lighting...

[Luckydevil]

right now i've got 2 double 4' overhead flourescent lights. they aren't giving me enough light. what other options are there that won't break the bank?

[Remi]

If you have not done it yet. Look into replacing the light "tubes/bulbs". There is a wide range. My main lights are much brighter than the light I have above one of my work stands. I have "daylight" bulbs (for color checking) over the stand and they are half as bright as the main lights.

[Luckydevil]

i was under the impression that the "daylight" bulbs were brighter, so that is what i bought. damn, sounds like i need to swap out bulbs.

[Remi]

The boxes should have a lumens or candlepower rating on them. It should give you a better idea.

[Aeteocles]

Track lighting. Halogen. Bright as heck...and keeps you warm in the winter ;)

[dasbone]

And /or "can" lights...i.e. the flush mounted ceiling canister lights that are used in most "new" houses these days. We've got them in the kitchen, office etc. and have added some to other rooms in our house and they are bright, unobtrusive, and very clean looking. I've been planning on putting some in the garage when I figure out what I'm going to do :dunno:

[Wizard600RR]

Halogen lighting is much heavier on the electric bill than flourescent.

Personally, I think flourescent is the way to go. It's cheap and very effective. I have 8 4ft dual flourescent fixtures in my garage. That's a total of 16 4ft flourescent tubes. VERY bright and cheap to operate/replace.

[dasbone]

Halogen lighting is much heavier on the electric bill than flourescent.

Personally, I think flourescent is the way to go. It's cheap and very effective. I have 8 4ft dual flourescent fixtures in my garage. That's a total of 16 4ft flourescent tubes. VERY bright and cheap to operate/replace.
Of course you're right in terms of flourescents being the less expensive way to go. I'm not so sure that changing the bulbs is any easier compared to a "can" light....I guess it depends on how high the flourescents are and if you happen to have one of those "light bulb changing pole do-hickeys". :bow:

I've got two 4ft fourescents now but may add 4 can lights for the variety. I guess I've never like the look of bikes(paint) under flourescents and cleaning by fourescents is kind of wierd? Maybe I need some different bulbs :dunno:

[holland_patrick]

I have two normal light's right now and will be placing track lighting you can Pile on the lighting with that. I plan to use both normal blubs and halogen bulbs to be able to work under..

[VPRKLR]

I'm a lighting rep so I know a few things about this.
First off, what are you trying to light?
Is this just general light for the garage?
Do you want to highlight something?
If it's just general light I would stick with T8 fluorescent fixtures, they are the smaller diameter tube. Get electronic ballast and either twin or triple tube fixtures.
Also get lamps that say 4100K. They give a good color for fluorescent.
In a 2 car garage I would put 3 maybe 4 8' twin tube fixtures.

-Joe

[gb387]

I'm a lighting rep so I know a few things about this.
First off, what are you trying to light?
Is this just general light for the garage?
Do you want to highlight something?
If it's just general light I would stick with T8 fluorescent fixtures, they are the smaller diameter tube. Get electronic ballast and either twin or triple tube fixtures.
Also get lamps that say 4100K. They give a good color for fluorescent.
In a 2 car garage I would put 3 maybe 4 8' twin tube fixtures.

-Joe


VPRKLR
Jumping in here... How about in the cold? (nothing below 40) will the tubes still "dance"? I would be eliminating my 100W incandescent bulb and replacing with fluorescents. Yes right now I have 1 bulb for my 2 car garage, can we say dark!?!?)

[holland_patrick]

I thought i was bad with just two

[VPRKLR]

Electronic ballast fixtures work better in the cold, the amount of time they need to warm up is a lot less than magnetic ballasts.

[428]

My 24 x 44 has (7) two tube 8' fixtures with a white ceiling. Love it, and spf-15 sunscreen seem to be good enough to prevent burning. Sunglasses are optional :cool:

Lowes and HD have them for a decent price at times.

[ultgar]

I personally like a mix of T8 or T5HO fluorescents with MR16 halogens. I've got a bunch of PAR30 lamps in my workshop and many of the lamps have filaments that flutter with vibration in the room.

http://www.ultimategarage.com/uga19.jpg

If you go with T8's, there are plenty of lamp options.....3000k up to 6500k color temperatures and color accuracy (CRI) as high as 98%.
Silver and blue cars (many BMW's and Mercedes) look good under 5000k lighting whereas the Italian red & yellow cars (Ferrari) look good under warmer lighting (3000-3500k). As someone mentioned, 4100k is a good choice in the middle.

Some garage gurus are really pushing metal halide lighting. These lamps are good for rooms with high ceilings (14' and up....warehouses, car dealerships, etc) but take awhile to warm up and have a 5-7 minute restrike time when power is disrupted. There are some nice 6-lamp 54 watt T5HO luminaires which produce 20% more light (lumens) using 20% less energy than a 400 watt Metal Halide.....plus you have lamp temperature options.

When it comes to lighting, there are thousands of choices and prices that can really blow the budget. I've got some inexpensive Mercury (brand) 4' T8 wrap-arounds in my office which I'm very happy with....around $40-50ea per fixture, these lights are aesthetically pleasing and have electronic ballasts with less than 10% THD....they're very quiet and efficient. I use them with a mix of Lumiram 5000k and 6500k lamps on Pass & Seymour occupancy sensors.

The garage lighting has a little bit of everything....PAR halogens, MR16 halogens (some with remote transformers) and T5 indirect (bounce) lighting....even some LED lighting. The project is not finished yet but there are some pics of the lighting at http://www.ultimategarage.com/electrical.htm .

There's a lot more to lighting than just slapping up some fixtures on the ceiling. Your local supplier can probably help you design a nice layout for your own personal garage or workshop. SD

[OH-MAN]

I there any places that sell the two tube 8' fixtures besides Home depot or Lowes?
I want to use them in my garage.

[1ownerT]

I have a 24 x 24 with a 9' ceiling, I am using six twin tube 8' flourescents. They are high output with cold weather ballast. When it is really cold (upper 30's to low 40's) in the garage they flutter slightly for only a couple of minutes then they come out of it.
Six fixtures may seem like overkill but I am never bitching about not having enough light. You never find yourself leaning over something and blocking the light. My walls and ceiling are painted white so there is plenty of reflection.
One thing about can lights, the bulbs are usually partialy conceiled and the light is directed down which is great if you want to light a specific area but not if you are trying to light a shop. :D

oh-man, another location are Menards, electric supply co's, maybe even check online.

[byrdman]

I don't think you can ever have too much light. I'm going with 23 T12 4' fluorescents in my 28 x 35 shop(a working shop- not for storage, not a showcase either). I wanted T8's, but they are much more expensive to buy than T12's. Home Depot has T12 chrome-plated diamond plate shoplights for about $25.

Painting the walls a semi-gloss white helps a bunch.

[ultgar]

I don't think you can ever have too much light. I'm going with 23 T12 4' fluorescents in my 28 x 35 shop(a working shop- not for storage, not a showcase either). I wanted T8's, but they are much more expensive to buy than T12's. Home Depot has T12 chrome-plated diamond plate shoplights for about $25.

Painting the walls a semi-gloss white helps a bunch.

==================================
I don't think Lithonia Lighting even makes these anymore....the additional light output and energy savings of T8's will more than offset the $10-15 per fixture cost differential. T12's and magnetic ballasts are a thing of the past. SD

[byrdman]

I just bought the chrome plated lights last month, and Home Depot still lists them on their website. If they are no longer making them, I guess it's a good thing I bought an extra...

I know T12's are being phased out, but the only T8 models Lowe's and Home Depot had on the shelves had no reflector. These reflectorless T8 models were $10-15 higher than T12 models with reflector. I had the Lowe's guy look through every book he had trying to find a T8 fixture with reflector that was even close to the price of the T12's. The cheapest thing he could get was $60. I know the T8 are more efficient to run, brighter, etc, but the T12's I bought were $25 apiece, that's $35 cheaper per fixture. I think the T8 bulbs were also more expensive, if I remember correctly.

Not counting bulbs, 23 T12 fixtures for my shop were $575. T8 fixtures would have been $1380, and were a special order item.

Plus, I just thought they looked neat.
http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/168555_4.jpg

[1ownerT]

Byrdman, You are right they are a nice looking fixture.

I checked mine and they are 8' T-12 HO cold weather, they do not have reflectors but with the white walls and ceiling I get plenty of reflection.
I don't think I would be too concerned about the T-12 being phased out, they will make bulbs for years and ballast are allways available.
I picked mine up for $ 48 ea. without bulbs, they were on sale at Menards. When you step out of the garage at night it takes a couple of minutes before your eyes adjust to the dark. :D

[armoredsaintt]

I'm a lighting rep so I know a few things about this.
First off, what are you trying to light?
Is this just general light for the garage?
Do you want to highlight something?
If it's just general light I would stick with T8 fluorescent fixtures, they are the smaller diameter tube. Get electronic ballast and either twin or triple tube fixtures.
Also get lamps that say 4100K. They give a good color for fluorescent.
In a 2 car garage I would put 3 maybe 4 8' twin tube fixtures.

-Joe

VPRKLR, what is your opinion on pulse start metal halides? I will have a 24x24x12 garage.

Thanks!

[tofer76]

right now i've got 2 double 4' overhead flourescent lights. they aren't giving me enough light. what other options are there that won't break the bank?

i have a 12x24 one car and i have 4 4ft double tubes in it and its ok but it could be better

[Godzila]

VPRKLR,
I bought a 40X80 Car studio(AKA pole barn) and it had 45 yes 45 4'x2 flourescent fixtures :rolleyes2
The first thing I did was to unplug everyother one as the electric meter whine was louder than the supercharger on my Lightning :eek: and I probably now have permanent retinal damage
Question the ceiling is 14" and the lights are hung down about 2' on dog chain, the side walls are now osb board, but plans are to but white siding up 8". I have been told by a self proclaimed expert that I should put the fixtures back up closer to the ceiling as there is a big dark shadow up above them, the ceiling is also OSB board. What you think??
BTW with your screen name, might you be drivin a Cobra too?
Thanks

[Wile1Coyote]

In general 4 foot fixtures even if you end up buying two of them are much cheaper in the long run than a comparable 8 foot fixture. The fixtures themselves are not the issue. They get you on the price of the bulbs.

[VPRKLR]

Well Mr Godzila I do have a Cobra replica and a 93' Lightning with turbo.
But back to your question. I don't know what your budget is or what the building will be used for, but those 4' T-12 lamps suck compaired to T-8 lamps. As far as putting the fixtures up on the ceiling it depends on if the dark area bothers you?
Unless your lighting the walls at a certain height, the lower the fixtures are the less you will need to produce the amount of light you require. Twin tube (actully 4-4' tubes per fixture) with a reflector With a high power factor ballast would be good and bright. So if you want the walls from floor to ceil illuminated, raise the fixtures other wise leave them be.

-Joe

[tofer76]

In general 4 foot fixtures even if you end up buying two of them are much cheaper in the long run than a comparable 8 foot fixture. The fixtures themselves are not the issue. They get you on the price of the bulbs.

a 2 pack of 4 ft bulbs $ 4
a single 8 ft bulb $ 4

[Godzila]

VPRKLR
Thanks for the imput on the lighting issue. Off topic , but my Lightning is a stock 99 model with only 11k miles, and i am currently looking at replacing the Eaton SC with a Kennebell twin screw Supercharger and pulleys and chip. Just can't get enuff of that "drug" called speed