Any1 using 6" Recessed Can Lights In Garage?

[ED26]

Curious of spacing and level of happiness with them, thinking of going canless and throw them on a dimmer... I do not need 100 foot candles as garage is mainly a hangout area, no car work etc. so the shop light option is no good for my use.

size 20 wide x 27 deep, 9 ft ceiling

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Is the ceiling finished?

 

[ED26]

not yet, gonna roll w/ some of a wood product - may paint it white down the road but for time being leaving it natural

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

If you are going to finish the ceiling, cans or pancakes are a great idea.

If unfinished, like open rafters, I would just get LED strips.

 

[ED26]

just curious on how many cans i should use, thinking of a 3x4 grid pattern with 2 lights over work bench/tool chest, or a 4x4 grid pattern, with 3 lights over work bench tool chest

 

[mrvm]

I prefer garage lighting to have a wider spread for better even coverage which recessed cans tend to limit. LED strips make a good choice.

 

[ED26]

I prefer garage lighting to have a wider spread for better even coverage which recessed cans tend to limit. LED strips make a good choice.

i understand the 'can' does not put out the wide spread of light, but someone has got to have them in their garage, just curious if i should space them out more as to compared to inside a home (living space)

 

[cybrdyke]

Look for a source with something around 40 degree beam angle. Then space them 4.5' apart from each other. Spacing from the wall to the fixture is dependent on your preference. Will there be cabinets, shelves, etc? If so, no need to put lights over top of them. Or, do you have posters, or art on the wall that you'd like the light to wash over?
Your choice.
For a hangout, use 3000K to 4000K, your preference.
One company with a ton of options is Liteline, out of Toronto. www.liteline.com
They are very high quality, so not cheap, but they do all the options including colors.
CD

 

[67carl]

I have finished ceilings and installed cans, but only for convenience. They are wired to an occupancy/motion sensor so when the big garage door or small door opens they come on. They are located on each side of the car door when it's in, one in front of the car, one above the man door and a few in the laundry area. For main lighting I have T5 bulbs. I don't think I would want just cans, even if there were a lot of them.

 

[ddawg16]

I have 18 cans in my garage arranged in 3 zone.

The pics were taken when I had CFL's in the cans. Then about 4 years ago Costco had a sale on LED trims....trim and LED light....$4/each. Cheaper than just the trim. Lights are about 75w equiv....I would have preferred more...but at $4/ea?

As it is, I prefer task lighting. In fact, I just ordered LED strip tapes which I intend to put under my cabinets. I have a lot of cabinets so it should give me a lot of light at 320 Lums/ft

 

[Norcal]

Cans are not really that efficient, strip lighting will give more bang for the buck.

 

[quadrcr87]

There were existing cans in my finished 3 car when I moved in. I changed the bulbs to daylight LEDs and it defiantly helped. I still think the spacing is too far apart. They are at least 8’ apart. I’ll try to get some pictures for you to get an idea of the spacing. You can see them a little bit in my projects thread as well.

 

[jmiller_2308]

I have a 5 cans in a lower triangular section of the shop. This is the entrance to the shop and where my desk and one of my benches is. This is less than 60 sq ft and only 8' high. The rest of the shop (800+ sq ft) is 11' high and fitted with LED tubes in 4' fluorescent fixtures.

The cans are nice in that they are flush in the ceiling and preserve the height in that limited area. At the time that I installed them, it was also easier to dim the cans than other lighting options.

The bad news is that the cans are really horrible at dispersing the light so there are plenty of shadows. And although I put insulation on top of the cans I feel that they still compromise the heat/cold/vapor bearing of the ceiling.

I personally do not like the "hot spot" affect of seeing lots of bright circles scattered around the ceiling. I really prefer a glowing panel. If I were to do this again I would likely opt for LED panels or LED troffers.


One last comment. Although you don't think you need lots of light now I think putting in too few lights would be a mistake that would be difficult to correct at a future time. I'd suggest upping your lumens and reducing lumens using dimmers and zone lighting.

 

[quadrcr87]

Here are some photos of my garage cans. Other than the natural light coming in from the windows, the cans are the only lights on in the photos. They aren’t bad but I would definitely add more of them. There are several dark spots in my layout. You can also add a couple hanging LED shop lights to give you some extra task lighting in your work areas.

3 deep for a total of 6 on the 2 car side of the garage.


Only 2 on the wholes single car side



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ddawg16]

Nice thing about cans....if you're into woodworking like me, less chance of taking out a light when you're swinging some lumber around.

And the 6" cans make it easy to add more...pull one down...extend wires...cut a new hole...good to go.

With that said

Some of the new products coming out have really changed the dynamics of lighting.

Like I mentioned earlier, I ordered some LED strip lighting for under cabinet....which is where I really want my task lighting. I'll take before and after pics. I should have it done by Friday evening.

 

[larry4406]

Attached garage with living space above? If yes most likely need fire rated cans $$$.

 

[infinkc]

I was going to do cans in my garage, but the light output is not that great and you need a lot of them. I landed up going with some edge lit flat panel lights, couldn’t be happier.

 

[jmiller_2308]

Following up with pictures of my can/4' led fixture installation.

I remeasured the can area. The desk/bench is 8' long and the area along the door wall is also 8' so my cans are actually lighting less than 40 sq ft, and of that, 3 of the cans are directly over the desk area. During the day, the natural light through the window makes the desk useable but when it is dark the 3 cans overhead are not enough for me to do detail work at the desk.

The 4' fixture photo doesn't really represent how bright that space is; I suspect my phone adjusted the exposure somehow. Still, it is MUCH brighter there and great for working. It is also configured in 4 zones so that I can reduce lighting as needed including creating "mood" lighting when entertaining.

The pictures also show the "hot spot" effect I don't like. The cans have the several small circles glowing off the ceiling. Because the ceiling is only 8' there I am more aware of the issue. The 4' fixtures also have a hot spot but it is spread out more. I may not find them as offensive simply because they are at 11' and further out of my direct eyesight.

That said, I have LED troffers panels in my other shop that are actually lower than 8' and I prefer their lack of hot spot significantly. If I were to do it again I would definitely go with LED flat panels.

 

[bdbecker]

I installed 4" diameter recessed/clip-in LED lights on a 4x4 grid in my 24x24 garage and have been very happy with them. Here is the 'deep dive' post from my build thread concerning the lights, spacing, and the factors I took into consideration.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8192692&postcount=593

 

[ddawg16]

Following up with pictures of my can/4' led fixture installation.

I remeasured the can area. The desk/bench is 8' long and the area along the door wall is also 8' so my cans are actually lighting less than 40 sq ft, and of that, 3 of the cans are directly over the desk area. During the day, the natural light through the window makes the desk useable but when it is dark the 3 cans overhead are not enough for me to do detail work at the desk.

The 4' fixture photo doesn't really represent how bright that space is; I suspect my phone adjusted the exposure somehow. Still, it is MUCH brighter there and great for working. It is also configured in 4 zones so that I can reduce lighting as needed including creating "mood" lighting when entertaining.

The pictures also show the "hot spot" effect I don't like. The cans have the several small circles glowing off the ceiling. Because the ceiling is only 8' there I am more aware of the issue. The 4' fixtures also have a hot spot but it is spread out more. I may not find them as offensive simply because they are at 11' and further out of my direct eyesight.

That said, I have LED troffers panels in my other shop that are actually lower than 8' and I prefer their lack of hot spot significantly. If I were to do it again I would definitely go with LED flat panels.

Nice looking garage jm....I like the color scheme.

And you are right about the camera auto adjusting. You have to go into settings and lock them in order to get a relative idea.

 

[Git]

I used 12 of the 6" lights over 2 stalls of my 3 stall garage (skylight over the other stall). The 'wafer' led lights worked out great because you can basically install them just about anywhere. So I was able to work out a pattern I was happy with

 

[yeldogt]

Early can lights were designed because bulbs were big -- the recessed space was required to hold the bulb.

There are two kinds of "recessed" .... those that hide the bulb and those where the bulb is visible. Within that "visible" range there were always makers as lightolier who made premium setups where the bulb sat back a few inches -- this allowed for more light control and less glare. They made other with really deep as well.

The cheap stuff sold in the big box stores almost always placed the bulb at the surface -- there was just not enough space in them ..maybe an inch. It was never great light ...not much better than surface. Especially with standard bulbs -- not the directional PAR.

There is still a place for them in some situations -- but the canless LEDs have sort of taken over ... and the better ones have directed light set back from the surface. It's still not great light inside a residence ... but you do have some direction. I have some typical old school Lightolier cans -- excess from an old project. I still like them with narrow flood bulbs in specific areas where I want more light. I also like them for wall washers ... my old studio had both 36' walls with a row of them. With standard LED bulbs -- nice indirect light.

 

[jmiller_2308]

I used 12 of the 6" lights over 2 stalls of my 3 stall garage (skylight over the other stall). The 'wafer' led lights worked out great because you can basically install them just about anywhere. So I was able to work out a pattern I was happy with

Doh... I know that feeling of cutting a hole for the light only to find blocking in the way. Lucky that you had wafer lights.

BTW: What is the rail with hooks for? I've been thinking about a warehouse curtain wall to contain dust when working in the shop that shares space with the parking garage and that railing looks like just the thing to hang a curtain from.

 

[Git]

Unitstrut. I use it for a bunch of different things. I have 20' of it running across all 3 stalls. When I am woodworking, it comes in handy to hang power cords and vacuum lines from it. When I used to paint in the garage, I would hang different things from it. It also runs over top of where I usually have my motorcycle lift and it comes in handy holding parts and things while I am working on it. McMaster Carr has some nice 'trolleys' for it. At one point when I was babysitting the grand daughter I rigged up one of those 'baby jumpers' to hang from it and it helped her learn how to walk

https://www.mcmaster.com/strut-channel-trolleys/

 

[ED26]

I used 12 of the 6" lights over 2 stalls of my 3 stall garage (skylight over the other stall). The 'wafer' led lights worked out great because you can basically install them just about anywhere. So I was able to work out a pattern I was happy with

What kind of wafer lites are those? Looks good

 

[Git]

There are a pretty decent name brand - basically a 'Lithonia Lighting WF6' wafer led. They come in different sizes - 4" 6" 8" etc and either square or round and they also have different temps. Some you can adjust the temp with a slider on the junction box, some you can't adjust at all. Commonly sold at Amazon, Home Depot etc, and go on sale every now and then. I will add that they don't always work with regular dimmers.



Lithonia Lighting WF6
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PBMPNK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ED26]

There are a pretty decent name brand - basically a 'Lithonia Lighting WF6' wafer led. They come in different sizes - 4" 6" 8" etc and either square or round and they also have different temps. Some you can adjust the temp with a slider on the junction box, some you can't adjust at all. Commonly sold at Amazon, Home Depot etc, and go on sale every now and then. I will add that they don't always work with regular dimmers.



Lithonia Lighting WF6
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PBMPNK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Do you have them on a dimmer. Looking at the wf6 specs says 0-10v dimming? Did you run additional wire for that? Also, any “delay” when you turn them on initially?
Thanks

 

[Git]

In the garage, I don't use a dimmer and they were perfectly fine and there is not any delay. I have a number of these in the house and have found that below a certain percentage on a regular dimmer - from 0 to about 30%, the lights will flicker slightly. The solution is to keep the dimmer above that or purchase an Electronic Low Voltage (ELV) type dimmer. A traditional dimmer is usually 'MLV' - they use a magnetic core and coil, (copper wire wrapped around the steel core) while the 'ELV' dimmers are solid state (electronic circuitry) and are designed for the low voltage that these lights draw

If you look closely in my first pic, in the upper left hand corner, I have a junction box mounted in the ceiling with three pull chains hanging down. I don't need all the lights to come on that often so I set it up when I turn the light switch on I usually only have one row of 3 lights that will come on - if I need more light, then I just switch the other rows on by one of the 3 pull chains