Help me not over engineer my shop lighting

[Fatty McButterpants]

The enclosed portion of my shop is roughly 9x20 with double doors on one end. Each side has a workbench just over 16’ long starting at the back wall and stopping about 3’ from the door. I’m replacing the work benches but that’s another story. The ceiling of the shop is currently the roof as the ceiling joist are open. There are only 3 ceiling joist. They are 4x6 oak beams. One is roughly 3’ off the back wall and it spans left to right across the shop. The 2nd beam is roughly 6’ from the first and the last one is 6’ from the 2nd which puts it about 5’ from the front wall where the door is. I hope I’ve painted an adequate picture of my shop size and layout.

I want to light my shop up like the sun. Well, not really but I don’t want to have a shadow cast on anything I’m working on in the shop. I plan to use 4’ double bulb T-12 shop lights. I’m thinking 4 fixtures should to the trick. Hang them about 2’ off the side walls spanning between beams 1 and 2 and between 2 and 3. If need be, I can hang a smaller fixture crossways between the back wall and the 1st beam.

Is this a reasonable plan?

 

[cybrdyke]

Not a bad plan.
Hang them at approximately the edge of the workbench, so that your own shadow isn't there.
I cant agree with the T12 fixtures, but if that's what you have.....
Consider changing them to LED tubes instead of fluorescent, or using LED strip fixtures instead.
Good luck,
CD

 

[cybrdyke]

Duplicate.
Where the hell did the 'delete' button go?

 

[BillK]

How high is the point where the lights will be mounted ?

 

[u2slow]

I have gotten by with wall lighting, and light attached to the edge of 2' deep shelving for years. 8-10' up. Works out decent.

My ceiling is nearly 20' high so it's going to take some effort to finish it...

 

[Jking24]

I have a 16x20 with 4 8' 2 bulb t12s is like day time

 

[brainypencil]

Nice plan, is there any updates?

 

[matt_i]

I would wire those to 5-15 receptacles. I have this feeling T-12 bulbs are going to get harder and harder to get. T8s or LED would be my choice, just for the insta-start in cold weather. The crazy flickering before the tubes warmup (if ever!) was enough to drive me nuts.