New Garage, Sad lights, Lil help please!

[drneo]

Hellloooo GJ! Loooong time looker, first time poster.

I just moved from a tiny 2-cars-crammed-in garage to a beautiful 3 car blank canvas. It's insulated, has water and floor drains, and is already plumbed for heat! Very exciting! I'm finally able to park two cars and one motorcycle comfortably.

The walls are 10 feet high with a slight grey wall color. The ceiling is white and the floor is concrete.

The new garage has 3 single-bulb outlets (they were all only 40 watts!) - the previous owners must not have done much in the garage or they wore a miner's cap all the time...

What I would like to do is convert each of the single-bulb outlets to a regular outlet, then add 3 rows (12ft) of LED shop lights (edited for clarity) over the cars/motorcycle.

I also have one switch/outlet that is already in the ceiling that I would mount another 8 or 12 feet of lights on. It's located near the 20ft bump out section in front of the cars.

These lights need to be:
1. Linkable
2. Energy Star rated (so I can take advantage of a 50% rebate)
3. Independently switchable (as I'm cheap and don't always need the 3 rows on) - I would prefer an actual switch on the face of the light that I can switch with a broom handle vs having a bunch of pull chains



Please, brethren of Garage Journal, help me see the light!!!


Rough outline:
Picture here as I can't seem to get it to be embedded.

 

[cybrdyke]

Energy Star doesn't have ratings for new strip fixtures. Check your rebate program details and try to find out if they will accept new fixtures that are DLC qualified. That's the rating that you should be looking for.
Good luck,

CD

 

[ard]

Consider some of the remote wireless switches available- Zwave, etc. Aeon Labs makes a 'minimote' that will control 4 items- these are NOT cheap though. It will pay back in 20-30 years.

What is ABOVE the ceiling? If you have access, just wire up new switches. Kinda crazy to have that nice a space with such poor lighting....

Ohm FYI- you are thinking "SURFACE" mount, not 'flush'. Personally I hate hanging lights- cobwebs, shadows, too busy visually. Just me.

GL

 

[drneo]

Correction - surface mount (not flush) - thank you ard! I didn't think about cobwebs shadows, etc either - thanks again!

Cyberdyke - maybe I'm not using the right term, but 8 or so out of the first 20 results on the Home Depot site have the Energy Star logo
My provides doesn't give a rebate for DLC qualifications either...

 

[FullRaceMerc]

Here ya go:

How To:

• Right click on the pic you want, click on"Copy Image Address", "Copy Image Location", or whatever similar option your browser provides.
• Then back here in the "Reply to Thread" window, click on the "Insert Image" icon
  
  , then paste the URL you copied into the pop up. Click "OK".
• The code for your image will look like {IMG}https://i.imgur.com/rAGZhJq.png{/IMG} in the "Reply to Thread" window, except the {} will be [].
• There should be only one "https:" if done properly.
• In the thread, that code, with [] instead, will show the pic above.

As for your switches, wireless would be an easy way to go.
A receptacle controlled by a wireless switch seems like it would be better than trying to hit an overhead switch with a broom in the dark.

Are the floor drains tied to the sewer or to storm drain?
If sewer make sure you pour a little water down them once or twice a month to keep water in the trap.

 

[American Locomotive]

Imgur blocked garage journal embedded links for some completely inane reason. Photobucket is horrible, so it's best to just upload the image to garage journal.

 

[cybrdyke]

Energy Star doesn't have ratings for new strip fixtures.

My mistake. Here's the document: https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/asset/document/Luminaires%20V2%200%20Final.pdf

Geez, looking at this, the requirement is only 70 lumens per watt. That's pathetic, considering that good fixtures are nearly 3 times more efficient....
But, you should be good to get your rebate!! Nice!!
CD

 

[Zeke]

Well, no. 3 is easy enough but with LED's you're not burning a whole lot of power and all 3 rows will help each other prevent shadows. Think of it this way, run your compressor while using air tools for an hour and you will have used a month's worth of electricity AFA the lights go.

 

[drneo]

Imgur blocked garage journal embedded links for some completely inane reason. Photobucket is horrible, so it's best to just upload the image to garage journal.

Thanks - that's what my problem was apparently.


Again, wasn't super clear, but I DO have a switch that currently controls the three wimpy lights. The switch on the actual light fixtures is so I can run 1 out of 3 for times when I don't need full lighting.

I need to do some further investigation for the floor drains - it's either connected to the sewer or it drains "to daylight" (as per code in Minnesota)


Cyberdyke - I'm all ears for recommendations!

Thank you all for the replies so far too!

 

[FullRaceMerc]

- that's what my problem was apparently.

Well, the pic worked at first. Oops.

Again, wasn't super clear, but I DO have a switch that currently controls the three wimpy lights. The switch on the actual light fixtures is so I can run 1 out of 3 for times when I don't need full lighting.

That makes more sense. I wondered if that was the case. But the image of someone in the dark trying to find the switch with a broom cracked me up, so it got posted.

I need to do some further investigation for the floor drains - it's either connected to the sewer or it drains "to daylight" (as per code in Minnesota)

Yeah, garage drains shouldn't run to the sewer here either, but I have seen an early garage that did. If somehow yours do you will want to keep water in the trap, or change where they go. Looking back, your title says "New Garage", so it's unlikely that it is connected to the sewer.

Sewer floor drains are a pet peeve of mine. They're an ongoing problem when they aren't used regularly. Restaurant bathrooms are a frequent offender. The trap dries out & sewer gas stinks up the room. The owner thinks the stink is an issue from customer usage, so a larger exhaust fan is installed, which just ***** more bad wind out of the sewer line. A cup of water every couple of weeks works miracles.

 

[fixedspeed]

You could look at this,

http://www.cheaphighbays.com/product.html?l=linear-high-bay

It'll be a good amount of light. I've worked with them before and they can add some switches on the lights. They do a lot of customization but you wouldn't know if from the website.

 

[matt_i]

I started down this path of changing the ceiling bulbs over to outlets. Then I realized the previous owner/builder had put in these tiny round boxes that won't fit an outlet like a 4" octagon box will. I changed one over but it was a messy process all off ladders.

So, I did this: I bought the Leviton 9726C porcelain lamp base with molded outlet. That fits the small round box. If I want to hang a fixture (in my case the Feit/CostCo LED tube lights...which meet all of your criteria except maybe the energy *) then its plug and play. If I ever move, my fixtures go with me and the bulbs will soldier on.

 

[ard]

OP never clarified access to the light boxes (ie above the ceiling...)

 

[drneo]

OP never clarified access to the light boxes (ie above the ceiling...)

I do have access to above the current lights as it's the insulated ceiling.

I unhooked one light yesterday to see what I was dealing with - I have standard recessed box, so I can easily fit a normal outlet as intended!!! Yay for decent wiring - something my previous garage lacked...