Can we have too much light ?

[CRE Neal]

I think I have decided on T5 HO 5000 K 85 CRI 5000 lumen, for my shop lighting...I am planning 10, 2 bulb open fixtures....... my shop is 22'x 28' .... Someone mentioned to me this might be too much light, someone else told me you can never have too much light...............what does everyone here think ?

FYI a buddy of mine works at a big electrical company and can give me a eally good shake on the pricing...so cost is not really an issue, i am strictly concerned with the quality of light....

 

[Jack Olsen]

Lighting is fairly cheap, and some guys go overboard.

Still, it's very much a personal preference thing. Some people want brilliant blue-white lighting 'like a surgical theater' (even though operating rooms are generally modestly lit with specific task lights to focus light on where the work is getting done).

I personally like a task lighting approach.

You could put your lights on two or three switched circuits so that you can vary the intensity.

 

[Innov8tive1]

IMO you can't have too much light........to a point. My shop (24'x36' with 10' ceilings) has 8 regular bulb sockets which I have incandescent bulbs in. This is NOT enough light. There are also 4 double 8' florescent fixtures which help a lot and under the shelf that is above the work bench there are (and I'm guessing here) 6 double 4' fixtures for lighting up the work bench. And even that sometimes is not enough. Things like the garage door hardware and shelving higher up will block light but that's not that there is not enough light, it's just that it's badly placed. I think placement sometimes outweighs the amount of lighting.
As you get older you need more light. The best light you can get is sunlight. There is almost none of that in my shop.

 

[CRE Neal]

Lighting is fairly cheap, and some guys go overboard.

Still, it's very much a personal preference thing. Some people want brilliant blue-white lighting 'like a surgical theater' (even though operating rooms are generally modestly lit with specific task lights to focus light on where the work is getting done).

I personally like a task lighting approach.

You could put your lights on two or three switched circuits so that you can vary the intensity.

I do currently have a couple of task lights that I am using in my current shop...However I have not been very satisfied with the results...I just cannot get the lights into the position I need, nor do they seem to be bright enough.... I have both an 100w incandescent and a round CFL.... I am now looking to purchase a couple of halogen dental lights, or dock light arms that I can put my own head onto.....My current shop is small, about 150 sq/ft. 6'ceiling .I have 10 4' fl...8 T12 and 2 T8...a round CFL task light and a 100 watt desk lamp and my lighting is not cutting it for the work I do...

 

[D KRAGER]

Here's a couple links to figure this kind of stuff out.

http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/education_resources/tools_software/toolkit/layout.htm

http://www.naeg.com/cost-savings/foot-candles-chart.htm


Just taking some rough numbers and the numbers you gave, the GE site said 10 fixtures at 100 foot candles. So I'd say you are pretty close with the 10 fixtures. At the 100 foot candles you are on the high end of the chart for most the applications that would go along with a shop. I'd recommend laying them out on several different switches so you can change the intensity.

 

[kbs2244]

I suppose that, in theory, you could have too much light.
But, in my opinion, it would be hard to do.

My early career was in large mainframe computer rooms.
Ice cold, with every 4th dropped ceiling panel a 4 bulb fluorescent and white metal raised floors.
I just got used to a real lot of no shadow lights.

The “no shadow” part is key.
Task lighting is good over a bench, but for general area lighting the idea is to avoid “hot spots” that create shadows. Spread those fixtures around, and have white walls.

 

[TBoone]

My 22x22 garage has 12, 2 bulb (T8 5000k) w/ diffusers evenly spaced and I would not have it with any less. My work consists of the whole work space as I build a part with several mock-ups on the vehicle so task lighting would not be efficient for me. Also the diffusers are worth the extra money as to lower the glare.

That said my sidewalls are open studs and when the rock goes up I will be painting accordingly as white might be a bit too much at that point.

 

[D KRAGER]

Reminder T-5's are high output and will produce loads more light than a T-8, so you can't really compare the number of fixtures....

 

[scott67chevelle]

Never too much. My shop is 26 x 36, front half the shop has 9' ceilings and the the back half has 11' ceilings. I have (6) 4' 4-bulb fixtures per ceiling with 6500k daylight bulbs. Also, (6) 4' 4-bulb fixtures in the walls with the same bulbs. Scott

 

[Steevo]

Never too much. My shop is 26 x 36, front half the shop has 9' ceilings and the the back half has 11' ceilings. I have (6) 4' 4-bulb fixtures per ceiling with 6500k daylight bulbs. Also, (6) 4' 4-bulb fixtures in the walls with the same bulbs. Scott

How do you get that car on that lift? That seems like a tight turn . . .

 

[CRE Neal]

I work on some pretty small engine parts....usually thru a magnifying visor.....due to the odd shape of many of the parts it is difficult to get a good line of sight using task lighting...I have to move the parts around so much that its difficult to keep a directional light on focus...Tho I do plan to buy/build some LED or halogen based ceiling mounted task lights that I can have situated behind me shooting over my shoulder towards my work area along my own line of sight, or as closely as possible....I still would like to have a good overall light coverage over the entire working area of the shop... I will definitely put the T5's in banks so I can control the overall light output... Maybe I should inquire about ones I can use a dimmer with.....

 

[scott67chevelle]

How do you get that car on that lift? That seems like a tight turn . . .

Casters on the lift.

 

[CRE Neal]

well I just went and picked up a 4' T5 HO 5000K and hung it over my current workbench..WOW ! definitely intense...but it shows my work quite excellent..SO now I am comfortable outfitting the entire shop with these babies.... These things make my regular T8's look very very dim LOL.....

 

[StaggeringGoat]

You can have too much light, after you have too much money, and too much ***.....

 

[buzz4041]

I like the idea of turning on the lights and no shadows no moving around to get that perfect light. If you want less then switch them to your likings but put enough in to satisfy the requirements.

 

[BFBOB]

VERY personal. Personally, I HATE "task lighting" A' la can lights. I want enough light everywere to see what I need to see. I would not presume to tell you what you need; go lots of places, look at what you can SEE. Do you like can lights, straight down, shadows on faces? Do you like diffused, no shadows no where? Something in between? Some medium level of overall lighting, with moveable drop lights (I like magnetic based lights on my bandsaw, lathe, and drill press--oops is that "task lighting")? but wide area lighting over my table saw. Welders- fuggediboutit - they make their own light.
My point??? Look around at other folks' shops. Make notes of what you like, what you don't like.
One thing, though. Unless you really, truly, ultimately DEMAND immediate light upon flipping the switch, go with fluorescent or Metal Halide. Energy efficiency, yu'know. Even if you don't believe in man-made global warming (really, how many of us were there when the last ice age ended 20K years ago!???), saving energy is a good thing. Use it for really good things, like riding motorcycles waaaaaay too fast.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

How do you get that car on that lift? That seems like a tight turn . . .

lol....... thats the first thing I thought of when I seen that pic, so much so that I forgot to look at the lighting

 

[Mandres]

How do you get that car on that lift? That seems like a tight turn . . .

haha no kidding. And more importantly, how will he ever get it back off again?

 

[djdavelong]

I like it bright..... I've got 6 fixtures each with 6 T5 52W bulbs. I love it!
Also like the way the T5's work at cold temperatures.

 

[KyleQ]

My fathers garage - all high output 8' bulbs.



You can wear sunglasses if you want - we normally don't run all of the lights, but its DAMN bright in there. We plan on painting cars on occasion, we also do lots of welding and fab, so the light never hurts.

 

[texasOFT]

12 T8 fixtures - 11' sidewalls - everything but the loft painted white. Might have to add 1 more row of 4 fixtures (getting old)