Lighting direction, which way is best?

[TxAgs]

I did a bit of searching and couldn't really find an answer to this question.

I am currently working in a 20 x 30 garage that is detached from my house. The ceiling joists run in the 20 direction, or perpendicular to the vehicle underneath.

So, I have 2 off 2 bulb 8' T12s, end to end above the hood of my car. Two joists back, I have 2 off 2 bulb 4' T12s and then another 4' T8 two joists behind that.

I have lots of good light, but fairly poor layout. I have also picked up 4 more 4' 4 bulb T8s at a garage sale.

What do you guys suggest as to the layout in the garage with these lights? I feel that the top of the car has great light, but off to the sides is a bit dark.
I was thinking of turning the lights 90 degrees and running them parallel to the vehicle.

I use the garage to work on my 1966 Mustang as well as a few painting projects. Good lighting is a must!

Thanks for the opinions!

Jason

 

[Falcon67]

When I was in a 20x24, I mounted 4' two bulb T8s three across the 20' width. First row was 4' off the end, then another row at 10', then 14' then 20'. Lights spaced even, starting 3' from the wall with 3' gaps between fixtures.

 

[Familyof8kids]

I have 2 2 bulb 8' T12s


Jason

Jason change out the T12's they are older than the mustang!

 

[TxAgs]

No kidding these things are old! There were originally 4 of them but they had leaking ballasts.

Maybe I will take them down and put up all T8 lamps.

Still need to figure out if I want to run these thing parallel or perpendicular to the car.

 

[Mudbone]

No kidding these things are old! There were originally 4 of them but they had leaking ballasts.

Maybe I will take them down and put up all T8 lamps.

Still need to figure out if I want to run these thing parallel or perpendicular to the car.

+10 on losing the T12s They are going to get harder and harder to find. Evenutally you or someone else will have to replace or retro-fit the fixtures. As far as parallel or perpendicular, is shouldn't really matter,(from a usable lighing standpoint), if you space them out properly. If you are surface mounting them, the direction doesn't matter either. However, depending on your application, IE if you want to use a lift and your ceiling isn't quite high enough, you can use flush mount fixtures. In that case they would fit in between the joists and would be perpendicular to your car(s)

My personal preference for your dimensions would be 9 4ft, 4 bulb fixtures, arranged in three rows of three. If you needed more light you could go with 4 rows of 3, (or 3 of 4 depending on how you look at it), with the two outside rows closer to the walls if you think its too dark. However, if you have workbenches along the wall and its too dark there you need to go with a lowered task lighing fixture. Don't be afraid to temp hang the fixtures in place and try them out.

 

[Angelfire]

FWIW, one of the guys on here (and his handle escapes me at the moment) does lighting designs and his recommendation is to run the lamps parallel to the vehicle. I haven't hung (let alone bought!) fixtures for my shop yet but when I get around to it, I plan to run them parallel.

 

[Mudbone]

FWIW, one of the guys on here (and his handle escapes me at the moment) does lighting designs and his recommendation is to run the lamps parallel to the vehicle. I haven't hung (let alone bought!) fixtures for my shop yet but when I get around to it, I plan to run them parallel.

Interesting, do you remember the reason? I am putting in new lighting my self and am looking at the cost of flush mounting the fixtures. In my case, flush mounting would make them parallel.