Critique my electrical and lighting shop plans

[Craddosk]

Hey,

Curious what some of the experts here think of my shop plans. I've got an overhead view and a wall view, with dimensions. I'm looking for advice regarding light placement and outlet placement. Dimensions/scale/legend are on each of the drawings. The garage is currently unfinished, and will be insulated later this year.

Notes:

The two outlets by the garage door would be on 20amp circuits for running bigger items, such as compressors/engine block heaters, and on the right hand side of the door there would be an 240v outlet (properly hooked through a transfer switch/subpanel) that I could run a generator into to power essential circuits in the house. The other 240v outlets would be for running welders/large air compressors, etc. as required.

Lights would be on separate breakers (each wall and roof), and each wall outlets would be on their own breaker. The lights mounted at the roof/wall edge would be at a 45 degree angle to shine light down into engine bays, etc.

Lights are anticipated being 2 bulb T8 fixtures.

 

[GShelton]

Had a hard time seeing the drawings.

 

[Craddosk]

Are they not showing up well in Adobe Reader? What's the best way to put up plans?

 

[dimarcelli]

If i understand it right, you're going to have nine T8 fixtures? If that's right, each bulb is about 2900 lumens, 18 bulbs would be 52,200 lumens total. Per sq foot that's 118 lumens, which is a good amount of light.

You can throw all your lights on one breaker, you're only pulling 576 watts. Two switches, one for the wall lights and one for the ceiling lights would work.

 

[eljefino]

Looks pretty good. Run a bunch of seperate switches for the lights-- you'll have to with their own breakers-- it's fun to have complete control and also to be able to flip just one light on if you're running out for something.

Consider hanging a cord reel between the two bays so you can plug a drop light in. You have an outlet up there anyway for the garage door opener.

 

[RickP]

Have you considered adding another outlet on the 16.5 foot wall by the house? That's a pretty long wall and you might want to add a workbench there someday.

Also, If you're running romex in the ceiling anyway, consider running a few low voltage wires for your garage door opener while you're working in the ceiling. You may never use them, but they're inexpensive and it will save a lot of time if you ever decide to add another opener button. Many openers have a light that turns on automatically when you walk through the garage door, and it's nice to be able to turn that light off from just inside the overhead door.

 

[Craddosk]

Great ideas guys. There will actually be 10 T8 fixtures total, 3 on each side wall (at a 45 degree angle) and 4 on the roof. Glad to know the lighting will be enough, I really only want to deal with it once.

I was thinking three sets of light switches, one for the roof, and one for each of the walls.

I've got one outlet on the back wall, and a 2nd one is likely a very good idea. The four outlets on each of the side walls will be on separate breakers (and separate from the lights) to minimize brownouts, and blowing something if I run a few heavier electrical items. There will be a cord reel right above the floor drain (right at the edge of the 9ft section just for those potential moments of needing something in the middle.

Any thoughts on the two 240v outlets (one by the garage door and one by the back wall)? Is that going to be overkill?

Is the 240v inlet by the garage door a smart idea? It would be for plugging a generator in to run specific outlets in the event of a a power failure (with appropriate panels to isolate the house from the grid), and would have a wire run of approximately 30 feet to the main house panel. Is that going to be too far for resistance? The thought with the placement is then the generator can be placed either outside, or beside a slightly opened garage door.

 

[dimarcelli]

The generator inlet sounds like a good idea. 10 awg is fine for 30 feet. (30 amp inlet)

Be careful running a gen with the garage door cracked, exhaust will make its way inside. (im sure you already know this though)

 

[Craddosk]

The generator inlet sounds like a good idea. 10 awg is fine for 30 feet. (30 amp inlet)

Be careful running a gen with the garage door cracked, exhaust will make its way inside. (im sure you already know this though)

Good to know, I wasn't 100% sure on the wire gauge for this. THe plan is to have a small piece of metal flex tube (think dryer vent) that can then direct the exhaust outside.

 

[RickP]

Any thoughts on the two 240v outlets (one by the garage door and one by the back wall)? Is that going to be overkill?

What equipment are you planning to plug into each of the outlets? There are so many different configurations of 240v outlets available, and the wire size is driven by the equipment's amperage. You probably should know the type of equipment before installing the outlets. Alternatively, you could just oversize the wire and run it to empty junction boxes with cover plates, and install the outlets later.

You might want to use the outlet near the overhead door for a welder, so you'd have the option to weld outside. Depending on the size of the welder, you could put a 50A outlet there, which would need 6 gauge romex. If you decide to put a compressor by the interior door, then you'd probably use a 30A or 40A outlet there. If it's a stationary compressor, you could hardwire it to a disconnect box and use 10 gauge wire, depending on the motor size. But your compressor might be too noisy or big to have right next to the door to the house. If you relocated that outlet to the exterior wall, it would be a little farther away, and you'd at least have the option to build a soundproofing enclosure later.

Have you thought about putting a subpanel in the garage now, to allow for easier expansion in the future? I didn't own any 240v equipment when I built my garage, so I just ran 6-3 romex to an empty junction box. Last month, I added an Eaton load center ($24 at HD, plus a few $8 breakers) and connected it to a 50A breaker in the main panel. Doing something like that might give you the most options for the future.

- Rick

 

[Craddosk]

What equipment are you planning to plug into each of the outlets? There are so many different configurations of 240v outlets available, and the wire size is driven by the equipment's amperage. You probably should know the type of equipment before installing the outlets. Alternatively, you could just oversize the wire and run it to empty junction boxes with cover plates, and install the outlets later.

You might want to use the outlet near the overhead door for a welder, so you'd have the option to weld outside. Depending on the size of the welder, you could put a 50A outlet there, which would need 6 gauge romex. If you decide to put a compressor by the interior door, then you'd probably use a 30A or 40A outlet there. If it's a stationary compressor, you could hardwire it to a disconnect box and use 10 gauge wire, depending on the motor size. But your compressor might be too noisy or big to have right next to the door to the house. If you relocated that outlet to the exterior wall, it would be a little farther away, and you'd at least have the option to build a soundproofing enclosure later.

Have you thought about putting a subpanel in the garage now, to allow for easier expansion in the future? I didn't own any 240v equipment when I built my garage, so I just ran 6-3 romex to an empty junction box. Last month, I added an Eaton load center ($24 at HD, plus a few $8 breakers) and connected it to a 50A breaker in the main panel. Doing something like that might give you the most options for the future.

- Rick

That's exactly where I'm at odds right now. Currently, I don't own any 240v equipment, but if/when I get some, I don't want to be overly limited on my applications. I do like your idea of just running 6/3 to an empty junction box and putting a subpanel in the garage (would also make a convenient spot to locate the disconnect switch). Thanks for the information/ideas.