Converting Garage to Fluorescent

[Overlord66]

In the house we just purchased the garage is only lit by 5 single light 100 watt incandescent fixtures.

Based on the layout of the exsiting fixtures I can do two 8ft T5ho fixtures running the length of the garage above the main 2 door bay(24'wx27'Lx10'h) and one 8ft over the single garage bay(12Wx29'Lx10'h). The other two lights would either 4ft or 8ft fixtures depending on the light output of the first three that I install.

The garage is insulated but not heated. We have the option for propane heat but it's not installed. Am I going to run into issues installing the T5ho fixtures? Any other options using the existing incandescent bases?

 

[5mall5nail5]

A 4' T5HO fixture will average about 1 amp of current draw. A 100w incandescent draws about 1 amp as well. So, in a 4' T5HO you get two 48" bulbs and draw about 1.0A, so... you can see the draw is similar but the light output is much improved. You should have no issue switching to T5HO so long as your wiring isn't already stressed.

 

[CNGsaves]

Welcome to GJ. There are hundreds of threads on lighting and most common is flourescent. However, you might also want to read Veno thread on CFL's as they are great low cost alternative. You could add more porcelin fixtures and just install CFL bulbs.
(Harder to find Veno's thread as the title has type-o of CLF instead of CFL.)

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38658&highlight=lighting

Without knowing what COUNTRY you're in, let alone particular environment (ie local weather), it's a goosechase trying to get good advice. Please Update GJ Profile with Country / City / State.

Best advice possible with complete information. Good luck.

 

[Overlord66]

I updated my profile. I'm in Montana. Whats the best way to connect the CFL strips to the existing ceiling box? The T5 strips at Home Depot are to narrow to mount directly over the box.

Also what bulbs are recommended? HD has the Phillips 4100k for $80.00 for a case of 15

 

[2ManyProjects]

In the house we just purchased the garage is only lit by 5 single light 100 watt incandescent fixtures.

Based on the layout of the exsiting fixtures I can do two 8ft T5ho fixtures running the length of the garage above the main 2 door bay(24'wx27'Lx10'h) and one 8ft over the single garage bay(12Wx29'Lx10'h). The other two lights would either 4ft or 8ft fixtures depending on the light output of the first three that I install.

Unfortunately, your post raises more questions than it answers...

Do I gather that these are two separate spaces, divided by an interior wall or similar? Or is it one big open space, which just happens to have two unequal-size overhead doors serving it?

How are the interiors of these spaces finished? Drywall? OSB? Open framing? Something else?

Is there some particular reason you want/need to use the old screw-in fixtures as your power source for the new lighting?

How are these existing fixtures switched? Are they all wired as one large bank of lights? Separate switches for each one? Something in-between? Also, do you have switches at every conceivably useful location (such as near each entrance door, etc.)?

Be aware that the output from any light fixtures you install more-or-less in the center of a garage bay ceiling will be largely blocked by the vehicle itself, instead of going where you really NEED it when working on that car/truck/whatever.

Which brings us to...

What sort of work do you plan to do in these spaces, and just how much light do (you think) you need to properly support that work?

The garage is insulated but not heated. We have the option for propane heat but it's not installed.

Do you mean, "not installed YET", or that you don't plan to install some sort of heating in the near (or at least "forseeable") future? I've never been to Montana (which is a pity... I hear it's beautiful); but I'd wager that it gets pretty da*n cold there in the Winter. Bear in mind, this is not just a matter of your personal comfort while working in the garage. If you can reliably protect that area from ever seeing freezing temperatures, that makes life MUCH easier on anything and everything you store there -- not only the vehicles themselves, but also any paints, solvents, lubricants, cleaning supplies, etc.

Am I going to run into issues installing the T5ho fixtures? Any other options using the existing incandescent bases?

Again, I'm not sure what the hang-up is about WRT reusing the old fixtures. To my mind, if it's worth going to the work and expense needed to upgrade the lighting in the first place, then one should not let such trivial concerns potentially compromise the final outcome. Select and install the lighting you really want, and which will best do the job you need done, regardless of HOW that winds up getting installed.

I updated my profile. I'm in Montana. Whats the best way to connect the CFL strips to the existing ceiling box?

"CFL strips"?!?

I think at least one of us is confused.

Also what bulbs are recommended? HD has the Phillips 4100k for $80.00 for a case of 15

FWIW, I'm generally not nearly as large a fan of the T5HO type tubes as some here apparently are. They have their place, of course (such as some "High Bay" applications -- which your 10-foot ceilings preclude anyway); but they're mostly about sucking as many lumens as possible out of a relatively small source (such as a single multi-tube fixture), rather than maximizing overall lighting efficiency throughout the space. Typically, what is REALLY needed is better light distribution, as opposed to "brighter" light at the source.

 

[Overlord66]

Here is a quick drawing of the garage space. The red dots are the existing boxes/ceiling fixtures. The existing screw-in bases would be removed and the new lights wired in using conduit to the boxes. The existing lights are all on the same switches. There are switches at each door. The garage is finished with unpainted drywall.

We plan on installing heat in the garage at some point, but it's probably out for this year. There are two hanging plug in t8 fixtures above the work benches(not shown in the drawing) they certainly make it easier to work but the rest of the garage is way to dim.

 

[2ManyProjects]

Here is a quick drawing of the garage space. The red dots are the existing boxes/ceiling fixtures.

OK, now I have a much better idea of what's going on. (Yes, pictures ARE worth 1,000 words, at least sometimes.)

The fixture you show going crossways near the top of your drawing will be completely blocked by the overhead door any time that door is open.

Ditto, to at least SOME extent, for the far right fixture in the row of three; tho' if your drawing is reasonably accurate with regard to scale and proportion, odds are it will only be partially blocked.

In both cases, it's a fairly safe bet that you probably WILL want to work with the door(s) open, at least sometimes.

It would appear that at least most of those fixtures will indeed be directly over any cars parked in the garage. Unless you're working on their roofs, that's not going to be as useful as the raw wattage/"lumenage" might imply.

The existing screw-in bases would be removed and the new lights wired in using conduit to the boxes.

I realize that "it's just a garage"; but do you REALLY want all that ugly conduit snaking around all over your ceiling? What (if anything) is above this space? If it's a loft or attic space of some sort, it would be quite easy to simply install new boxes wherever they are needed, and run NM-B to them as required. The old boxes can either be removed, or capped off with a blanking plate if you don't want to bother patching the drywall.

The existing lights are all on the same switches. There are switches at each door. The garage is finished with unpainted drywall.

The more lighting you install in the garage, the more important it becomes to be able to control that lighting in a granular fashion. The T5HO lamps you're contemplating use 54 watts per tube. You are apparently planning on twenty of those tubes. Do you REALLY want to have to turn on over 1,000 watts of light, just to go fetch a screwdriver (or bring in the groceries)?

You really need to break that up into multiple switched banks. This further argues against trying to tack onto the existing wiring/boxes.

We plan on installing heat in the garage at some point, but it's probably out for this year. There are two hanging plug in t8 fixtures above the work benches(not shown in the drawing) they certainly make it easier to work but the rest of the garage is way to dim.

Just painting the drywall bright white will help, probably more than you could imagine.

Where are those workbenches located, relative to your drawing?

And again, what will the primary use of the space be?

 

[kbs2244]

All the purists will say otherwise.

But I would just get nine cheap dbl four foot “shop lights.”
Get the screw in splitters for your existing sockets and go for it.

I have seen many of the shop lights with a cord on one end and a socket on the other so you can "dasiy chain" them.

I do not recommend any 8 foot units.
The bulbs are a double PITA to bring home from the store and they never are on sale.

 

[kenfain]

All the purists will say otherwise.

But I would just get nine cheap dbl four foot “shop lights.”
Get the screw in splitters for your existing sockets and go for it.

I have seen many of the shop lights with a cord on one end and a socket on the other so you can "dasiy chain" them.

I do not recommend any 8 foot units.
The bulbs are a double PITA to bring home from the store and they never are on sale.

Yep +1 on the four foot tubes. They're cheaper, more readily available, easier to store, out of the way means less chance of breaking, easier to install, just gonna be better all the way around for a homeowner. But I've not had good luck with the cheap ones, they're temperamental. You can easily and cheaply add a switch, on the fixtures. I have a couple like this, only takes a couple minutes. The commercial fixtures are the way to go, for me anyway

 

[eljefino]

Having five boxes means "four more than usual" so you're luckily ahead of the game there.

If you rig the flourescent that's blocked by the door just right, it can shine down through the door's windows, if equipped. I like to back a car into the garage and work on it in the doorway, with sun streaming in segueing to artificial light as night falls.

Another option would be to add a "layer" of flourescents on their own switches, so if you just want to run out to the garage for a tool or a beer from the fridge you aren't firing off ten tubes for half a minute, shortening their life and the life of their ballasts. In other words use the switches at both "man doors" to fire off "level one" lighting with "level two" on their own switch.

A farm stand here has T5HOs in their "cold room" they sell vegetables from all winter. They work fine.