Fluorescent Light Wiring

[Nautical]

Hey all, long time lurker here that finally has a question/concern about my garage lighting. I have a total of 6 4-foot T8 fluorescent lights in my small 20x20 garage. I have two plugged into the base of the preexisting CFL's and 4 that I want separate control over. My question or issue is that I'm not sure if the way it's currently hooked up is safe. The lights attach to a single power strip on the ceiling which is plugged into a remote controlled device that is used to turn the 4 lights on/off.

Is this an electrical hazard I should worry about or since the device is only turned on when I'm in the garage working on something, it should be fine? I know the ideal situation would be to have plugs in the ceiling for the lights or hardwire them, but there are only two outlets in the garage. One outlet is on the ceiling for the garage door opener and the other is on a side wall, but we have a radon system and I believe they tapped into that outlet to wire in another outlet in the garage attic for it. So I'm not sure if either outlet is able to be used to run more outlets plus a switch. To add to to it, the breaker is located in the basement on the other side of the house.

So can I keep the current setup as is or do I need to figure out a different solution?

Thanks.

 

[sands35]

If it pops the breaker, you need to do something else or take out lights.

If you have that many lights, what are you doing in the garage? Probably time to think about running a sub panel if it's a working garage.

If all you are doing is parking cars or a bike, then you don't need that many lights.

 

[Nautical]

Miscellaneous projects here and there but it's mostly used for auto detailing.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

It depends on the current draw. I ran (8) two bulb 4" T12 fixtures for years on my one circuit garage. I now have (3) 8' T12 double bulb fixtures & (2) 4' T12s. I still run my compressor and stereo without coming close to tripping the breaker. I'm going to get a 100A sub panel as soon as money allows...

Tommy

 

[Frank Dukes]

im in a somewhat similar situation but to make it even harder my garage is detached making it tougher to rewire to a 20amp breaker. I have yet to trip it yet so im holding strong on my old wiring for now. if you are not popping the breaker when using tools, etc, you should be ok. but long term if your staying, consider getting a rewire to 12/2 with 20 amp breaker and more outlets.

 

[Nananooknak]

Hope I'm not too late make sure you use a high gauge wire or you lose an amp every fifty feet

 

[Nautical]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'd like to put a breaker box in the garage but I'm not sure it's worth the money or time at this point, I don't know how long I'll be at this house. So for now I suppose I'll keep it as is until I know for certain if I want to invest a lot more into this garage or not.