I'm looking for a little advice here. I'm almost done building my new garage, and one of the things I still have to do is lighting. It's a 28x34 space, with 10' ceiling height. I've decided to go with 10 fixtures, T-8 twin tube 4' fluorescents. My question is, are the reflectors worth the extra money? The garage is fully sheetrocked, and the ceiling will be painted white, with the lights hardmounted to the ceiling. Will reflectors make much difference? I've found the fixtures for about $30-35 without reflectors, and about $45-50 with reflectors. I'm right at the end of this project, so the budget is pretty much gone. It'll probably be another month or two before I can save up enough to do the lights, so I'm just trying to make the most of my money. But I also don't want to skimp on this if I'm going to regret it later. Any advice is definitely appreciated! Thanks guys!
Fluorescents - reflectors or no?
- Thread starter BowtieNut
- Start date
6t7gto
Well-known member
Bowtie,
my garage is 24x27 w/ 12' ceilings. everything is painted white.
i have 3 rows of 4' t-8 fixtures w/ 4 bulbs in each ficture. 5 fixtures in each row.
i have the clear lenses on mine. i was concerned of a bulb coming loose and falling on one of my cars.
plenty of light with this setup.
with a ten fixture configuration, in an area your size, you may have some dim areas.
but, then again, it depends what you are using it for.
i'm thinking, if you lay them out properly, you could always add to them.
david
my garage is 24x27 w/ 12' ceilings. everything is painted white.
i have 3 rows of 4' t-8 fixtures w/ 4 bulbs in each ficture. 5 fixtures in each row.
i have the clear lenses on mine. i was concerned of a bulb coming loose and falling on one of my cars.
plenty of light with this setup.
with a ten fixture configuration, in an area your size, you may have some dim areas.
but, then again, it depends what you are using it for.
i'm thinking, if you lay them out properly, you could always add to them.
david
OldCarGuy said:
Yeah, I kind of thought they would look nicer too, but I didn't know if that was just me being silly or what. My friends keep saying to just get them without reflectors (but then again, they'd probably get the cheapest lights they could possibly find). I guess I'm not alone, thanks for the input.
David,
Here's a little drawing I did awhile ago that kinda shows the layout that I had planned. There's two rooms there, and I'm only concerned about the larger one (the other is just a shed/storage/compressor area). The large rectangles are the fluorescents, the small circles are incandesants (just for when I come out to grab something real quick or whatever), and a ceiling fan in the middle. I was also planning on putting some smaller fluorescents mounted to the bottom of the cabinets over the bench area. I guess I thought that would be plenty, but you think I still might want more? I already have the wire runs to these locations, and the ceiling is sheetrocked and insulated, but I guess I could switch to 4-tube fixtures without much trouble. Again, thanks for the input!
-Doug
Here's a little drawing I did awhile ago that kinda shows the layout that I had planned. There's two rooms there, and I'm only concerned about the larger one (the other is just a shed/storage/compressor area). The large rectangles are the fluorescents, the small circles are incandesants (just for when I come out to grab something real quick or whatever), and a ceiling fan in the middle. I was also planning on putting some smaller fluorescents mounted to the bottom of the cabinets over the bench area. I guess I thought that would be plenty, but you think I still might want more? I already have the wire runs to these locations, and the ceiling is sheetrocked and insulated, but I guess I could switch to 4-tube fixtures without much trouble. Again, thanks for the input!
-Doug
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6t7gto
Well-known member
Doug,
i would go with the 4 tube fixtures.
if you find you need additional, you could always mount the fixtures in between your existing ones and run the wiring from fixture to fixture.
don't know if you read this yet...http://www.garagejunkies.net/showthread.php?t=1794
post #10
david
i would go with the 4 tube fixtures.
if you find you need additional, you could always mount the fixtures in between your existing ones and run the wiring from fixture to fixture.
don't know if you read this yet...http://www.garagejunkies.net/showthread.php?t=1794
post #10
david
6t7gto
Well-known member
28x34=940 sq.ft.
20 bulbs x 32w=640 watts
640w/940sq.ft.=.68
40 bulbs x 32w=1280watts
1280w/940sq.ft.=1.36
david
20 bulbs x 32w=640 watts
640w/940sq.ft.=.68
40 bulbs x 32w=1280watts
1280w/940sq.ft.=1.36
david
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Reflectors tend to give a "cave effect" unless they have slots in them to provide some uplighting. The cave effect in a 10 ft cieling painted white, hoever, would be minimal.
Given the white painted ceiling, I cannot see any reason for the reflectors, the ceiling will do that for you.
Charles
Given the white painted ceiling, I cannot see any reason for the reflectors, the ceiling will do that for you.
Charles
dboat
Well-known member
Is the white paint semi gloss or flat? that can make a real difference..
Dana
Dana
RonBou
Well-known member
Go with the reflectors for that added bit of class!
triptester
New member
With a white ceiling the reflectors are not needed. The reflectors may cause a dark shadow line above them. Reflectors are great dust collecters and nesting ledges for the occasional bird that finds it's way into the garage.
JohnZ
Well-known member
I have ten 8' twin-tube fluorescent fixtures mounted directly to an off-white painted ceiling with no reflectors, and have no complaints - works for my 2500 sq. ft. garage. The high reflectivity of the light-colored epoxy floor significantly increases the lighting effectiveness as well.
Attachments
Well, thanks a bunch for all the input guys!!! I've decided to go with 10 2-bulb fixtures without the reflectors. Especially after seeing the pic that JohnZ was nice enough to show us, I really think it looks just fine without reflectors. And most people seem in agreement that with a white ceiling (it will be semi-gloss), it won't make much difference as far as light output. Also, as mentioned, I think they would probably gather alot of dust on top of the reflectors.
Also, here's my reasoning on why I decided to go with the 2-bulb fixtures as opposed to 4-bulbs, if anyone cares to keep reading. In my last garage at my previous house, I had a 24x28 garage with 4 fixtures, with four 4' T-12 bulbs each. Each fixture only had two bulbs that actually worked, and I never felt like that wasn't enough light, so I never bothered to fix them (I assumed they just needed new ballasts?). That garage was 672 sq ft, and 8 40W bulbs is 320 watts total. 320/672 = .48 W/sq ft. So if this garage is .68 W/sq ft, I think I'll be perfectly happy with it.
Also, here's my reasoning on why I decided to go with the 2-bulb fixtures as opposed to 4-bulbs, if anyone cares to keep reading. In my last garage at my previous house, I had a 24x28 garage with 4 fixtures, with four 4' T-12 bulbs each. Each fixture only had two bulbs that actually worked, and I never felt like that wasn't enough light, so I never bothered to fix them (I assumed they just needed new ballasts?). That garage was 672 sq ft, and 8 40W bulbs is 320 watts total. 320/672 = .48 W/sq ft. So if this garage is .68 W/sq ft, I think I'll be perfectly happy with it.
[email protected]
New member
my lites
i bought 4 foot fixtures w reflectors & 0 start ballasts @ menards for 16.00 ea.the 8 footers were sbout 64.00 these work fine in wis. i have about 16 of them ithink i have 12 in the back [my shop] &4 in the front [parking] in my 24x50 garage
i bought 4 foot fixtures w reflectors & 0 start ballasts @ menards for 16.00 ea.the 8 footers were sbout 64.00 these work fine in wis. i have about 16 of them ithink i have 12 in the back [my shop] &4 in the front [parking] in my 24x50 garagez28toz06
Well-known member
JohnZ said:
If you look at this picture, you can see the lightwashing over the ceiling to the sides of the fixtures . If you are looking for general lighting that's fine. if you are using the lamps as task lighting none of the light that is washing out to the sides is going to be falling on what ever you are working on. If you need to read stuff on the ceiling it's great. If you are working under the lights then that's where the light should be directed, hence parabolic or angled reflectors. While it does add a warmth to the shop, (which is very nice by the way) then that's fine. You can always add additional task lighting, if energy consumption isnt an issue.
The dust issue is moot, as any dust that is collecting up there is less dust that will end up on my cars, tools, etc underneath them! You can always wipe them down once a year or so. Without the reflectors, Dust will settle on the bare unprotected bulbs faster which will filter your light and ultimately darken the room a little anyway.
