Garage lighting design

[kevrobster]

Hey guys. I'm new to the forum. My wife and I recently purchased a house with a 26' x 28' detached garage with no power fed to it. I've since installed a 100A subpanel, receptacles, 2 basic ceramic light fixtures and electric garage door openers.

My next project is getting some better lighting installed. Where can I get information about lighting design in general--i.e. What kind of lights to install (are there any good LED solutions yet?), how many lights to install, where to place the lights, etc. I've searched the forum quite a bit but there are way too many threads to muddle through, most of which don't really discuss the things I've mentioned. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks for any help. I've learned a ton over the past few weeks on this forum and there is some great stuff here!

 

[Guitarcrazy]

If you go to the manufacturer websites (Lithonia.com, as well as many others) you can find designers and calculators to tell you how many lumens your design will produce. There are also many threads here where you can get the same type of information. I just built a 28 by 30 garage with apartment on top, and the downstairs shop area is approx. 26 by 28 of clear space. I went with 12 8 foot T-8 fixtures, with 4, 4 foot bulbs in each. I arranged them in three rows of 4 fixtures per row. This gave 48 bulbs total, and really lights up the shop well. It was supposed to be around 100 lumens per foot, which is what I wanted.

 

[kevrobster]

Ok thanks for the help!

 

[Stuart in MN]

Assuming you go with regular 48" long x 2 lamp T8 fluorescent fixtures, use this calculator on the Lithonia website. Fill in the dimensions of the room along with the desired footcandles, (100fc is a good number) and it figures out how many fixtures you need. http://www.visual-3d.com/tools/interior/default.aspx?id=14782

 

[cybrdyke]

Lighting levels should based on how you intend to use your space. Many folks use their space for a workshop. Others just use them to park a car. Obviously, if you are just going to park your car there and then walk away, you dont need nearly as much light as you would if you are going to be doing detailing or woodworking, etc.
100 footcandles is a maximum recommended amount if you intend to be doing alot of work in your space. Thats a LOT of light! Minimum levels for parking cars can be 30 foot candles or less (it can actually be a lot lower, but there might be times when you want to have more). If you think you will use it infrequently...well...that's what trouble lights are for. Choose your light level based on your use. That might save you some money from buying dozens of fixtures and over killing it.
CD

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Assuming you go with regular 48" long x 2 lamp T8 fluorescent fixtures, use this calculator on the Lithonia website. Fill in the dimensions of the room along with the desired footcandles, (100fc is a good number) and it figures out how many fixtures you need. http://www.visual-3d.com/tools/interior/default.aspx?id=14782

That may be a good calculator for those who are really involved with lighting and its many aspects but it down-right ***** for those of us who have no idea what our lux and power density criteria are, or what it's meant by "Constraints", or how we determine the "Room Reflectances" for our space.

Is there a how-to for beginners? We can't be expected to know everything

 

[SALIV8]

I agree with air cooled.

I used visual-3d and shooting for 35-40 footcandles at the 2.5' height. I started a thread "how bright is your shop" cause I didn't know what the heck light level is best for me.

I figure I wanna save on my bill and can use task lighting when needed. No biggie. I'll see if I a can bump my thread cause many guys responded with their setups and fc levels. There was major differences in levels.

 

[Ironcrow]

Using that tool, my garage appears to be lit at 200 foot candles. This is not excessive.

 

[Stuart in MN]

That may be a good calculator for those who are really involved with lighting and its many aspects but it down-right ***** for those of us who have no idea what our lux and power density criteria are, or what it's meant by "Constraints", or how we determine the "Room Reflectances" for our space.

Is there a how-to for beginners? We can't be expected to know everything

If you just enter the dimensions of the room and the footcandles desired, and leave the rest of the lines at their default values, it will give you a pretty reasonable estimate.

 

[SALIV8]

200 footcandles ironcrow? That seems like a ton of fixtures. No task lighting?

 

[kevrobster]

Thanks for the replies. I agree, that the calculators aren't as straightforward as I had hoped.

The garage already has the two 100 watt incandescent bulbs for general access to the garage, but the fluorescents are intended for working on projects-- i.e. automotive repairs/ maintenance, garden tractor repairs/maintenance, and some basic woodworking. I like to dabble in a lot of things so I'm just shooting for overall decent lighting since it would be difficult to make an ideal setup for every possible thing I might do.

How does something like 50 ft candles sound for something like this? I forgot to mention the walls are just OSB plywood so reflectance will definitely not help me out much...



Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[sands35]

50 FC is fine for everything but detailed layout or machine tool work. For that, just put a 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixture or two over the task area in addition to the general lighting or some under cabinet lights if up against a wall.

You'll get as much impact by slapping up to white or light gray/beige paint though.

That's basically what I have in my garage and it works great.

 

[Ironcrow]

200 footcandles ironcrow? That seems like a ton of fixtures. No task lighting?

30 fixtures in a 600 ft^2 garage. I have a task light at the workbench and a drop light I use under the lift.