So the structural rework on my garage is all done. I had a giant LVL beam put in across the peak of the roof and the rafters/collar ties were moved up even with the bottom of the beam. I've got about 14' 10" of clearance from the floor now. The whole point of this (as you might have guessed) was to make space for my 4 post lift. Before the work was done, I had 48" on center rafters, I've now got 24" on center collar ties up top. I want to maintain maximum head room so I'd like the lighting fixtures to tuck up in between the collar ties. I have measured it out and I THINK I can fit a 4' fixture in the space between the LVL and the slope of the roof, I might need to go with a shorter fixture though, not sure. I've done a little reading on here and some googling but I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what fixture I want to use for this. The one thing I do know is that I do NOT want the fixture suspended from chains, I hate when shop lights swing because the shadows dance around and it drives me nuts with my peripheral vision. Adjustable color temp would be nice but I would probably be fine with 4000K color temp lights. Dimmable isn't necessary either but is a nice to have I guess? Any help trying to figure out what fixatures would work best is much appreciated.
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Garage lighting selection help
- Thread starter Rusty67
- Start date
my choice would be find some fluorescent fixtures and retrofit them with ballast by pass LED tubes . some of them have adjustable colour temps .
that way when a bulb fails you replace the bulb, not the fixture that is now no longer available & you can't match .
converting fixtures is an easy task . literally a 5 minute job . and a clean up & respray of the fixture will look new .
that way when a bulb fails you replace the bulb, not the fixture that is now no longer available & you can't match .
converting fixtures is an easy task . literally a 5 minute job . and a clean up & respray of the fixture will look new .
I have some 4ft LED retrofit bulbs that work with a ballast bypass, I did that in my kitchen a while ago. When I looked into the cost of fluorescent fixtures plus the cost of the LED tubes, it was quite a bit more expensive than just buying an LED fixture. I looked for used ones at the time but there weren't any at a price point that made sense. Net new LEDs made more sense.
In my sheds and other shop area I used the HF 4ft LED fixtures and they were nice a cheap, I think I paid 18 dollars a piece for them. I'd be willing to give those a try but I don't know if they will have enough output since they are going to be significantly higher up in the garage space.
In my sheds and other shop area I used the HF 4ft LED fixtures and they were nice a cheap, I think I paid 18 dollars a piece for them. I'd be willing to give those a try but I don't know if they will have enough output since they are going to be significantly higher up in the garage space.
I did the math every way I could and decided that the cheapest way to go long term was to put LED bulbs into Florescent style fixtures. However, the initial cost was far too high and I felt that the technology would eventually abandon tube light bulbs.
I installed plugs for each row of light fixtures and installed Barinna fixtures available for cheap at Amazon. The light output is great and I am using a combination of 3' and 8' fixtures on the same strings.
I paid a higher price to install the plugs on the ceiling, but when these lights fail eventually, there will probably be a plug in style to replace them and all I have to do is unplug the old and plug in the new. So far, there are loads of options that require the same style plug, so after 3 years and no failed light fixtures I feel pretty good about my decision.
I installed plugs for each row of light fixtures and installed Barinna fixtures available for cheap at Amazon. The light output is great and I am using a combination of 3' and 8' fixtures on the same strings.
I paid a higher price to install the plugs on the ceiling, but when these lights fail eventually, there will probably be a plug in style to replace them and all I have to do is unplug the old and plug in the new. So far, there are loads of options that require the same style plug, so after 3 years and no failed light fixtures I feel pretty good about my decision.
sweetk30
Well-known member
sams club 4ft led units new in box . 20 each and go for it . sometimes on there web site they do 10 pack deals on them .
my whole 1,800 sqft shop is them . been prob 8 years now and only replaced 4 out of all of them .
i run them on the chains but 3 links only and 4 points with screw hooks . they dont swing that i notice and cause the shadow problems .
my whole 1,800 sqft shop is them . been prob 8 years now and only replaced 4 out of all of them .
i run them on the chains but 3 links only and 4 points with screw hooks . they dont swing that i notice and cause the shadow problems .