Garage Lighting

[07travis]

Hey guys. I'm looking for some help. I'm in the planning stages for my garage at the moment and I'm trying to figure out what to get for lighting. It's going to be 28' wide x 32' deep. I'm thinking 4 96" fixtures will do possibly, but I'm not sure if that's enough. I like it bright and believe it can never be too bright when working on something What do you guys have in your garage? What fixtures should i get? Any suggestions? Any help and pictures are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[hockey88fan]

My garage is the same size, I went with 7 - eight foot t5 fixtures. It is incredible bright, so much so you can't look at the cieling lol. I have them split up on 2 switches so I can turn on half the lights if all are not needed.

 

[Steevo]

Knowing the layout, how many doors and where they are, whether there is a work area in back, etc. would help the folks here to make recommendations as to how many fixtures and where to put them.

 

[07travis]

hopefully this will help some.

 

[911mike]

I went with 6 bulb HO 4ft fixtures with dual ballasts. 2 bulbs on one switch and 4 on the other this way you can light 2 or 4 or all 6. I have 8 fixtures (48 bulbs) in a 26 x 24 room with 14ft ceilings and in 6 bulb mode we call in tanning mode. LOL. 2 bulb is ok but I use 4 bulb most of the time. I agree you can not have too much light.

 

[Stee6043]

I have a similar size garage and ended up with (6) 8 foot and (4) 4 foot T8's (two bulb fixtures). A total of 32 lamps. I have a bit of an oddball shape since it's an attached garage but I am very pleased with the results. I was not sure about needing a third row of (2) 8 footers but I'm ultimately very glad I ended up adding them. Two circuits for the lights allows me flexibility and I don't think I'll ever find myself wishing I had added more lights...

 

[Wadd2]

Still building mine but just bought my lights yesterday. My building is 32' deep like yours but 46' wide and I have 18 8' 4 bulb T8 fixtures for a total of 72 bulbs and I bought the 6500K daylight bulbs. I'm excited to see how bright it turns out since the inside will be mostly white due to the insulation that is being used. I'll have 6 rows of 3 and every two rows on it's own switch. I'll also have 4 ceramic fixtures with regular bulbs just for those occasions when I need to run in, grab something, and run out.

 

[Angelfire]

You might also do a search in the Electrical and Lighting forum on the site....lighting is discussed pretty frequently there.....

 

[Outlawmws]

Before you decide on fixtures, do some pricing on replacement tubes. Those long tubes get pricey pretty fast even allowing for needing 2 4 footers to every eight footer.

 

[Outlawmws]

Having said that, and looked at your drawing, two 4 footers over the 12' workbench at least one over the 10 in the upper left corner (depending on placement, one from the 12 may be light for one end of the 10...), two over the model A project, maybe two, and two each over the parking stalls as those will become open work areas periodically.

 

[07travis]

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[hockey88fan]

Before you decide on fixtures, do some pricing on replacement tubes. Those long tubes get pricey pretty fast even allowing for needing 2 4 footers to every eight footer.

Yes the 4 foot t5 tubes are $10 apiece. I need 4 per fixture, I have 7 fixtures.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Not sure exactly how many you need, but IMHO more is always better! I rented a poorly lit shop years ago and hated that I was constantly working in shadows! Make sure you figure out where you will be working on a vehicle and place a light or two where it will fully illuminate the engine with the hood open. I also put a good ceiling fan right over the front of the car when it is on the lift, and possibly put one in front of your work bench. That really helps to keep me cool on a hot summer day.

Chris

 

[70redbee]

Besides all the lights on the ceiling, I also mounted a row of lights on the walls. This takes away a lot of the shadows. Put in lots of lights and switches accordingly. It is super nice to turn on just the lights you need for the area you are working in. I really don't think you can have too many lights, get it bright so you can see and again switches to control them.