Best Garage Lighting

[OrangeAgain]

Our Monitor Barn addition is expected to be done this April. Part of the first floor will be three bays including one for my new JD 4720. The ceiling is about eleven feet high and the garage is 24' X 30'.

I want to have energy efficient lighting that is good enough to maintain my vehicles, read manuals....

I would love to have anyone's recommendations and experiences with garage lighting.

 

[ace10]

What I learned about lighting my machine shed over the past month or two, is that it takes a bunch more fixtures than I had expected.

It's a 24X27 space. Trusses are open and set at 11' H. Walls are just the backside of the steel siding, so white and reflective.

I wasn't looking for blinding bright space, but I wanted it where I can see what I'm doing and would only need task light in close.

I ended up using three 4' T8 fixtures in the central area and then I built 45deg mounts for two 8' T8 fixtures on the side walls. I also have one more 4' fixture over my workbench. All in, 16 4' T8 bulbs. It's good enough, but if I was wanting to really light the place up, I'd say it would take 2X what I put up. The 8' fixtures with 4 4' bulbs are much more cost effective on the buy side and don't require as much wire to be pulled. I think I paid $40 for the 4' and maybe $58 for the 8' fixture. I ran 12 gauge mc lite throughout.

Right now, with everything lit, I'm burning 512 watts. Which isn't spinning the meter all that much.

YMMV

Nice looking building, by the way. Very nice details.

 

[backwardb]

I would go with T-5 if going with fluorescent. Cost more but lots of light.

 

[ultrarunner]

I like the 4 bulb T8 with two ballasts... this way there is the option to turn on 2 or 4 bulbs per fixture.

Don't overlook the light spectrum of the bulbs... it will make a big difference if you spend a lot of time under the light.

 

[eddy622611]

Go to a electric supply store ( not Lowes or Home Depot ) give them the size including ceiling height. They will do a layout using t-5 and t-8 fixtures and compare the upfront costs vs energy savings. Unless your going to run these lights 10 hrs a day, 7 days a week t-8's are going to be the most cost efective. There is nothing the matter with a t-8 fixture. I've installed hundreds of them. good luck, eddy622611

 

[TRR]

There is a free lighting calculator at

Visual - Lighting Design Software Engineered for Productivity

The biggest challenge is to determine what light fixtures you want to use and what the lighting level is. I have a shop where I do finish work including looking for blemishes and color matching. What I use for a fixture is "SB-4-32" (stands for square basket, 4 bulbs, 32 watts meaning T8s which are readily available) and for Iluminance I've come across a figure of 50 footcandles for a minimum for that type of work and 75 has been recommended for folks as they get older. In my vehicle bay where I work on vehicles, it can be much less than that. I don't have figures for that side but I like lots of light and plan to use 25 or 30 footcandles and same fixtures.

 

[not2old]

I hung all my fixtures on chains so they could be moved if not quite in the right place. An added bonus is that they are going to be installed in my new shop when I build it next year. They have already been used in four previous garages. I install a pull chain switch on each fixture and have a wall switch controlling all outlets. That way I was able to turn them all on or off at once if needed but able to turn off any that weren't needed.

 

[ecoslik]

I have 4-qty 6-bulb T5 fixtures set at 15' in my 40'x60' shop. I love the bright white lighting this produces; there is plenty of light. Each 6-bulb fixture draws 54 watts. I paid $240 per fixture plus my time and materials to install.

It is amazingly efficient since I'd swear the 54 watts was equivalent to 400-1000 watts of incandescent depending on reflectors.

I highly recommend that if you use 4 or 6 bulb fixtures to dual switch them so that you can turn on 2 (switch 1 by itself), 4 (switch 2 by itself), or 6 bulbs (switch 1 and 2 together) at a time which is easy to do with these fixtures. The versatilty of awesome even if it does require an extra circuit (cost of conductor).

 

[George2615]

I also use 2 tube T-8 fixtures for lighting in my garage. You can get them at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot etc. If the garage is not heated check the light fixture box to see if it says for cold start use. The first few I bought and installed weren't cold start and had a hard time lighting up in the cold. I ended up using them in the basement where there is some heat and got the cold start ones that work great in the garage. My pole barn addition is 16' x 32' and I put 8 - 4' fixtures on chains and 2 more by the work bench.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I also use 2 tube T-8 fixtures for lighting in my garage. You can get them at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot etc. If the garage is not heated check the light fixture box to see if it says for cold start use. The first few I bought and installed weren't cold start and had a hard time lighting up in the cold. I ended up using them in the basement where there is some heat and got the cold start ones that work great in the garage. My pole barn addition is 16' x 32' and I put 8 - 4' fixtures on chains and 2 more by the work bench.

Good point about the cold temperature operation. I'd imagine Vermont gets a few cold days. A regular ballast may not even start, and even a cold start ballast may take a while for the light to come up to full power. I have a mix of bulbs in my garage. I have an incandesant near the door for immediate light, a bank of flourescent tubes over the table saw (doubles as a workbench), and I have single 200 watt equivalent CFL over the bay where I do most of my mechanic work. I got the CFL as a promotional gift from a guy that supplies lights to my employer. That has made a world of difference on that side of the garage. I didn't realize how dark it was over there until I got that light in there. In the cold it takes a good 45 seconds or so to warm up to full light, but it really is nice once it's up and running.