Help needed lighting a 720 sq.ft. new shop

[greatkids]

Howdy, we could use some advice in choosing the lights for our new shop. It is a 30’ wide by 24’ deep new construction. Three (narrow) bays, two with 10’ ceilings and one 13’ ceiling. The plans show 6 overhead boxes, I can add more if desired. The 24’ workbench along one wall will have it’s own lighting. I like the ‘retro’ look (doors are multi pane glass rollup) of the hanging 16” Warehouse Pendant lights better than the neon tube fixtures. I was looking at the Home Depot fixtures, and was told that 6 150watt EcoSmart CFL type (energy use 42 watt) will do an excellent job of lighting the 720 sq. ft. There are, apparently, CFL bulbs available at 240 watt (uses 55) and 300 watt (uses 60) as well. Has anybody had experience using these type fixtures and bulbs? What would your recommendations be for good coverage for 720 sq. ft.? Will six fixtures do it, assuming I can go between the 150 watt up to 300 watt if needed? I do not want too much light. Any help will be appreciated.
Brian and team
www.teamisetta.com
www.teamsprite.com

 

[Zengineer]

A few things to consider. (post them up for more feedback)

- How old are you?
- How is your eyesight?
- What type of work do you plan on doing?

You can't have too much light... no, really...

I'm using 8 CFL's in my 384sqft shop, the 23w versions. I have about 360lux (33.3 foot-candles) in my shop, which really is the bare minimum for general mechanical work in my experience.

If I was into my 40's or 50's I'd need to nearly double that light level, shooting for the 500+ lux mark. If I was doing any painting, finishing or fine work, I'd be doubling this again to 1000+ lux.

The 6 - 42w CFL's (assuming 2850 lumens each) will give you approximately 260 lux (24 foot-candles) in a shop your size. This is less than the bare minimum level if you are younger than 40, have good eyesight, and only plan on doing general work in the shop. If you're older, have worse eyesight, or plan on any detail work this will be horrible.

If you increased to 12 of the 42w CFL's you'd be at 511 lux (48 foot-candles) which is a much better starting point.

 

[Cryptic1911]

Remember, don't put them directly over the top of where cars will be, or it will cast shadows all over the place. Try to run them down the sides of the vehicles, that way you get light on the sides, and on the top so you can see what you're doing

 

[Cougar]

Remember, don't put them directly over the top of where cars will be, or it will cast shadows all over the place. Try to run them down the sides of the vehicles, that way you get light on the sides, and on the top so you can see what you're doing

Good to know.
Thanks

 

[bochnak]

I tried to run my lights along the perimeter of the walls and sides of vehicles. I have 8 light fixtures on 4 switches. Make sure to have lights above doors on a separate switch.

I have a little over 1watt per sq ft, and I would recommend that this should be a minimum. I’ll probably add another fixture or 2 down the road.

Look into T8’s, as they are the most cost effective way to go.

 

[greatkids]

Thanks for the advice, at the moment I have a 150 watt CFL, a 3 bulb T8, and a 6 bulb T8 hanging for testing. I won't make a final decision until the room is sheet-rocked and painted, but I did add 2 more outlets for a total of 8. I'll post again when I have something to report.

 

[plum426]

very interested in how your garage is setup. I have the exact same garage 24' by 30'. Getting ready to build out the interior now. I have 10' ceilings in the two bay and 14' in the single for a lift. I also have a post in the lighting section.

Sean

 

[nate379]

You finding it's fine only 24ft deep? My garage is 26ft and I REALLY REALLY wish it was 30ft deep. I can fit the trucks in there but there isn't much room to walk around them.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you put the lights on different switches, you'll never have too much light. I used 4 bulb 48" T8 striplights in my garage. Over the main area, I put 4 fixtures along with 4 of the old dual bulb 48" T12 shop lights. I have 11' ceilings, you can look at the pictures in my thread (link in sig). I am more than happy with the way the garage is lit up.

 

[btoner69]

Same size garage 30'-24' and installed cheap fixtures from Menards $11.34 on sale. Installed 18 total 4' fixtures with T8 bulbs. No problems with light or fail to light even at 10 degrees in garage. I just roughed in receptacles on 3 different switches to turn on sections of light. Cut down lengths of cords and installed plugs on them.

 

[nissan_crawler]

That doesn't seem nearly enough to me. I have 9 4' two bulb t8 fixtures in my 19x23. It's enough, but it isn't excessive, either.

 

[Zengineer]

That doesn't seem nearly enough to me. I have 9 4' two bulb t8 fixtures in my 19x23. It's enough, but it isn't excessive, either.

Works out to 1200 lux (117foot-candles) for reference.

OP, your 8 boxes aren't going to give you enough light if you are using 8 of the 150w equivalent CFL's as described before. With 8 of the 300w ones (which get really pricey!) you'd get a reasonable 680 lux (63 foot-candles).

 

[nissan_crawler]

Works out to 1200 lux (117foot-candles) for reference.

Thanks, good info. I'm only 28 with pretty good eyesight. To me, that is adequate, but it's certainly not excessive. I put in 7 lights on one switch, and 2 on the other. Now, I use the 2 if I just run in the garage for a tool or something, but I have not once had only the seven or the two on while working in there, I always want all nine on.

 

[greatkids]

Thanks for all the advice; looks like we will be using eight four foot fixtures, each with 6 32 watt T8 bulbs for our 750 sq. ft. shop. Now we need some feedback on the color temp to choose. Basically, there seems to be three choices: the Daylight 6500K at 2750 lumens, Cool White 4100K @2800 lumens, or the Soft White 3000K @2800 lumens. Bearing in mind that each fixture will have six bulbs, what are the pros and cons of the three choices? Thanks in advance.

 

[greatkids]

Or a mix?

 

[Zengineer]

2700K very warm, pink tone, similar to old style incandescent bulbs.
4100K on the warm side of natural daylight. Good choice for shop lighting.
5000K daylight. IMHO best choice for shop lighting.
6500K very cold, blue tone. Not desirable to most people.

The interesting part, is that you can take a 2700, 4100, 5000 and a 6000K bulb, all with the same consumption and output, and you will swear the higher the colour temperature, the brighter the bulb. (ie: a 5000K 49W bulb will be perceived by everyone as much brighter than a 2700K 49W bulb)

I highly recommend using the 4100K or 5000K bulbs for overall shop lighting, with 5000K being the preference. There have been numerous medical studies performed that have proven natural daylight colour (ie: 5000K) light improves mood, helps combat seasonal affective disorder, and of course provides more perceived light than the traditional 2700K temp bulbs did.

 

[Cryptic1911]

well thats probably just our eyes playing tricks.. 5000k temp is probably where our eyes see most efficiently, so although it technically isn't brighter, our eyes see it that way