Help choosing garage fixtures

[expatriated]

I'm planning on putting in a lot of light in my garage and I'm at the point of picking out the fixtures. I don't like the look of bare bulbs so I wanted something with a screen over it. I found the below fixtures at Lowe's but they seem fairly expensive. I'm planning on buying 5 of them for my garage. It will get pricey, I think. I've researched several of the threads here but all of the cheap fixtures just have the bare bulbs, unless I am missing something.

What do you guys recommend?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_184346-13537-184346_4294965690_40?productId=1225811&Ntt=flourecent%20lighting&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Utilitech_4294965690_40_s?Ntk=i_products$Ntt=flourecent%20lighting&spellCorrectedTerm=fluorescent%20lighting&state=R#prod-tabs

 

[robertlynk]

how big is your garage? I installed 8- 6 bulb fixtures with t8 32 watt lamps in a 2400 sqft garage. when I turn on the lights at night with the doors open you can hardly tell when I am welding. I have 1500 watts of light cri 75 6500 temp 2700 lumens i could turn off half the lights and still see plenty. Iwould say about 1/2 watt per sqft would be a good start

 

[regguy1]

These have a nice looking plastic cover for $18.00 each:

I bought 20 of these for my 26' x 30'. They're light and look nice, I've only installed 8 so far and they light up that section like daylight. I used the 6500K Phillips T8's HD sells for about $25.00/ case.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[wbrian63]

^^^ I've got 8 of the same lights as regguy1 installed in my finishing room, and 4 in the equipment room using the same bulbs (6500k, 85 color rendering index, 2,800 lumens per 32w tube). They work very nice. The lenses are a PITA to install, IMO.

In the main shop area, I've got 7 4-tube T-8 fixtures with baffles. These are basically 2 4-foot shop lights end-to-end. I use the same bulbs in the main shop fixtures as elsewhere.

I've had no issues with RFI, and the lights start easily in cold temps but do take a few minutes to reach full brightness when cold.

 

[expatriated]

Thanks, guys! This is very helpful.

My garage is only 18' x 22' so right at 400 sq ft.

I think I'll put up 6 of these. That will give me 384 watts for a 400 sq ft space. Over the workbench, I'm going to have a dedicated hanging light anyway.

I literally have 1 bare 75w bulb for the whole garage right now so I'm sure it will make a big difference

 

[DCarr]

I installed 8- 6 bulb fixtures with t8 32 watt lamps in a 2400 sqft garage. when I turn on the lights at night with the doors open you can hardly tell when I am welding. I have 1500 watts of light cri 75 6500 temp 2700 lumens i could turn off half the lights and still see plenty. Iwould say about 1/2 watt per sqft would be a good start

How long are the bulbs ?

 

[Random Guy]

How long are the bulbs ?

F32T8s are 4' long.