Help with Light Fixture Choices / Layout

[Colin Len]

Starting a garage renovation shortly. Some roof framing fixes are up first, followed by converting the door to a high lift that follows ceiling, then all new elec, insulation and drywall. So, time to start planning the lighting as I want to figure that out before we start elec.

Garage info:
17' x 19' (~320sqft)
Ceiling is sloped (~8.5' at the low point, ~11.5' at the high point)
Walls/ceiling will be painted white or close to it
Floor will be a greyish epoxy
Below is a basic sketchup model I started, but clearly pretty devoid of detail so far




Garage Use Info:
Garage is about as multi-purpose as it gets. I'll have a computer desk where I will often work from home, wood and metal top benches for various projects. I also store one car inside. I primarily do automotive work but regularly also work on various wood, metal and misc projects. I'd prefer LED and I'd prefer flush/recess (really don't want any hanging fixtures.) I was thinking it may be ideal to have two zones for the ceiling lights so that I could normally have only some lights on then turn more on when I need maximum brightness. I may also add some task lighting to the workspaces (which will line the left wall).

I tried using on of those lighting calculators but am not too familiar with this stuff so not sure if I am making any mistakes or oversights. Not even 100% sure I entered the correct light type, although I think it should be close. And of course this is showing a flat ceiling (chose to use 10' to split the difference for my angled ceiling).

These are the lights I'm considering: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithoni...ure-CPANL-2X4-40LM-SWW7-120-TD-DCMK/316872155




Seems many recommend shooting for 70-100fc so I set the calculator above to 70fc and got the result you see above. Seems like that's a lot of fixtures for such a small space but what do I know? And of course, layout would need to be changed due to the sloped ceiling, the fact there there's a ridge beam running across the space and the garage door will cover a lot of the ceiling.

Was hoping to get some opinions on how much lighting I may need and whether I'm looking at decent fixtures or not. Thanks!

 

[dave*99]

I went through a similar process. Same calculator tool and same type of light. I used the CPANL with 6000lm output and 0-10V dimming. I was able to use less fixtures than if I had used 4000lm units. I'm very happy with the results. No shadows, plenty of light.

You can read about it here.

Lighting for 24x28 shop

So I think I'm off to a rocky start..... I've been reading the best light fixture ever thread for a long time. And I still think I need some help. The basics: Woodshop above garage. Under construction. I have some woodworking machinery to go in the shop. It will have drywall finished...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Colin Len]

I went through a similar process. Same calculator tool and same type of light. I used the CPANL with 6000lm output and 0-10V dimming. I was able to use less fixtures than if I had used 4000lm units. I'm very happy with the results. No shadows, plenty of light.

You can read about it here.

Lighting for 24x28 shop

So I think I'm off to a rocky start..... I've been reading the best light fixture ever thread for a long time. And I still think I need some help. The basics: Woodshop above garage. Under construction. I have some woodworking machinery to go in the shop. It will have drywall finished...

www.garagejournal.com

Thanks, Dave! I think your post is actually the one where I first stumbled on these lights. And I've also now run a second calc using the 6000lumen version. A little more expensive but shows the need for 6 lights vs the 9 shown above. I think that's probably a better option for me. And I may even consider utilizing some 2x2 or 1x4 fixtures if that seems to make the layout better or more able to work around the garage door.

 

[dave*99]

The mounting brackets were purchased separately. Some CPANL units include them. But not the 6000lm units. I think.

 

[cvairwerks]

Might plan on putting the fixtures that would be blocked by the door being up, on their own switch if you ever work with it up and need the lights on. Also color temp of the lights will have an effect on how much light your eyes "feel". Some people like the softer, more yellow lights in the 4000K and under, and some prefer it in the 4000K-5000K ranges. Us older guys tend to go with 5000K to 6500K color temps. If you do any kind of color matching on your projects, you want to find lights with the highest CRI that meets the color temp range you want. The higher the CRI, the closer the light mimics actual sunlight.

 

[Colin Len]

Might plan on putting the fixtures that would be blocked by the door being up, on their own switch if you ever work with it up and need the lights on. Also color temp of the lights will have an effect on how much light your eyes "feel". Some people like the softer, more yellow lights in the 4000K and under, and some prefer it in the 4000K-5000K ranges. Us older guys tend to go with 5000K to 6500K color temps. If you do any kind of color matching on your projects, you want to find lights with the highest CRI that meets the color temp range you want. The higher the CRI, the closer the light mimics actual sunlight.

Yeah, I had thought about those being on their own separate switch. But also have been thinking I may not even put lights where the door is. I think there will be enough room between the top of the door and the center beam to put a couple lights there so the door doesn't obstruct them. And, if I need more light I may opt for one of those led garage door light kits. I never had lights where the door is currently and it wasn't ever (previously I had 10 of those Feit shop lights and this was more than enough light, I often had 2-3 of them turned off and it was still super bright.

As for temps, that's another reason why I'm leaning towards these specific fixtures. The ability to change color temp would be nice. My current lights are 4k and that seemed fine but would be nice to have the option to change it. I definitely don't want the super high temp ones that look bluish.

I'm not familiar with CRI's, looks like these are rated at 80/100. But can't find the specs on my current lights to compare them.