Anyone with some can lighting pics?

[franksinatra]

Would anyone with can lights mind showing off a few pics of their garage with the lights turned on durring the day and one durring the evening? I would like to see what people have used and why they went with what they did. Im at the point where I need to make the decision, cans or tubes? I come up with many pros and cons for each but I still cant seem to pull the trigger. Im looking at (6 8' fluorescent lights (2 in 3 rows) or (16 can lights (4 in 4 rows.) Maybe a couple more if need be. My main goal is to see how good of a job can lighting does compared to tubes. I do quite a bit of stuff from airbrushing to woodworking and soon, welding in the garage. I have done fine with 2 4Ft fluorescents and 2 incandescents over the past few years so anything will be much, much better. Im leaning towards cans because they give the garage a clean appearance and still give off a good amount of light. Do any of you use the fluorescent bulbs in the cans? Thank you in advance, G

 

[Junkman]

I never finished installing the can lights in my garage, but those that I did install work well. Problem is the cost of running them. I intend to replace all the incandescent bulbs with the new compact florescent bulbs. I will cut 2400 watts down by about 75%. I don't know how well they will work in the cold, but I don't work very well in the cold, so it won't matter much...

 

[franksinatra]

Im aware of the cost of flood lights at least. lol We have about 8 or 10 in our basement living area and I seem to spend what seems to be 50.00 a month on bulbs. One always seems to be burnt out.

I was at our local Homo depot and took a serious look at the coil sprung looking fluorescent bulbs and thought it might be worth a shot. Again this is another worry with choosing these lights. Fluorescent tubes really seem to be the way to go but they get zero points in the eye candy department. G

 

[roger55]

I wouldn't consider residential can (recessed) lighting for a shop or garage.
Tube fluorescents are the way to go. The newer T5 tubes are really good. They are bright, efficient, and come in a number or temperatures (colors). They have electronic ballasts and are completely quiet. The are a drastic improvement to the older T12 tubes.

Incandescents would eat you up in electricity and give you unwanted heat in the summer. CFLs for recessed lighting need warm up time and it's longer when it is colder.

T5s don't need warm-up time at all. Also, you would need a bunch of cans to give you the lumens that you would get with just a few T5 fixtures. You want a garage/workshop to be bright compared to indoor lighting.

Check out the lights I did in my my new Gas Station Workshop (post#124):
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8044

 

[franksinatra]

Roger 55, I agree that flourescents are the way to go. With that being said, I have seen a few garages that have actual direct (strip) lighting and they look so darn good its tough not to think about it. Im looking for more of a hang out garage at this point. I deffinately want to use it from time to time to work on things like tying on lures for bass fishing. lol By the way is that a 63 vette on your avatar? My father used to rebuild older vettes. They sure dont make them like they used too. Beautiful cars! Oh, not a bad garage there!

Oops I see now its a 66. Nice car.

 

[E46M3]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25148

Several shots of rows of can lights, 4 zone, 2.5 watts per square foot, all on dimmers, with floods. There are 6", 6" eyeballs, 4", and 4" eyeballs in the space. Nearly 25 cans in all,
Also have 5 large flourescents in the garage, and 2 smaller under cabinet flourescents.
You'll need many more can fixtures to generate the same lumens as a flourescent, but the cans have a more finished look for your "hang out garage." If I crank all the cans up, there's plenty of lumens for working.
E46M3

 

[roger55]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25148
Several shots of rows of can lights, 4 zone, 2.5 watts per square foot, all on dimmers, with floods. If I crank all the cans up, there's plenty of lumens for working.
E46M3

Wow, I am impressed! That looks like a combination of a modern looking living room and a workshop/garage.

Have you calculated the lumens per square foot versus the watts per square foot? I assume you are using incandescents for your can lights.
Have you considered trying CFLs? I guess that would mess up your dimming control though.
Pretty cool looking but the energy efficiency and heat generation is still an issue to consider with incandescents versus florescent tubes or CFLs.
For someone in a cold climate, the heat may be a good thing. But down here in Texas, it's something to avoid.

 

[franksinatra]

I could mount flame throwers in my ceiling right now and be tickled pink. lol Heres a picture of my neighbors places here in MN. Heat is deffinately our friend. Back to topic. Does anyone have much experience with the question that has already been asked? Do the Fluorescent screw in style bulbs give off enough light and do they last. Right now im going to make my decision on can lights with the answers I get about these bulbs. The more I think about it the less I want to deal with the bulbs burning out or elements in them breaking from vibrations etc. G

 

[roger55]

Do the Fluorescent screw in style bulbs give off enough light and do they last. Right now im going to make my decision on can lights with the answers I get about these bulbs. The more I think about it the less I want to deal with the bulbs burning out or elements in them breaking from vibrations etc. G

The fluorescent screw in style bulbs you mention are called Compact Fluorescent Lighting or CFLs. They put out more light than standard incandescents. The R40 style go up to 23 watts (about 90 watt equivalent). Plus, they put out less heat than incandescents due to the lower current draw. The drawbacks are that they have to warm up. They are very dim for the first 15 seconds or so and longer when it is cold (a couple of minutes or so). The R40 style bulbs are larger so you have to make sure that the housing trim will accommodate them. The "eyeball" trim only will work with the smaller R30 style bulbs. I think the maximum wattage is 15 to 19 watts for a 65 watt equivalent.
I see now that they do make dimmable bulbs in the R30 and R40 style. But, I have never tried those.

For CFLs versus tube lighting, I would base your decision on lumens per ft2 and cost plus the warm-up factor. If you are going to consider incandescents then factor in heat and energy efficiency.
Life and vibration I wouldn't worry about, CFLs are fine for that.

 

[franksinatra]

Thanks, Warm up isnt really an issue for me. I always have the garage at 50 and turn it up to 65 right away in the morning. I have can lighting in my basement with dimmers. Would the CFLS work in these If I didnt use the dimmers? I want to see the amount of lighting they give out. I will get one today and try it out. I have read on the packages that many of these styles of bulbs have guarantees of 5, 7 even 9 years. Do you know if this is true? I mean whats the fine print say? If I could get 2 yrs out of them I would be cool with that!! Anyone with more pics?

 

[BLUBAYOU]

I built my house 2 years ago and used CFL's everywhere they were appropriate.

One by one they are dying on me, though everyone said "5+ years" life. I turn lights off when not in a room, and the house is dark at night. It's not like I run them 24/7.

It might be out there, but I have yet to see any real evidence of such long life for these CFL bulbs

 

[funkymonkey1111]

I built my house 2 years ago and used CFL's everywhere they were appropriate.

One by one they are dying on me, though everyone said "5+ years" life. I turn lights off when not in a room, and the house is dark at night. It's not like I run them 24/7.

It might be out there, but I have yet to see any real evidence of such long life for these CFL bulbs

do you have experience with incandescent bulbs lasting 2 years?

 

[3vettesnLift]

To each his own and both have many pros and cons, but my preference for the garage was:

There are a total of 15 lights, the garage is 30 by 24. I ran a spare circuit for additional fluorescent lights but so far I have excellent light from the cans. I am pleased with the choice.

Hope this helps you.

Good luck with your choice!

 

[E46M3]

Hello Roger,

Have you calculated the lumens per square foot versus the watts per square foot?

Initially, yes, but after that is was in watts per squre foot for planning based on this forums advice that it be at least 2.5 per square foot for decent working visibility, and then I went over that based on the fact that I have black epoxy floors that **** up light. Plus I needed to pull new service to the garage, which was not based on a lumens calculation.

Have you considered trying CFLs?

Yes, but you beat me to my answer as to why not. I have a few in the house, so I know that:

...they have to warm up. They are very dim for the first 15 seconds or so and longer when it is cold (a couple of minutes or so).

I sometimes just quickly go out to grab a few tools for a project, or whatever, and a slow warmup time would be a problem, and because I sometimes just "hang out" in the space- as does the original poster- I wanted dimmers to control the light quality. Full on; my wife calls my garage "the sun," and wonders if she can actually get a tan.

...efficiency and heat generation is still an issue to consider with incandescents versus florescent tubes or CFLs.

Yes, on full boar with 25 cans, there's a heat issue. For 6 months of the year, that's less of a problem with a very northern climate I'm in. We'll see in the summer... it's a new space, so I can't attest to summer working conditions just yet, but , yes they run hotter.

E46M3

 

[E46M3]

Funny,
3vettesnLift just replied 30 seconds ago, but know that his garage is one of the inspirations that led to me to installing my cans... and neon... and....
E46M3

 

[franksinatra]

Theres really no comparison in the looks department for me. The can lights are deffinately the ticket. I am thinking that i will go that route and use CFL's for the majority and throw in a few eye ball cans with incandescents for the quick trips to the tool box. I never know when I might need the Ikea allen wrench for the wifes new purchases. lol I hate that junk. G

 

[franksinatra]

Oh by the way, 3vettes, what bulbs are you using? G

 

[bomber]

I've been running CFLs in the house and shop for 5 years or so -- havn't had to replace a one --

The slowness of reaching full light levels is rarely an issue -- where it is (for instance, in a closet, where your wife wants to turn on the light, pick out the right color of clothing, and move on) we have old-style incandescents -- I also pick an incandescent in the fixture over the man-door of the shop - I turn it on when I walk in, and can see well enough to not trip over a car or motorcycle while waiting for the CFLs to come up to speed --

I DO have incandescents in the task lights over the machine tools -- I'll often wander over, turn on the light to work on a set up, and get distracted (Oooo, Look, something ELSE that needs attention).

CFLs are available in a range of watts -- but they may narrow your choice of fixtures, as other have noted.

Just another data point for the big chart in the sky

 

[BLUBAYOU]

do you have experience with incandescent bulbs lasting 2 years?

Sure, same house and in some of the same fixtures, actually.

I'm not totally poo-pooing CFL's, just the blanket claims of crazy long life. Maybe it comes down to brand (though I have a few) and/or type (color/etc).

I'll still use them in my garage I am building right now, but I might try a few brands with comparable units to see if there is a noticeable difference in lifespan. A little garage experiment of my own. Some task/workstation lighting will be incandescent though, since I am in a cold climate (Northern NY)

 

[franksinatra]

What types of inserts are you guys using? I see they come in black, white, etc. The ones I have my eyes on are the chrome looking units. I would guess they reflect the most light but Im just curious to know other peoples thoughts. G

 

[roger55]

What types of inserts are you guys using? I see they come in black, white, etc. The ones I have my eyes on are the chrome looking units. I would guess they reflect the most light but Im just curious to know other peoples thoughts. G

Fancy can trim can get pretty expensive when if you are going to do a lot of lights.
Also, if you are going to go with R40 style CFLs, you will be limited to the baffle type and even then you need to make sure they will clear the bulb.
Also, the trim really doesn't have anything to do with reflecting light with either the R30 or R40 style bulbs. That is designed into the bulb itself.

 

[checkthisout]

The showroom at our shop uses HID can lighting.

That would be nice in a Garage but if you are going to do a lot real work in there you would need to add some flourescent tubes to the walls.

I would actually add some tubes on the walls anyway regardless of what lighting I had on/in the ceiling