapt to your contract's rate, but the order of magnitude remains the same: in a private garage, lighting costs less per year than a tank of gas.
What old tubes cost
The useful point of comparison is what you had before. Six 58 W fluorescent tubes consume 348 W and provide significantly less light, with shaded areas and slow startup in cold weather — a classic flaw in an unheated garage.
For equivalent illumination, switching to LED divides consumption by two to three. The savings won't pay for the installation in a year, but they are not negligible either, and they come with a real difference in comfort.
Installation: what it really requires
- Time. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for two people for about twenty panels, including marking. Alone, plan for double: holding a panel and drilling at the same time is not comfortable.
- Tools. Drill, level, tape measure, string line. Nothing exotic.
- Electrician. Necessary if you need to create a line, install a switch, or work on the electrical panel. Connecting to an existing light point is within the reach of a careful DIY enthusiast, by switching off the circuit breaker.
Costs often forgotten
- Anchors adapted to the support. A concrete, plasterboard, or wooden ceiling doesn't use the same fixings. It's a few euros, but a poorly secured panel eventually falls.
- The power extension cable if the light point is far from the center of the grid.
- Ceiling paint, if you want to benefit from the reflection effect. It's not mandatory, but a matte white ceiling saves you the equivalent of two panels.
How long it lasts
A quality LED is rated for several tens of thousands of hours. At one hour a day, this far exceeds the time you will keep the garage as is. What fails first is almost never the diode: it's the power supply. This is the component to check before buying, and the reason why a cheap panel can cost more after three years.
What to remember
- Private garage: between €4 and €40 of electricity per year depending on usage.
- Two hours of installation for two people, common tools.
- An electrician only if you touch the line or the electrical panel.
- What wears out an installation is the power supply, not the LEDs.
See white hexagonal LED kits — the power of each configuration is indicated, which allows you to re-calculate this with your own electricity rate.
