40x60 lighting options/opinions

[dsp1]

For any of you guys that put up a roughly 40x60 post frame building what did you do for lighting and how did it work out? My building has 3 garage doors along the 60' side and 12' wall height with scissor trusses. I really like the idea of having the lighting separated into independent sections. I'm leaning towards 6-8 of the UFO style led shop lights, I'm just not sure if they will work ok with the ceiling height. I'll mark out where the lights would go and check the height once the concrete is done. It'll be taller than 12' due to the scissor trusses but still might not be higher than 14-15'. Is that enough height for that style of light?
Any help you all can provide will be appreciated.

 

[dcg9381]

I've got a 40x60 with lights set at 16'. I have 5 UFO lights in there. Best damn lighting choice ever. My only "shoulda" is made sure I got some that are dimmable. The main light switch is labelled "daylight". They're bright. Can't tell you if 1-2' lower would change it much, but I doubt it.

 

[kberjian]

I have a 50x60 with 16' walls and ended up going with the linkable LEDs because the cost per lumen was cheaper. I have them all on one circuit/switch and don't have any regrets.

 

[dsp1]

I've got a 40x60 with lights set at 16'. I have 5 UFO lights in there. Best damn lighting choice ever. My only "shoulda" is made sure I got some that are dimmable. The main light switch is labelled "daylight". They're bright. Can't tell you if 1-2' lower would change it much, but I doubt it.

I saw the dimmable ones and thought it sounded like a good idea. I've been in a few guy's shops that have the UFO lights and was amazed how bright it was. The only thing that gives me pause is how expensive are they to run? Did you run all 5 lights evenly spaced down the center?

 

[dsp1]

I have a 50x60 with 16' walls and ended up going with the linkable LEDs because the cost per lumen was cheaper. I have them all on one circuit/switch and don't have any regrets.

Looks nice, I really like the lift; that's part of the grand plan once all the other work is done. I ran across some guys who used those linkable led shop lights lower down on the wall to better illuminate cars and tractors they were working on. It worked quite well and I'm thinking about possibly going that route as well.

 

[ChargerMan426]

I have a 35x80x14 and used 10 UFO style 150w LED lights. I put 4 down by my lift/work area and the other 6 spaced out evenly in the general car storage area. Very happy with the set up.

UFO LED High Bay Light, TREONYIA 150W 140LM/W 21, 000LM CRI≥80 5000k Daylight ETL&DLC Listed Led Shop Light - [600W HID/HPS Equivalent], UL 5’ Cable, Commercial Area/Wet Location Area Light - - Amazon.com

UFO LED High Bay Light, TREONYIA 150W 140LM/W 21, 000LM CRI≥80 5000k Daylight ETL&DLC Listed Led Shop Light - [600W HID/HPS Equivalent], UL 5’ Cable, Commercial Area/Wet Location Area Light - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

 

[dcg9381]

I saw the dimmable ones and thought it sounded like a good idea. I've been in a few guy's shops that have the UFO lights and was amazed how bright it was. The only thing that gives me pause is how expensive are they to run? Did you run all 5 lights evenly spaced down the center?

I "staggered" them down the centerline of the building. 25% of the building (one corner) - which is "living space" has a chandelier (don't ask, not my idea), so I'd say I'm one short to light the whole thing up.

I assume you mean expensive to run in terms of power. Honestly, I don't turn them on unless I'm working on something, largely due to how bright they are. If we are just hanging out in the shop, we have a 60' of LEDs down the middle.

I think mine are 200-250W each, so we'll call that 1250 watts if I'm running all 5. That's about a little more than 1/2 capacity of a 20A circuit. For comparison, my residence probably averages 2-3x that (new, foam insulation). I don't think you can get a more efficient lighting system if you really want that shop lit up...

The big deal for me is I have not touched the lighting system in 2-3 years. Not one failure. I'm not up at 16' replacing a tube or a ballast. When and if one does fail, I simply unmount it and plug a new one in (I put standard 120V connectors on all of them).